Litsy

“What do I care if she is still only a little girl? Just wait and see how much I love her: more than anyone ever!”

Ugh, no just no. This chapter about an 18yo man kidnapping a 10yo little girl he has become infatuated with, was so difficult to read. Granted, this was written a thousand years ago but it doesn‘t make it less appalling, also when you think this still goes on today. I‘m much disgusted with this character and still have 1000p to go...

Faibka #Genji #Genji5 @Lindy 5y

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Faibka

The Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu

“His thoughts would turn of an autumn evening to the one who so constantly stirred his heart, and he surely thirsted more than ever for any relation of hers.”

I‘m having a hard time distinguishing who he‘s talking about in some instances, is it Utsemi? Fujitsubo? Seems like has three or four to whom he has pledged his undying love, lol. But seriously, does he have a one constant true love? I can‘t figure it out.

#Genji #Genji5
@Lindy

Lindy Fujitsubo is the one he has loved constantly, from the time he first saw her when he was a boy (because she reminded him of his mother). Murasaki, the 10-year-old, is Fujitsubo‘s niece and looks just like her. 5y

Faibka @Lindy Thanks! I‘m up to chapter 9 now and you‘re right, it is Fujitsubo. I guess there‘s some Freudian issues going on there, lol. And thanks for clearing up who Murasaki is. Sometimes I get confused with so many characters! 5y

Lindy @Faibka Yes, it‘s a big cast. And it seems that Genji has slept with half of them. 5y

Faibka @Lindy 😂 it certainly does! It‘s hard to keep up 5y

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Lindy

Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu, Murasaki Shikubu

This post contains spoilers

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#Genji5 This is what I have made of the story so far: Genji has mommy issues. His mother Kiritsubo died when he was 3, then Genji becomes infatuated with Fujitsubo, his father‘s new wife, who looks just like Kiritsubo. When Genji is 17, he sees Fujitsubo‘s niece, Murasaki (she‘s 10) & becomes infatuated with her because she looks just like Kiritsubo & Fujitsubo. He wants Murasaki for his wife. Meanwhile, Genji gets Fujitsubo pregnant.

Lindy Also, both Genji‘s mother and Murasaki‘s mother were bullied to death by their respective husband‘s other wives. @Daisey @llwheeler @bianca @saresmoore @bookandcat @mhillis @SoniaC @batsy @KathyR @TheWordJar @Faibka 5y

saresmoore My thoughts, exactly! The shame inflicted on these women as a result of Genji‘s issues is abhorrent. 5y

batsy Yes, seems like it. Also, in the book I'm reading about the Heian era, the author Ivan Morris does make a point about how the protocols of propriety involving women being unseen, even when living in the same house, lead to a number of instances where men became obsessed with getting a glimpse of, say, their own sisters, stepdaughters, etc. And inevitably, some of that curiosity was infused with erotic desire in a hothouse, claustrophobic set-up.

The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan

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Faibka @batsy thank you for that information, I was trying to wrap my head around all these weird and unnatural obsessions. And yes, it is mentioned a lot how women speak through blinds or play instruments and are not seen, it‘s so infuriating! 5y

Faibka @saresmoore I couldn‘t agree more. 5y

batsy @Faibka You're welcome! Morris further mentions how the women of the time must have lived in a "twilight world"—swaddled in layers of robes, always inside, seeing the world through screens, and with however many metres of hair keeping them even more tethered to the domestic space. 5y

Faibka @batsy how awful :( basically restricted of movement and confined to the shadows. In Genji they also describe how they have to cover their face with a fan. I wish I had read more about the Heian period before reading the book to get a better idea about the context 5y

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Lindy

Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu, Murasaki Shikubu

“And all the while the priest was speaking Genji thought of his own wickedness. What a good idea it would be to turn hermit and live in some such place... But immediately his thoughts strayed to the lovely face which he had seen that afternoon and longing to know more of her….” #Genji5

Oh, Genji! I cannot imagine you as a priest.

@Daisey @llwheeler @bianca @saresmoore @bookandcat @mhillis @SoniaC @batsy @KathyR @TheWordJar @Faibka

mhillis 😂😂😂 5y

SoniaC It seems like Genji just keeps getting even more disturbing. 5y

Lindy @SoniaC Yes, rape does not seem to be a taboo in Heian culture. At least not if the person doing the raping has high status and happens to be the most gorgeous man alive. (edited) 5y

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SoniaC @Lindy What I don‘t get is this... are we supposed to empathize with him? Because he‘s a bit of a “grab them by the pu**y” type entitled pig. The weird part is I am actually enjoying the book. I just hate Genji 5y

Lindy @SoniaC I‘m finding this quite fairytale-like. I‘m not sure about empathizing with Genji. I see him as floundering, actually. Making big mistakes. So maybe I am giving him consideration. Mostly, I am seeing things from the point of the women, and what their lives must be like. 5y

