PREMIERE DATE     6/13/2009 PREMIERE LOCATION     Kobe, Japan COMPOSER     Scott Westerfield with text by Jonny Stranger COSTUME DESIGNER     Naoko Nagata "The Tale of Genji" (Genji Monogatari) is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early eleventh century, around the peak of the Heian Period. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first psychological novel or the first novel to still be considered a classic. It is a tale of passion and drama. Ellis Wood Dance performed their own rendition of "Genji" for a special project in Japan.