The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari) was written around 1000-1025during the Heian Period.
Summary of the Tale of Genji
In early 11th-century Japan, Kiritsubo, a woman of the lower ranks of the court, gave birth to a son whom she named Genji. The emperor showed such a liking for Genji that he brought him into the court so he could be raised in his company. Genji flourished and became a master of speech, manners, poetry, and music. He grew into an attractive young man as well. Both men and women were quick to notice his strikingly handsome looks.
While not the entirety of the book, nor the ultimate focus of Murasaki’s writing, a strong theme of Genji is the notion of love, lust, and the interaction of members of the opposite sex. It is upon this aspect that I wish to dwell for just a moment.
After Genji had reached physical and emotional maturity, he spent most of his time showing his affections by writing poems to women that had little interest in him. Most of the women knew that nothing would ever result in an affair with him and resisted as much as possible.
Although
these women admitted that they had similar feelings toward Genji, they
knew that the relationship with him would never grow. Genji’s affairs
often involved women from outside the court. Such behavior was
scandalous for a person of his position, so he needed to carry out his
affairs in complete secrecy. Genji went through great troubles to hide
his illicit affairs and to please his peers at the court. He conscripted
secret messengers from both inside and outside the palace, went out of
his way to Utsusemi’s house because the stars were not in the right
alignment, visited Yugao’s house only at night, and adopted a child
under the guise that he wanted to be her father.
Each affair is significantly different from all others. In one of the first chapters, Genji tries to win the affections of Utsuemi by sending her messages and visiting her at odd hours during the night. The relationship between Yugao and Genji was never stable. Genji had a man named Koremitsu visit and tell him about the house in which Yugao lived before Genji talked to anyone there. This relationship ended with the nexpected death of Yugao after she and Genji first made love. Shortly after, Genji keeps a young girl named Murasaki. When the nun who raised her died, Genji immediately brings the girl to the palace and provided a room and friends for her—no matter how many people protested it.
While
Genji did not have a physical relationship with Murasaki at this point,
he definitely said that this was his intention in the future. In the
mean time, Genji lusts after a princess because he cannot resist the
beauty of the music she plays on the zither. Almost instantly he
declares his love for her and pursues her with a flurry of letters. She
never answers. The more he finds out about the princess, however, the
less he likes of her. Genji cannot help but feel guilty after admitting
this love, though, and maintains the relationship long after his
feelings die down. In one of the last affairs, Genji is on the receiving
side of lust. An elderly lady, who Genji calls an outrageous flirt,
starts fawning on him and Genji has to think of creative ways to dodge
the situation without losing face.
The Tale of Genji is at least in part a story about the interactions between Genji and the people (mostly women) that he encounters. The tale mostly explores the different themes of love, affection, friendship, filial loyalty, and family. Genji wanders through the landscape of life, death, and love while maintaining a teflon-like dignity. The story does not have a true, unifying conflict; it is composed of mini-sagas that overlap each other and complicate each other the further the story progresses.
Structure of Story
The
Tale of Genji has 54 chapters and over 1,000 pages of text in its
English translation. The Tale of Genji is broadly divided into three
sections. The first part of thirty-three chapters concerns itself with
the first half of Genji’s life starting with Chapter Kiritsubo and
ending with Chapter Fuji-no-uraba (Arthur Waley’s translation of The
Tale of Genji, Part 1 Chapter 1 to Part 4 Chapter 5). The second portion
begins with the marriage of Onna-Sannomiya to a commoner in Chapter
Wakana Part I (Ibid., Part 4 Chapter 6) and ends with Chapter Mirage
(Ibid., Part 4 Chapter 12). There is a chapter following this that is
entitled “Hidden Behind the Clouds” which has no text. This chapter is
not found in The Tale of Genji. The third section starts with Chapter
Niou (Ibid., Part 5 Chapter 1) in which Kaoru plays the major role. It
ends with Chapter The Bridge of Dreams (Ibid., Part 6 Chapter 13). From
Chapter The Bridge Maiden (Ibid., Part 5 Chapter 4) to the end shifts
the stage to Uji city and is thus often called the Uji Appendix.
