PART I: (Chs. 25-33) Display and Control
With his position secure, Genji turns to spectacle, art, and cultivation as expressions of influence. Through Tamakazura and elaborate courtly displays, beauty becomes a form of currency. These chapters reveal how control is aestheticized—and how emotional distance grows even as power appears complete.
25. The Fireflies (Hotaru)
Genji stages an exquisite spectacle to display Tamakazura’s beauty and cultivation, releasing fireflies into her room at night for his brother, Prince Hotaru. The scene blurs admiration and manipulation, as Tamakazura is positioned as both literary companion and aesthetic object. In a celebrated exchange, Genji and Tamakazura discuss histories and illustrated romances, a moment often read as Murasaki Shikibu’s meditation on the nature and value of fiction itself.
Key points
Tamakazura is displayed through carefully staged beauty
Desire is mediated by artifice and light
The fiction debate foregrounds literary self-reflection
Genji’s control operates through taste and spectacle
26. The Pink (Tokonatsu)
Tō no Chūjō, following Genji’s example, discovers a long-lost daughter of his own, the Ōmi lady. Unlike Tamakazura, however, she lacks refinement and polish, and her appearance becomes a source of embarrassment rather than triumph. The chapter functions as a comic counterpoint, exposing how much female worth at court depends on cultivation rather than blood alone.
Key points
Lineage alone does not guarantee social success
Cultivation distinguishes value at court
Comic contrast sharpens Tamakazura’s position
Paternal recognition can arrive too late
27. The Cressets (Kagaribi)
In a quiet, intimate interlude, Genji remains late with Tamakazura, giving her a music lesson by firelight. The chapter is brief but charged, emphasizing proximity, instruction, and emotional tension. Art once again becomes a conduit for intimacy that stops just short of explicit transgression.
Key points
Music mediates closeness and restraint
Instruction doubles as emotional intimacy
Firelight underscores secrecy and mood
Desire remains suspended rather than resolved
28. The Typhoon (Nowaki)
A violent storm tears through the capital, ripping bamboo blinds from their moorings. In the chaos, Yūgiri accidentally glimpses his stepmother Murasaki—whom Genji has carefully kept out of his son’s sight—and is transfixed by her beauty. Later, Yūgiri is deeply unsettled when he inadvertently witnesses Genji in an intimate moment with Tamakazura. The chapter layers generations of forbidden sight and desire, echoing Genji’s own past transgressions.
Key points
Nature exposes what social order conceals
Sight becomes dangerous and transformative
Generational repetition of transgression is suggested
Yūgiri’s innocence is destabilized
29. The Imperial Progress (Miyuki)
With Tamakazura’s future increasingly urgent, Genji prepares to send her to court and formally reveals her existence to Tō no Chūjō. What has been private display now enters the public political arena. Genji’s control begins to loosen as Tamakazura’s life moves beyond his exclusive orchestration.
Key points
Tamakazura transitions from private to public sphere
Genji relinquishes some control
Recognition reshapes family and political ties
Court life intensifies risk and exposure
30. Thoroughwort Flowers (Fujibakama)
Surrounded by suitors and proposals, Tamakazura finds herself the object of intense male attention. Unsure whom to trust, she navigates the situation with tact and emotional intelligence, deflecting advances without committing herself. For once, a woman shaped by Genji’s guidance exercises agency on her own terms.
Key points
Tamakazura faces overwhelming male pursuit
Emotional caution becomes a survival strategy
Female agency emerges through restraint
Trust replaces romance as the central concern
31. The Handsome Pillar (Makibashira)
Tamakazura’s marriage to Higekuro abruptly removes her from the intricate web of courtly intrigue Genji has constructed around her. The match is practical rather than romantic, and its consequences ripple outward: Higekuro’s first wife responds with fury, dumping a censer of ashes over his head before returning to her family. Marriage here appears less as resolution than as displacement of conflict.
Key points
Marriage ends Genji’s direct influence over Tamakazura
Domestic conflict replaces court intrigue
Female anger finds physical expression
Stability comes at the cost of visibility
32. The Plum Tree Branch (Umegae)
Attention shifts to the Akashi daughter’s impending debut at court. Preparations focus on incense blending, aesthetic refinement, and ritual readiness. Meanwhile, Tō no Chūjō regrets having missed the opportunity to place his own daughter Kumoinokari in imperial service, recognizing too late the political advantages he forfeited.
Key points
Aesthetic preparation signals political ambition
Incense functions as social and moral marker
Missed opportunities haunt paternal strategy
Court placement determines future power
33. New Wisteria Leaves (Fuji no Uraba)
The Akashi daughter’s court debut is a resounding success, confirming the long-term payoff of Genji’s careful planning. The emperor visits Genji’s Rokujō Mansion in a scene echoing historical precedent and literary memory. Genji and Tō no Chūjō finally reconcile after years of rivalry, and their children—Yūgiri and Kumoinokari—are married, binding friendship, lineage, and power into a renewed alliance.
Key points
The Akashi daughter fulfills Genji’s ambitions
Imperial favor publicly confirms Genji’s dominance
Rivalry gives way to reconciliation
Marriage seals political and familial unity
