Kyle’s Reviews > The Tale of Genji > Status Update

A melancholic series of misfortunes fall on the families of Genji and To no Chujo as the next generation fumble with love: Higekuro and Kashiwagi make a mess of the affections and even the mildly amorous Yugiri was led astray. Any one of these scandals would be enough for the honour-bound boys to hang up the blue trousers of service (kind of lost the meaning of this part of the book) but Murakami’s death got Genji.

The New Palace continues to be a focal point of jealousy and frustration, despite Genji’s casual disregard for the friction he created between one quarter and the others. Very telling how what started out as a Wreath of Clouds escalated into a full-blown Typhoon. As if building to another devastating storm, the willful To no Chujo has become like the unbending oak about to break a few branches from the family tree.

In a moment of synchronicity, my progress reading this book matches somewhat with the present day, being a New Year’s celebration - of course, the novel uses the much more sensible spring start date, but still carries an emotional impact. Genji tours his palace full of ladies in his keeping, while his oldest son Yugiri is ready to follow his example. Out with the old and in with the new, possessive woman collector.

Genji’s exile in Suma comes across as a stormy weekend at a destination resort, yet feels like the end of the world while he endures this unexpected disgrace. Like a storm, the exile soon passes as he is recalled to the Capitol and resumes his former life of leisure. Yet in the storm’s wake are frustrated, displaced women. How telling it is that the author lingers on Kaguya legend in the picture contest.

Fascinating and fleeting depiction of the old way of courtly life in Heian Japan. Genji is witty, free-willed dummy whose actions would not jive with the MeToo movement of the present day yet become a source of poetry and self-reflection of a very different era. Most chapters end up being nicknames for his conquests and most troubling is the little lady with the same name as the author, insinuating far ickier issues.