Tale of Genji

[Mr.lucifer]

I was thinking of reading the Tale of genji, but I'm wondering what would the best translation. Could anyone give me an answer?

[qimissung]

I chose a translation by Edward Seidensticker after reading reviews of various translations on Amazon. Other choices are Tyler and Whaley.

[JBI]

I chose a translation by Edward Seidensticker after reading reviews of various translations on Amazon. Other choices are Tyler and Whaley.

I know not of Tyler, but Whaley is last generation - the most famous of the translators for sure, but not the most accurate or well footnoted. He is much better on the Chinese poetry than on Japanese fiction.

That being said, I read the Seidensticker, which is a good edition and usually the standard.

[Calidore]

The third review down, by Steven Bradbury, compares the three available English translations and includes an excerpt to illustrate the translators' styles.

http://www.amazon.com/Tale-Genji-Pen...pr_product_top