The world's first real novel -- and one of the longest -- is "Genji Monogatari" ("The Tale of Genji"), a tale describing the happy and sad romances of a Japanese prince named Genji (meaning "Shining One"), and of his friends, relatives and descendents.
The book spans several generations, and describes pleasant entertainments in court, painting and poetry contests, to solemn monastery ceremonies.
"Genji" was written around 1001 to 1015 AD by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady in waiting for Japanese Empress Akiko at the then-capital of Heian (now Kyoto). The novel, which is made up of approximately 630,000 word-characters brushed onto the paper, was a major undertaking for Murasaki, who also had to perform her court duties.
In her diary, Murasaki says she loved books, but didn't let on since bookworms -- especially women bookworms -- were unpopular. She also found Akiko's court to be a dull place, so perhaps she wrote the novel to fill her free time.
Some have described "Genji" as tedious but valuable for its glimpses into early Japanese life, and particularly court life, while others have praised it as an excellent work of literature.
In Japan, of course, it has received the widest attention. More than 10,000 Japanese books have referred to the tale, and in the 13th century a 54-volume commentary was written about it. In 1960 a Japanese publisher released a "Tale of Genji" encyclopedia.
