A traditional Japanese painting depicting people in kimonos in a room with sliding doors, rice paper screens, and decorated with gold leaves.

The Tale of Genji Chapter Summaries

The Tale of Genji, by Murasaki Shikibu, is carefully structured as a long arc of rise, saturation, and aftermath rather than a single continuous plot. The first half centers on Genji himself—his beauty, power, and emotional reach—moving from youthful transgression through political triumph to gradual exhaustion and loss. The middle chapters mark a deliberate slowing and fragmentation, as Genji’s household expands, stabilizes, and begins to ossify, preparing the ground for decline. After Genji’s death, a brief set of transitional chapters shifts attention to the next generation, before the final Uji chapters reimagine the story in a darker, quieter register. Here, desire is no longer triumphant or playful but paralyzing, and inheritance replaces charisma as the dominant force. The novel thus moves from brilliance to residue, from spectacle to uncertainty, ending not with resolution but with emotional and moral suspension.