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Summary
Chapter 15: Overgrown Mugwort
This chapter continues, and concludes, the plot from Chapter 6 about the unaccomplished princess, now identified as Princess Hitachi. She has been patiently waiting for Genji ever since the events of Chapter 6, as her situation worsens and her home crumbles. An aunt insists she must come and live with her, earning her keep by waiting on the aunt’s daughters, but Princess Hitachi refuses. Although he had not chosen to visit her, Genji passes by the dilapidated mansion and remembers the princess. He sends someone to clean the house and takes the princess under his protection, providing for her comfort.
Chapter 16: Barrier House
Genji meets the woman, Cicada, he wooed in the second and third chapters, with her husband outside the city at a barrier house. He sends for Kokimi, hoping he will deliver poetry to Cicada, but Kokimi does not respond. Later, he sends for him again and this time Kokimi will forward their correspondence. After the sudden death of her husband, Cicada decides to become a nun.
Chapter 17: Competitive Show of Pictures
Her son on the throne, the Lady Wistaria returns to court. Genji’s romantic efforts at the start of this chapter are for other people, not himself. The daughter of the Lady of Rojukō is presented at court and receives gifts from the ex-Emperor, who finds her attractive. She is given the name Lady Plum, or Nyōgo of the Ume-Tsubo. Genji is eager to arrange a relationship between the new Emperor, his son, and Lady Plum. At the same time, though, Tō-no-Chūjō works to have one of his daughters selected as the young Emperor’s consort. Because the Emperor is fond of painting, a competition between the men (on behalf of the women) turns to painting.
Tō-no-Chūjō hires a professional painter to sway the Emperor. The competition continues, now as a more public display, and the members of the court debate the merits of the various pictures. The competition is judged by a prince of the court, Lord Lieutenant Tsukushi. Genji’s paintings from exile are included in Lady Plum’s portfolio and, unsurprisingly, she wins. At the end of the chapter, Genji contemplates a life of secluded retreat. This is more surprising, given how unhappy he was during his time of exile but his new maturity makes court life less appealing. His concern for his children influences him, however, and he decides to remain.
Analysis
The Tale of Genji has fifty-four chapters, but many English translations end after the seventeenth chapter, “Competitive Show of Pictures,” where some elements of the plot are resolved. In “Overgrown Mugwort” and “Barrier House,” Murasaki concludes the remaining stories of Genji’s seductions. He accepts ongoing responsibility for the impoverished, unaccomplished Princess Hitachi, even though he has no actual obligation to her. The generous care he shows her is contrasted in “Barrier House” with Kokimi’s indifference to Genji. Even though Genji had supported Kokimi in the past, the young man feels no sense of obligation to repay the prince’s previous friendship. These chapters return to the theme of loyalty, raised early in the novel and examined regularly across its chapters, contrasting Genji’s rich understanding of what it requires with Kokimi’s inadequate selfishness. Not only is the prince exemplary both in his physical appearance and artistic abilities, he also presents a moral ideal as well. Genji’s final interactions with Cicada herself are equally respectful. He is eager to renew their exchange of letters but does not pursue her as frantically as he had done earlier in the novel. As before, she determines her own actions, now by becoming a nun after her husband’s death. In this way, all the romantic relationships he had pursued across this arc of chapters are brought to something like a resolution.
In “Overgrown Mugwort,” the financial hardships an elite woman could face are clearly represented. As in “The Villa of Falling Flowers,” women without resources, often secured through the support of a man, could easily find themselves falling into poverty, facing hunger, homelessness, and other forms of deprivation. The choice facing the Princess Hitachi is singularly unappealing—she can give up her status, by agreeing to serve the daughters of her aunt, or she can continue to live in her crumbling house with insufficient means to support herself. When women are not permitted to work, this is a choice they are asked to make. No matter what she chooses, Princess Hitachi will no longer be able to participate in the life of the court. Genji’s intervention functions, for her, almost like divine intervention. Genji’s kindness is also revealed in his support of Lady Plum, who could easily face financial hardship as well.
The importance of art is regularly stressed in the novel and here it is used to help determine who will be able to claim the new Emperor in a relationship. Painting, not dance or poetry, is the basis of this competition, which once again shows Genji and Tō-no-Chūjō in competition. While Genji still bests his friend, securing the young woman for his (unacknowledged) son, the role of professional artists differentiates this contest from the earlier ones. As important as was individual talent, in other words, the imperial court also relied on the skills of artists to produce its atmosphere of luxury and refinement. Murasaki shows that people collected, as well as created, art. The careful descriptions she includes emphasize the importance of taste, a cultured appreciation for balance and harmony, for both the artist and the viewer.
