The Tale of Genji

At a glance

Classic work of Japanese literature.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu978–1014

Original language

Early Middle Japanese

Genre

Literary fiction

Readers

Adult

Length

Long80,000 to 120,000 words

Readers' rating

3.6 out of 5from 35 ratings on Hardcover

How long it takes to read

About 6 h 34 min at 250 words a minute, or 10 h 35 min as an audiobook.

Compared with other books

The books closest in length, and a few well-known ones for scale.

1. 1War and PeaceLeo Tolstoy587,287Compare
2. 2The Fellowship of the RingJ. R. R. Tolkien177,227Compare
3. 3Pride and PrejudiceJane Austen121,970Compare
4. 4The Subtle KnifePhilip Pullman98,641Compare
5. 5A London Life, and Other TalesHenry James98,399Compare
6. 6The Tale of GenjiMurasaki Shikibu98,375
7. 7The Satyricon20-66 Petronius Arbiter98,052Compare
8. 8Jo's BoysLouisa May Alcott98,022Compare
9. 9Harry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneJ. K. Rowling76,944Compare
10. 10The Great GatsbyF. Scott Fitzgerald47,094Compare

Counted from the text

Automated estimates from the selected Project Gutenberg text; it may include a preface or notes.

Words in the text

98,375

Chapters

9about 10,931 words each

Average sentence

21.4 words

Vocabulary

433 different words in every 1,000Distinct words in the sampled text; this does not measure writing quality.

Where the numbers come from

The word count comes from the sources below.

• gutenberg.orgword count
• openlibrary.orgcover and record
• wikidata.orgdescription and author
• hardcover.appreaders' rating

The word count is Musael’s own count of the Project Gutenberg text, which can include a preface or notes.

Checked on 2026-10-27. Page counts change from edition to edition. Cover from Open Library; the edition shown may differ.

Questions