SoniaC @Lindy That‘s a helpful perspective. I‘m looking forward to diving into Chapter 6 today. 5y

saresmoore @Lindy @SoniaC I, too, can‘t help but empathize with the women in the book. It‘s quite distressing, but I‘m beginning to see it as a fairytale, hopefully with the moral being that women are worthy of more consideration and genuine respect. 5y

saresmoore This photo, though. My gracious, it doesn‘t even look real! Stunning! 5y

tpixie Great quote & lovely photo! 5y

Faibka Absolutely gorgeous photo! 5y

CindyMyLifeIsLit I‘m not sure why, but I‘m not getting your group posts anymore! Genji is young and, in Ch. 5, recognizes that his behavior is unacceptable, but lacks the desire or self-discipline to modify it. His behavior is reprehensible but we cannot judge him by our standards. Just being a male gives him great power over women, and when you add “son of the emperor” to that, he‘s pretty much omnipotent! 5y

CindyMyLifeIsLit This picture takes my breath away! 5y

Lindy @CindyMyLifeIsLit I apologize for missing your name in my posts. I didn‘t notice when it happened, so I‘m glad you said something. I‘ve been copying and pasting from the notes app on my iPhone and will put you back in there. Have you been able to find the posts you missed by using the hashtags? 5y

CindyMyLifeIsLit @Lindy Yes, I‘ve gone back and looked at them. I understand—I just didn‘t want you to think I had dropped out! 5y

Lindy @CindyMyLifeIsLit 👍 (And I‘m glad you like the photo. Banff is a beautiful place.) 5y

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Lindy

Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu, Murasaki Shikubu

Above all he marveled at the exquisite stepping of the deer who moved across the slope, now treading daintily, now suddenly pausing; and as he watched them the last remnants of his sickness were dispelled by sheer delight. #Genji5

(Photo: I saw delightful elk in Banff National Park.)

@Daisey @llwheeler @bianca @saresmoore @bookandcat @mhillis @SoniaC @batsy @KathyR @TheWordJar @Faibka

Cinfhen Wow!!! Cool picture 5y

BkClubCare Banff is on my travel bucket list. 5y

Lindy @Cinfhen @BkClubCare Everywhere I look, it‘s beautiful. My brother is fortunate to be living and working in Banff. 5y

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llwheeler Beautiful! Your pictures are great. I was in Banff once for only a day, in summer. I'd love to go back. 5y

Lindy @llwheeler Thanks. Jasper is closer to where I live, so I go there more frequently, but Banff has a more spectacular setting. 5y

saresmoore I admire that you are able to focus on the lush nature descriptions. I‘m too busy feeling awful for all of the women in the book to appreciate them. 😝 5y

LeahBergen Hello, wapiti! 😄 5y

Lindy @LeahBergen 🦌😁 5y

Faibka Beautiful picture! @saresmoore me too 5y

Lindy @Faibka ☺️ 5y

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Lindy

Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu, Murasaki Shikubu

The story made a deep impression upon Genji‘s imagination. As his gentlemen well knew, whatever was fantastic or grotesque both in people and situations at once strongly attracted him. #Genji5

(Photo by Diane Arbus)

@Daisey @llwheeler @bianca @saresmoore @bookandcat @mhillis @SoniaC @batsy @KathyR @TheWordJar @Faibka

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Lindy

Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu, Murasaki Shikubu

The nun raised her head as she spoke & Genji fancied that there was some resemblance between her & the child. “Inu has let out my sparrow—the little one that I kept in the clothes-basket,” she said, looking very unhappy. […]
“I have told you I don‘t know how many times that it is naughty to shut up live things in cages.”
#Genji5

@Daisey @llwheeler @bianca @saresmoore @bookandcat @mhillis @SoniaC @batsy @KathyR @TheWordJar @Faibka

Lindy Comment 1: More peeping going on. Comment 2: I‘m glad the grandmother admonished the girl about keeping wild things captive. 5y

saresmoore So far, the grandmother/nun represents a very small minority as a voice of reason in this tale! 5y

Lindy @saresmoore Very true. These people behave atrociously. 5y

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SoniaC @Lindy Yes they certainly do! 5y

batsy @Lindy @saresmoore So true about the minor voices of reason in the nun & grandmother. I'm quite astonished (I shouldn't be, but I am!) about how much of this awful behaviour is rationalised on the basis of beauty, pleasure, & social rank. 5y

Lindy @batsy @saresmoore There is a similar assumption that shows up in Shakespeare; that you can tell a princess by her looks and demeanour, even if she‘s been raised as a shepherdess since babyhood. 5y

batsy @Lindy @saresmoore Yes, the association of moral worth, social status, and character with a particular form of physical attractiveness! Oof. 5y

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saresmoore

The Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu

Just, no.

