The tale of Genji was written during the Heian era in Japan shortly after the year 1,000. During this time, the capital of Japan was in Heian-Kyo, which is present day Kyoto. Genji is the hero of the story and is the son of the emperor with his favorite concubine, Kiritsubo. However, after a Korean soothsayer arrives at the emperor’s palace and foretells good fortunes for the young boy, things take a dramatic turn as the chief wife is not happy with the news and the emperor wants to protect his son.
Analysis
The tale of Genji is a tale of love, betrayal, politics, and secrecy. Soon after Genji is born his mother suffers from the jealousy of her rivals, falls sick and dies. Distressed by his mistresses’ death, the emperor eventually finds another mistress, Fujitsubo, to replace his former loving concubine. Unfortunately, the emperor’s chief wife is angry at the birth of Genji because he stands to succeed the throne that is intended for the crown prince, her son. To make matters worse, the emperor’s chief wife, lady Kokiden is a Fujiwara with powerful connections and thus the emperor has to find a way to protect his son.
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To achieve this, the emperor decides to make the boy a commoner (Genji) and cut him off from the succession plan and thus prevent any harm coming to his son from the Kokiden family. However, things take a dramatic turn as Genji who now misses his biological mother is attracted to his father’s new mistress from a young age and she becomes an object of his obsession. After undergoing the coming of age ceremony at the age of twelve, Genji is married of to the daughter of the minister of the left, a Fujiwara. Unfortunately, for Genji, Aoi, his new wife is much older and turns out to be unsympathetic and overbearing.
This causes Genji to spend most of his time in his palace quarters at his mother’s apartments. This causes rifts between him and the minister of the left along with the Fujiwara clan rekindling fights that his father had tried to avoid in the first place. Fortunately, Aoi’s brother To No Chujo becomes Genji’s best friend though this will soon be a reason for trouble when they start a love triangle rivalry.
After falling sick, Genji goes to the mountains to seek treatment from a holy man. As fate would have it he meets and likes a young girl, Murasaki, who reminds him of Fujitsubo and she becomes the new object of his obsession. Unknown to him, Murasaki, is the niece of Fujitsubo and by planning to escape with her to his quarters Genji is already on a path to brew more trouble.
Unfortunately, Fujitsubo makes a terrible mistake and allows Genji to sleep with her and she becomes pregnant. This now becomes a secret to be protected at all costs because Genji’s father is unaware of it. The baby (Genji’s son) becomes an immediate threat to Kokiden and this rekindles the earlier fights experienced in the palace. What sets Genji apart from the other members of Kokiden and the Fujiwara’s is his involvement with Kokiden’s sister who has already been promised to the crown prince.
Conclusion
The tale of Genji is one story of unreasoning love. The story revolves around the issue of substitution and repetition just as seasons come and go forming a specific pattern. Similarity of actions is another key pointer in the narrative, especially bearing in mind that this is a Buddhist society.
