It contains no military adventures nor epic journeys. Yet "The Tale of Genji" is in every way Japan's equivalent of Homer's "Iliad". First mentioned in a diary exactly 1,000 years ago, in late 1008, it has over the centuries been subject to changes, adaptations, mutations and translations (not to mention being remade as a manga comic), all of which have helped it not just survive, but flourish. Today this account of the amorous escapades of an aristocratic aesthete is widely regarded as the first modern or psychological novel.rnThe book's success lies in its broad appeal. Right-wing Japanese commentators point to "The Tale of Genji" and take great pride in emphasising how much more sophisticated civilisation was in Japan in the 11th century compared with Europe at that time. For middle-aged Japanese, reading the book at study groups in adult-education centres is as popular, and as quintessentially Japanese, as flower-arranging or the tea ceremony. Feminists rejoice that the author, Murasaki Shikibu, was a woman, even if writing fiction was generally regarded as frivolous and lowbrow: not an activity for men.
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