The Tale of Genji: chapter 52, Kaoru vs Genji

1/ Niou and Kaoru both drive Ukifune to suicide. It is undeniable that Niou is the one who starts the trouble as he pursues her with animalistic fervour, despite friendship, reputation, and consequences, but Kaoru is also at fault. When he catches wind of what’s going on, he sends some hint to Ukifune and sends out a warning through the Constable, instead of going there himself to speak to her. 
Do you not wonder why it is that none of Genji’s women tries to commit suicide whereas Kaoru is partly responsible for Oigimi starving herself to death and Ukifune deciding to drown herself? Among Genji’s women, there are a few who become nuns but unless my memory fails me, none of them does so because of him—Fujitsubo becomes a nun for fear of punishment from the powerful faction at court; Utsusemi finds refuge in religion because of harassment from her step-son; the Third Princess from Suzaku (Onna San no Miya) turns to religion to hide from the world after the Kashiwagi incident. 
The Uji chapters in a way feel almost like a separate story, because of the new set of characters and the 2 locations (court and Uji), but Murasaki Shikibu makes the reader compare Niou and Kaoru to Genji. The Uji chapters show the darkness of the world when Genji’s light is gone. 

2/ Throughout the story, we see that every single death affects Genji, in different ways—even Aoi or the Rokujo Haven. 
In the Uji chapters, we see Kaoru’s depth of feeling as he mourns Oigimi for a long time. But he doesn’t seem to feel much after the news of Ukifune’s death, though there’s some sadness and regret. The fickle Niou seems to suffer much more and turns ill from shock and heartbreak. 
See Kaoru: 

“I was right, then, he said to himself. They were not just exchanging letters. Once he had seen her, he would certainly have wanted her—that is just what she was like. I would not have gone unscathed if she had lived, something would undoubtedly have happened to make me look like a fool. Reflections of this kind seemed to quell somewhat the flames that burned in his breast.” (Ch.52) 

Does he not sound like an arsehole?  
Kaoru comes to visit Niou, and try as he does, Niou cannot help the tears. 

“Sure enough! thought the Commander. All this misery of his is over her! When can it have begun? He must have been laughing at me for months!
The grief vanished so visibly from his expression that His Highness exclaimed to himself how cold the fellow was. […] Here I am, obviously very upset, and if he knows what the matter is, which he must, he cannot be that impervious to human feelings! How detached a man can be when he really knows that all things pass!” (ibid.) 

(The Commander is Kaoru, His Highness is Niou, as he’s the Third Prince). 
Kaoru’s anger and bitterness is much greater than his sadness over Ukifune. He thinks more about himself. Niou assumes that Kaoru can be detached because he knows that all things pass, but that’s not really the case—he doesn’t feel much about Ukifune because he only intends her to be a double of Oigimi. That’s the difference between him and Genji—Genji loves all of his women in different ways, for their different qualities. 

3/ It is because his feeling is not deep that Kaoru spies on, and starts yearning for, the First Princess. Unable to have her, he goes home to his wife, the Second Princess, and the next day asks her to put on something similar. 

“He put the shift on her himself. Her trousers were crimson, as hers had been yesterday, and her abundant hair was as superbly long, but alas, the effect was not at all the same, perhaps they were really too unlike each other. He called for a block of ice that he had the women split, and he felt secretly amused with himself when he gave her a piece. […] Surely the lady before me is worthy to afford me this consolation! Still, he only wished that he had been able to join Her Highness yesterday and to feast his eyes on her to his heart’s content, and he could not help heaving a sigh.” (ibid.) 

A man puts some clothes on a woman to make her look like his object of desire, and tries to recreate a past scene—what does it sound like? Vertigo. 

4/ In chapter 52, there’s another woman, known as Miya no Kimi. She is daughter of His Late Highness of Ceremonial, who dies somewhere in the background of chapter 51, I think. It’s not clear who her mother is, but it’s not the horrible wife. Miya no Kimi is therefore a half-sister of Murasaki (though there’s a great age gap between them, so Murasaki wouldn’t know her). 
She now serves the Empress (Akashi’s daughter), and Niou and Kaoru start pursuing her. 
In this chapter, it becomes obvious that there is a bitter side to Kaoru as well, and that the rivalry isn’t one way. 
Earlier in the novel, the rivalry between Genji and his best friend To no Chujo at some point turns into a political competition and they drift apart for some time, especially when To no Chujo doesn’t let Genji’s son Yugiri marry his daughter. There is some resentment but their rivalry doesn’t have the same kind of bitterness and antagonism as between Niou and Kaoru. Niou, as I wrote in the previous blog post, is deep down insecure and jealous of Kaoru, who makes him appear small and frivolous. But Kaoru is also bitter about Niou because Niou is more charming and always seems to get his way.  
The worst part, of course, is the betrayal. When Genji gets involved with Yugao, she’s no longer with To no Chujo. Niou seems to have no sense of boundaries and no respect for their friendship—in fact, I find it slightly odd that Kaoru doesn’t cut him out of his life. 

5/ It is interesting that Ukon, one of Ukifune’s gentlewomen, doesn’t tell Kaoru the full truth. What a liar, I thought. Kaoru deserves to know. But afterwards I understood. She wants to protect her mistress.