The Tale Of Genji

In the Prologue, which is an excerpt from Chapter 25 (a chapter not included in this version), Genji is having a good-hearted debate with Yugao’s daughter Tamakazura about the nature of fiction. What is the argument they are making about truth and its relationship to fiction? In the end, do they agree more than disagree? 

Considered by some to be the world’s “first novel,” the power dynamics between men and women during Japan’s Heian period are integral to The Tale of Genji’s main plots. The period supported polygamous marriages for males, and predetermined women’s lives through marriages limited to strict family social rank. Choose a relevant current headline or pop culture example from today, and compare and contrast: a.) How sexual and political power dynamics in the current event’s culture you have chosen have changed since Shikibu’s time; and/ or b.) How sexual and political dynamics have perhaps not shifted much since the culture of the Heian period. Use quotes from The Tale ofGenji to support your argument.

A major narrative structure here is the use of poetry as dialogue. During Genji’s time, people of many social status levels recited poetry from memory. Men and women of status exchanged letters and poems sometimes through their servants (to be more discrete), and also through household writing boxes, where messages would be left and picked-up within a home. Choose a few examples of key poetry use in the book’s plots: Explain how the tone of a character’s quoted or original poetry, as well as how the poetry is delivered, helps the reader learn about the personality of certain characters.

The title character of Genji is praised by almost everyone in his younger years. Eventually, however, his choices in romantic affairs do draw criticism. Until then, the narrator repeats why and how it is understandable he should have so many of his actions pardoned. Find some examples where the narrative voice defends Genji’s intentions, and argue if they seem valid or not to you as a modern reader. Also consider why readers in Heian Japanese culture might have agreed with the narrator’s defenses of Genji, and compare those reasons with your own.

A debate exists around the notion that the women in the book are the true main protagonists, not Genji. Discuss why you agree or disagree with this theory.

Young Murasaki is the niece of Fujitsubo, and both are eventually Genji’s romantic partners. Murasaki is indeed a character modern readers may find particularly problematic. There is critical ambiguity around Murasaki’s life quality: whether she is miserable and technically abused because she has been forced into a secret marriage as a child, or whether she is given a better life experience than she could have had otherwise. Discuss if you view Murasaki’s complex storyline as tragic or not tragic.

Genji has overall positive relationships with the other men of the story. However, there are spans of direct competition between Genji and other males. Choose a few examples of times in the book when Genji is in conflict with another man and resolves the conflict (or does not), and then compare that interaction to a similar direct conflict with a woman and how it is resolved (or is not).

What are a few scenes in which spiritual (what we may today call the “supernatural”) play key roles in the plot?