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genji-lab

Python / React

An open-source platform for reading, annotating, and linking texts. Built originally to support literary scholarship on The Tale of Genji, it gives scholars and students tools to connect multiple translations across languages to one another and hundreds of years of material culture.

Source Live demo

Capability

First tool dedicated to cross-document linking and rich annotations

Translations

4+ translations across 2 languages and counting

Open Source

Available to researchers everywhere

What I built

Data modelHighlighting systemSearch interface

How I led

Tech leadClient relationshipTimeline and prioritization

Stack

  • React
  • Redux
  • FastAPI
  • PostgreSQL

Key decisions

  • Data model designed so a raw DB dump preserves all relationships as inferable text — the data outlives the system even if the app disappears
  • React/Redux, FastAPI, Postgres — chose plain, well-supported tools over novel ones for long-term maintainability
  • Open-sourced from the start — the platform is domain-agnostic, so other groups can use it for their own texts without rebuilding