There are two recent English translations of this famous Japanese masterpiece. The Royall Tyler’s translation in 2001 and the translation by Dennis Washburn in 2015.
Each has its own strength. The strengths of Tyler’s are the extensive notes which greatly illuminate the text, the notes which precede each chapter which explain the meaning of the Japanese title for the chapter and a list the persons who are part of the narrative for each particular chapter. There are also illustrations, albeit redrawn by a contemporary artist from medieval material.
Washburn’s strength is his amplication of obscure passages to make the Tale clearer to a modern reader who is not well-versed with, for example, allusions to Chinese poems, unlike a reader from the Heian period { 794-1185 AD} .
Tyler’s translation is more literal and terse. Washburn is thus 1320 pages while Tyler is 1120 pages.
Reading both translations in parallel I find that they sometimes differed in a slight but significant way. For example,
” The little boy was asleep. I had wanted to see him so that I could report on him to His Majesty… but I am expected back. It must be very late by now.” ( Tyler p 9}
” The boy had already been put to bed. I had hoped to appear before the Emperor with news… He is waiting so eagerly… But the night will surely grow very late before the boy awakens, and I must leave. ” { Washburn p 10}
This could be due to the fact that a literal translation of ” the extreme elusiveness of Heian-period court Japanese” would be unreadable. { see article The Sensualist What makes The Tale of Genji so seductive by Ian Buruma}. To readers who want to appreciate the full beauty of this exquisite tale written by a lady, whose name we don’t know, in the 11th century who commands an amazing knowledge of Chinese classics and poems and alluded to them in the text and in some of the 795 poems composed by her I highly recommend reading both translations.