#genji #genji5

ravenlee Ick. 5y

lahousewyfe I must agree. So gross. 5y

TrishB Sighs heavily.. 5y

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RaimeyGallant Ugh. 5y

rubyslippersreads 🤢 5y

readordierachel Ewwww. No. 5y

LauraBeth I just read in @lindy‘s post that there‘s availability in the sparrow cage. Can we lock him up in there? 5y

Lindy @LauraBeth Ha! Lock him in the basket! 5y

saresmoore @LauraBeth I only wish the cage would hold him. Apparently his allure is so strong, someone would be bound to let him out! I‘m definitely not a fan of Genji... 5y

batsy I finished Chap 5 late at 2am and I really wanted to physically throw things. I wonder if there are any feminist revenge fantasies written about Genji... 5y

saresmoore @batsy It is getting me ALL fired up! I‘m having a real hard time being objective about the storytelling and such. 5y

batsy It's very hard to be objective! I keep dreaming of a retelling of Genji involving feminist vigilante gangs kidnapping Genji and such. Except I do feel that the aristocratic women of the time would have thought me very silly for feeling this way. And that kind of ruins the fantasy 😭 5y

saresmoore @batsy Yes, exactly! I like to think there is a latent, seething anger somewhere underneath all the layers of cloth in here. But it could just be a Pilgrim‘s Progress of medieval Japan. ☹️ Also, I would totally read that retelling. At this point, Genji isn‘t Genji at all, but a woman posing as him and she sneaks into women‘s chambers to play Go and prepare them for the impending feminist uprising. ✊ 5y

Suet624 Ugh. 5y

Faibka @saresmoore @batsy this was such a difficult chapter to read and I think it‘s good that it‘s hard to be objective, it means that we‘re tired of this crap happening whether it was a thousand years ago or yesterday. The grandmother was the only one with sense and I was so hoping that she wouldn‘t die and leave the child unprotected :( 5y

saresmoore @Faibka The way the author presented it as being regarded as inappropriate by so many people helped me get through it, I think. The more I read, the more I feel like I‘m getting to know her and I appreciate the way she‘s choosing to tell the story. 5y

Faibka @saresmoore I hadn‘t thought of it that way, that‘s a good point. It‘s also highlighted that Genji knows that what he‘s doing is wrong but can‘t help himself. The ladies that witnessed the kidnapping knew it was wrong but couldn‘t do anything, because of his rank and so many other societal shackles. It could be viewed as a veiled critique or that‘s how I‘m going to view it to get through it, lol. 5y

saresmoore @Faibka Yes, me too! 5y

batsy @Faibka @saresmoore Same here! I think the author herself is steeped in those values, but in writing her story all kinds of (maybe) unconscious feelings reveals itself on the page. 5y

Faibka @batsy yes, I agree. Sometimes it‘s hard not to think that some of the irony is not intentional, like when Genji indignantly tells Taifu he‘s not out to amuse himself and he‘s not frivolous at all when so far his behavior has clearly proved otherwise! That just made me laugh, lol. 5y

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Lindy

Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu, Murasaki Shikubu

“How lovely,” cried Genji,” are those distances half-lost in haze, and that blur of shimmering woods that stretches out on every side. How could anyone be unhappy for a single instant who lived in such a place?” #Genji5
(Photo: Road from my brother‘s home in Banff.)

@Daisey @llwheeler @bianca @saresmoore @bookandcat @mhillis @SoniaC @batsy @KathyR @TheWordJar @Faibka

DivineDiana Yes, so lovely! ❄️ 5y

mhillis Beautiful! 5y

LauraBeth That is lovely 💕 5y

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Tanisha_A That cools my eyes. 😍 5y

batsy No one indeed, looking at that 💜 5y

erzascarletbookgasm It‘s beautiful! 5y

Faibka Stunning! 5y

Lindy @Faibka It‘s a beautiful place to visit. Now that my brother lives there, I will go back often. 5y

Faibka @Lindy how lucky! :) 5y

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mhillis

The Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu

This was a busy chapter for Genji!! More musical instruments in today‘s section, Young Murasaki. The hichiriki is a double reed instrument 🎶
#genji #genji5

Lindy

Lindy Oooh! I‘m looking forward to getting back to the deluxe Penguin edition, translated by Tyler, when I get home on the 10th. The illustrations add a lot, don‘t they? 5y

Lindy @Daisey @llwheeler @bianca @saresmoore @bookandcat @mhillis @SoniaC @batsy @KathyR @TheWordJar @Faibka A music reference from #Genji2 caught my interest: “Her zithern was tuned to the autumn-mode, and she played with so much tenderness and feeling that though the music came from behind closed shutters it sounded quite modern and passionate.” 🧐 🍂 Autumn mode? Modern in the context of Heian culture? I want to hear what this sounds like! 5y

mhillis @Lindy Ohhh autumn mode does sound interesting! 5y

batsy That does sound interesting! What translation are you reading while on your travels, @Lindy ? 5y

SoniaC I‘m beginning to think I picked the wrong translation. Washburn is clear but so wordy. No illustrations for me just 1300+ large pages with tiny print. 5y

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