PART I: (Chs. 13-24) Return and Consolidation
After returning from exile, Genji reaches the height of his authority. He builds households, arranges marriages, and shapes the next generation, imposing order and refinement on his world. Yet beneath this stability, emotional imbalance deepens, especially for Murasaki, as intimacy becomes increasingly managed rather than mutual.
13. Akashi (Akashi)
While in exile at Suma, Genji dreams of his deceased father, who urges him to leave the desolate shore. Almost immediately, the atmosphere shifts: the storms abate, and a boat appears, sent by a retired provincial governor living in religious retirement at Akashi. Genji is welcomed into a household poised between worldly ambition and spiritual aspiration, and he enters into a liaison with the governor’s daughter, the Akashi lady. Soon afterward, Genji is summoned back to the capital, where he is reunited with Murasaki and restored to favor.
Key points
A prophetic dream signals a turning point in exile
Nature responds to ancestral or divine instruction
The Akashi liaison links Genji to provincial power and piety
Return to the capital restores intimacy with Murasaki
14. The Pilgrimage to Sumiyoshi (Miotsukushi)
Back in the capital, political order reshapes itself. The Suzaku Emperor abdicates in favor of a young prince—secretly Genji’s own son by Fujitsubo—marking the quiet triumph of Genji’s bloodline. Genji’s rank and influence rise steadily. In Akashi, however, the Akashi lady has borne Genji a daughter, and the question of bringing mother and child to Miyako introduces unease. For the first time, Murasaki senses the fragility of her position. As death approaches, the Rokujō lady entrusts her daughter Akikonomu to Genji’s care, closing one arc of rivalry and responsibility.
Key points
Political power consolidates around Genji’s lineage
The Akashi child complicates domestic harmony
Murasaki experiences her first deep uncertainty
The Rokujō lady’s death transforms rivalry into guardianship
15. A Waste of Weeds (Yomogiu)
Time has not been kind to the Safflower Princess. Once merely comic, she now lives in genuine neglect and poverty. To the astonishment of observers, Genji responds not with ridicule but with care, restoring her household and ensuring her comfort. The chapter reframes earlier mockery, suggesting that dignity can persist even where beauty and charm have failed.
Key points
Decline exposes the vulnerability of marginal women
Genji acts generously rather than performatively
Comedy gives way to quiet moral repair
Care replaces desire as a form of intimacy
16. At the Pass (Sekiya)
In a brief, chance encounter, Genji meets Utsusemi once more, years after their unfinished affair. Now older and bound to a different life, she remains unattainable. Their meeting is restrained and wordless, charged with memory rather than longing. What once burned with frustration now settles into quiet recognition of paths not taken.
Key points
Chance replaces pursuit
Time transforms desire into memory
Utsusemi remains unreachable
The past lingers without resolution
17. The Picture Contest (E-awase)
Court rivalry resurfaces in aesthetic form when Genji’s ward Akikonomu and Tō no Chūjō’s daughter are both presented at court. Their competition is staged through a formal picture contest, where taste, refinement, and patronage stand in for political struggle. The episode mirrors historical rivalries between empresses, revealing how art becomes a proxy for power.
Key points
Female rivalry is displaced into aesthetic judgment
Art functions as political theater
Patronage reflects masculine influence
Court taste becomes a site of power
18. Wind in the Pines (Matsukaze)
Genji brings the Akashi lady and their infant daughter to a carefully prepared residence in the western suburbs of the capital. Enchanted by the child’s beauty and promise, he begins to imagine transferring her upbringing to Murasaki, whose refinement and status could prepare the girl for an imperial future. The chapter underscores the emotional cost of ambition, as maternal bonds are quietly weighed against political advantage.
Key points
The Akashi family enters the capital’s orbit
The child becomes a symbol of future power
Murasaki’s refinement is politically instrumentalized
Maternal attachment is put at risk
19. Wisps of Cloud (Usugumo)
In one of the novel’s most painful moments, the Akashi lady relinquishes her three-year-old daughter to Genji and Murasaki. The sacrifice is absolute and irreversible. Recognizing the depth of this loss, Murasaki’s jealousy softens into compassion, and a fragile friendship forms between the women. Soon after, Fujitsubo dies at the ominous age of thirty-seven. The reigning emperor learns the truth of his birth and rewards Genji with further advancement.
Key points
Maternal sacrifice enables political ascent
Female rivalry gives way to mutual recognition
Fujitsubo’s death closes a central moral arc
Truth reshapes imperial authority
20. The Bluebell (Asagao)
Genji once again presses his suit upon his cousin Asagao, whose steadfast refusal remains unchanged. Her resistance, calm and unwavering, highlights the restlessness of Genji’s affections. Murasaki, keenly aware of his wandering desire, suffers in silence, her insecurity deepening as Genji’s emotional focus disperses.
Key points
Asagao embodies principled refusal
Genji’s desire proves uncontainable
Murasaki’s suffering intensifies
Fidelity remains unreciprocated
21. The Maidens (Otome)
The next generation enters the field of desire as Genji’s son Yūgiri falls in love with Tō no Chūjō’s daughter Kumoinokari, only to be refused by her father. Meanwhile, Genji constructs the grand Rokujō Mansion, designed to house his women in carefully separated pavilions aligned with the seasons. Order, beauty, and hierarchy are imposed upon intimacy itself.
Key points
Romantic frustration echoes the previous generation
Architecture becomes a tool of control
Women are spatially and symbolically ordered
Genji’s household mirrors the court
22. The Tendril Wreath (Tamakazura)
By chance, Genji’s servant Ukon encounters a woman who once cared for Yūgao’s orphaned daughter. The girl, Tamakazura, is revealed to be Tō no Chūjō’s love child, though he remains unaware of her existence. Genji brings her into his household, claiming her as his own. He delights in cultivating her beauty and promise, displaying her before suitors while savoring his power over her future.
Key points
Hidden lineage resurfaces through coincidence
Genji assumes control through false paternity
Grooming replaces guardianship
Desire merges with display and manipulation
23. The Warbler’s First Song (Hatsune)
At the New Year, Genji stands at the height of power and prestige. He moves from pavilion to pavilion, visiting each of his women in turn. The ritual affirms harmony and abundance, even as it reinforces hierarchy and emotional imbalance.
Key points
Seasonal ritual affirms Genji’s dominance
Harmony is carefully staged
Women remain emotionally unequal
Power is enacted through presence
24. Butterflies (Kochō)
In spring, Murasaki hosts an elegant garden celebration for Empress Akikonomu, her authority and refinement fully visible. Genji entertains suitors for Tamakazura’s hand, yet finds his own feelings drifting toward the young woman he has raised. Beauty, cultivation, and desire converge uneasily, suggesting once again that Genji’s control cannot fully contain his longing.
Key points
Murasaki emerges as a social and aesthetic center
Tamakazura becomes an object of competition
Genji’s desire turns inward and transgressive
Cultivation gives way to emotional risk
