The Tale of Genji: chapters 24-27, Tamakazura and To no Chujo’s children

1/ I’m going to go straight to the point by saying that Genji is such a dick sometimes. 
In the previous blog post, I was probably creating the impression that Genji wasn’t too bad, as he matured over time and changed after his exile. But Genji doesn’t become a different man. Murasaki Shikibu, in a skilful way, drops little hints here and there that even though he seems to settle down and builds a new house for his women, he’s not quite content with them. There’s a part in him that can’t resist pursuing other women. 
For many chapters, he still pursues Asagao (bluebell), for instance, even though she always resists him. 
Murasaki Shikibu sets it up so that, when the thing with Tamakazura (Yugao’s daughter) happens, it is abhorrent but not a surprise. He brings her home, and for several months acts a guardian and talks about fatherly feelings, but afterwards wants to sleep with her. 
Just look at what happens with the Ise Consort earlier (daughter of the late Rokujo Haven, formerly Priestess of Ise, and now the Empress). The only reason Genji doesn’t get involved with her is because her mother, in her deathbed, has asked him not to. Even then, he betrays himself at one point. That animal in him doesn’t go away.
The thing with Tamakazura is only the next step, and the author shows his shamelessness in “courting” her whilst talking about fatherly feelings. 
Murasaki Shikibu is, for the large part, invisible in the text and the narrator usually appears only to remind us that she is a gentlewoman telling the story to an audience (her superiors)—only rarely does she comment on something. But her feelings about Genji’s odious behaviour to Tamakazura are quite clear—the narrator briefly comments on his strange way of being a father, but mostly we can see it in Tamakazura’s reactions (disgust, anger, pain) and Genji’s callousness. 
“That is the way of the world”, so Genji says (ch.24). 

2/ There are some similarities between Murasaki and Tamakazura in their situations. 
In both cases, Genji keeps them away from their biological fathers and acts as a father/ guardian, and then forces himself on them.  
In both cases, they are a substitute for someone else—Murasaki resembles her aunt Fujitsubo (who in turn looks like Genji’s dead mother), whereas Tamakazura looks like her mother Yugao. 
Imagine Freud reading The Tale of Genji. 
A crucial difference between the two is that Murasaki is about 10 when Genji first sees her and abducts her, whereas Tamakazura is about 21 when he brings her home. 

3/ How many children does To no Chujo (Genji’s brother-in-law) have? In a note at the end of chapter 25, Royall Tyler says: 

“As far as one can tell, 10 sons and 4 daughters.” 

I don’t know about you, but I sure am glad that it’s the tale of Genji, not the tale of To no Chujo. 
To be quite honest, I’m at a loss about who’s who among his sons, because each time one is mentioned, my eyes just glaze over the title, “right, one of the sons, whatever”. In chapter 26, Royall Tyler helpfully lists the children as they appear in the chapter: 
- Kashiwagi: the Right Captain, his eldest son. In these chapters, he unknowingly pursues Tamakazura. In chapter 27, he becomes the Secretary Captain. 
- Kobai: the Controller Lieutenant, his 2nd son. 
- The Fujiwara Adviser: his 3rd son. 
- Kokiden no Nyogo: his eldest daughter, the Consort. In earlier chapters, he introduces her to the Emperor (Reizei, Fujitsubo’s son), but he favours the Ise Consort and picks her to be Empress instead. To no Chujo is bitter about this failure. 
- Kumoi no Kari: his daughter with another woman (who is married to Inspector Grand Counsellor). Genji’s son Yugiri loves her but To no Chujo separates them because he has other ambitions for her. 
- Tamakazura: his daughter with Yugao. Known as the pink (nadeshiko), which is the same flower as gillyflower (tokonatsu), but tokonatsu refers to Yugao whereas nadeshiko refers to their child. Genji “adopts” her. 
- Omi no Kimi: his newly discovered daughter. She is said to be rustic and have low-class manners and language. People laugh at her and To no Chujo is embarrassed of her.  

4/ In these chapters, especially chapter 26 “The Pink”, we can clearly see what it feels like to be a woman in the Heian era of Japan—women are dependent on men and controlled by men, their lives are dictated by men. If To no Chujo uses his daughters like chess pieces to gain power for himself and his family, with no regard for their feelings, Genji appoints himself as Tamakazura’s guardian, keeps her under his control, and decides what to do with her—her thoughts are of no importance.  
Tamakazura is helpless. She is in an awkward position. At the same time, the gossip about Omi no Kimi, To no Chujo’s newly discovered daughter, makes her think it may be a better idea after all to stay with Genji. 

5/ In chapter 25 “The Fireflies”, there is a defence of tales, or fiction. 
In The Tale of Genji, Murasaki Shikibu writes about other arts: poetry (over 800 poems in the book), music (koto, biwa, shō…), dance, painting (especially in chapter 17 “The Picture Contest”), gardening (see the way Genji designs his gardens according to seasons for his Rokujo estate), writing of tales, etc.  
As Tolstoy does with Russia, in War and Peace and Anna Karenina, Murasaki Shikibu, in The Tale of Genji, depicts Japan or at least Japanese court in the Heian era—she captures the entire world with its customs and habits, the culture, the aesthetics, the thoughts. 
However I should get back to this point once I’ve finished reading the entire book.