Summary of the Tale of Genji
In early 11th-century Japan, Kiritsubo, a woman of the lower ranks of the court, gave birth to a son whom she named Genji. The emperor showed such a liking for Genji that he brought him into the court so he could be raised in his company. Genji flourished and became a master of speech, manners, poetry, and music. He grew into an attractive young man as well. Both men and women were quick to notice his strikingly handsome looks.
While not the entirety of the book, nor the ultimate focus of Murasaki’s writing, a strong theme of Genji is the notion of love, lust, and the interaction of members of the opposite sex. It is upon this aspect that I wish to dwell for just a moment.
After Genji had reached physical and emotional maturity, he spent most of his time showing his affections by writing poems to women that had little interest in him. Most of the women knew that nothing would ever result in an affair with him and resisted as much as possible.
Although
these women admitted that they had similar feelings toward Genji, they
knew that the relationship with him would never grow. Genji’s affairs
often involved women from outside the court. Such behavior was
scandalous for a person of his position, so he needed to carry out his
affairs in complete secrecy. Genji went through great troubles to hide
his illicit affairs and to please his peers at the court. He conscripted
secret messengers from both inside and outside the palace, went out of
his way to Utsusemi’s house because the stars were not in the right
alignment, visited Yugao’s house only at night, and adopted a child
under the guise that he wanted to be her father.Each affair is significantly different from all others. In one of the first chapters, Genji tries to win the affections of Utsuemi by sending her messages and visiting her at odd hours during the night. The relationship between Yugao and Genji was never stable. Genji had a man named Koremitsu visit and tell him about the house in which Yugao lived before Genji talked to anyone there. This relationship ended with the nexpected death of Yugao after she and Genji first made love. Shortly after, Genji keeps a young girl named Murasaki. When the nun who raised her died, Genji immediately brings the girl to the palace and provided a room and friends for her—no matter how many people protested it.
While
Genji did not have a physical relationship with Murasaki at this point,
he definitely said that this was his intention in the future. In the
mean time, Genji lusts after a princess because he cannot resist the
beauty of the music she plays on the zither. Almost instantly he
declares his love for her and pursues her with a flurry of letters. She
never answers. The more he finds out about the princess, however, the
less he likes of her. Genji cannot help but feel guilty after admitting
this love, though, and maintains the relationship long after his
feelings die down. In one of the last affairs, Genji is on the receiving
side of lust. An elderly lady, who Genji calls an outrageous flirt,
starts fawning on him and Genji has to think of creative ways to dodge
the situation without losing face.The Tale of Genji is at least in part a story about the interactions between Genji and the people (mostly women) that he encounters. The tale mostly explores the different themes of love, affection, friendship, filial loyalty, and family. Genji wanders through the landscape of life, death, and love while maintaining a teflon-like dignity. The story does not have a true, unifying conflict; it is composed of mini-sagas that overlap each other and complicate each other the further the story progresses.
Structure of Story
The
Tale of Genji has 54 chapters and over 1,000 pages of text in its
English translation. The Tale of Genji is broadly divided into three
sections. The first part of thirty-three chapters concerns itself with
the first half of Genji’s life starting with Chapter Kiritsubo and
ending with Chapter Fuji-no-uraba (Arthur Waley’s translation of The
Tale of Genji, Part 1 Chapter 1 to Part 4 Chapter 5). The second portion
begins with the marriage of Onna-Sannomiya to a commoner in Chapter
Wakana Part I (Ibid., Part 4 Chapter 6) and ends with Chapter Mirage
(Ibid., Part 4 Chapter 12). There is a chapter following this that is
entitled “Hidden Behind the Clouds” which has no text. This chapter is
not found in The Tale of Genji. The third section starts with Chapter
Niou (Ibid., Part 5 Chapter 1) in which Kaoru plays the major role. It
ends with Chapter The Bridge of Dreams (Ibid., Part 6 Chapter 13). From
Chapter The Bridge Maiden (Ibid., Part 5 Chapter 4) to the end shifts
the stage to Uji city and is thus often called the Uji Appendix.