Tale of Genji Summary

When Genji is twelve years old, he is married to Aoi, a sixteen-year-old

daughter of an influential courtier. He is too young for the marriage to affect him
much. Though officially married, he still lives in the imperial palace near the
emperor and his future empress, Fujitsubo, while his wife lives at her fathers
residence. This was not out of the ordinary for the upper classes in medieval Japan.
Despite their distant behavior and her indifference toward him, Genji and Aoi
eventually have a son, Yugiri, who resembles Genji closely.
During his early years, Genji is often near Fujitsubo. Even though the required
curtains, blinds, or screens separate them physically, as was mandatory between a
man and a women of respectability, Genji develops a special devotion toward
Fujitsubo because she resembles his late mother closely. In a culture which strongly
believes in reincarnation and rebirth, this motivation is not as repellent as it may be
for a contemporary Western reader. Tylers informative footnotes help to fill in
cultural gaps, and the illustrations give a nice visual sense of the culture which gave
rise to Genjis adventures.
As Genji matures, his father does not let him be so close to Fujitsubo any
longer, with good reason. Yet Genji defies the older man and succeeds in secretly
making love to Fujitsubo. The result is a son, the future Emperor Reizei, whom the
cuckolded Emperor believes is his own. He even deems it natural that the boy
should look just like his other son, Genji.
Despite this momentous transgression, Fujitsubo is still beyond Genjis reach.
He can truly communicate with her only by writing poems and brief letters, which
are delivered by messengers. These poems are what helped distinguish The Tale of
Genji in its time, since medieval Japanese society considered poetry the highest and
most genteel art. All early Japanese literature placed poetry above prose. Thus, it is
not unusual that Genjis messages to all his women are carefully written and crafted
with poetic allusions and penned on types of paper selected according to the
recipients rank and the occasion of the lines.
To make up for his desire to have someone entirely his own, Genji insists on
taking a little girl into his care and virtually kidnaps her from her nurse when her
mother is dead. Again, he is attracted because the girl is Fujitsubos niece and looks
just like her aunt, the woman Genji can never possess. In time, the little girl will
grow up to be Lady Murasaki, and become his true and greatest love. She will have
the sole privilege of daily interaction with Genji.

Kiritsubo
~ Mother of Genji

Emperor of Japan
~ Genji's father

Princes Aoi

Utsusemi

~ Married at the
age of 16 to Genji
while his 12.

~ A pretty young
matron and
another Genjis
paramour

Prince Genji
~ Handsome and famous son
of the Emperor
Ygao

Lady Akashi

~ a young
noblewoman in
love with Genji.
They live together

~Daughter of
provincial
governor. Another
paramour of Genji.

Murasaki
~ a young orphan girl
of good family. Genji
secretly rears her and
a year after Princes
Aois death, when
shes on a
marriageable age, he