1. THE TALE OF
GENJI
Regine Kyle Regida
BSE English 3

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Discussion on the
background of the author
and The Tale of Genji.
CHARACTERS
Indtroduction of the
subjects of the tale and
their role in the story.
REFLECTION
Five-item questions to be
answered voluntarily.
01 02 03

3. Introduction
The brief background and
summary of The Tale of Genji.
01

4. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shikibu Murasaki
Born on 978 AD in Heian-kyō, Japan.
She is the daughter of a provincial governor serving under
the Fujiwara Clan.
One of Japan’s greatest writers and maid of honor in the
imperial court.
Her real name was never revealed.
Died on 1014 AD in Kyoto, Japan.

5. A Thousand Years of
Anonymous Fame
Little is known about her except
her marriage to Fujiwara
Nobutaka and that she kept a
diary about her court life. She
then transformed it into a novel
after her husband’s death.

6. SETTING OF THE STORY
Heian Period (794 – 1192 AD)
‘Heian’ means ‘peace and tranquility’ in Japanese.
Heian’s capital is known as ‘Kyoto’ today.
During this era, the birth of Japanese Literatures emerged.
This period pioneered the rise of samurai classes.
It is the last division of classical Japanese history.

7. The Heian Culture
They were governed by the “rule
of taste”. During this time, poetry
is used as a powerful and primary
form of communication. Also,
affairs are okay as long as they do
not disrupt their court life.

8. The Tale of Genji
Written about 1000 years ago, the
novel contains 54 chapters that
consumed a thousand of pages in
its English translation. It was
generally considered as the first
true psychological novel ever
written in history.

9. More about the
Tale of Genji
The Tale of Genji deals with the life
of a prince and his seemingly endless
affairs with many court ladies.
The novel simply depicts the refined
Japanese court life during the
Heian Period.

10. The story takes place in ancient Japan. Prince Genji is
the son of Emperor Kiritsubo. Prince Genji’s future
was foretold by a Korean sage in a prophecy saying
that he will have a bright future.
But his mother’s fate turns for the worst. She spends
her last days in terrible court cases that made her sick.
Unfortunately, she died.

11. Prince Genji was treated as a lowly after the death of
his mother and was robbed of his right to become the
heir of the empire. He was also abandoned by his
father.
But Prince Genji grew up to be a handsome lad with a
talent. And he gained the approval of his community.
He became famous with women. But this fame led to
another rejection from the community.
They rejected Prince Genji for inheriting his father’s
throne after its death because of his behavior towards
women.

12. However, Prince Genji’s son was crowned as an
emperor that led to the increase in his royal status.
Unlike his father, he was able to protect his family.

13. ELEMENTS OF THE STORY
Study Guide
Point of View of the Story
Third-Person Subjective
Themes of the Story
The birth of a kingdom
The rejected king
The lives of the sons and daughters
Tone and Mood of the Story
The tone and mood used in the story are a predominately neutral one.

14. SYMBOLISMS IN THE STORY
Study Guide
Symbol of Danger
The jealousy between the concubines to the extent of killing each other.
Symbol of Grief
The weeds that grew at the house of the deceased concubine.
Symbol of Distress
The poetic statements the characters said in the tale.
Symbol of Failure
The incapability of the emperor to protect Prince Genji.

15. Characters
Introduction of characters and
their twisted roles in the story.
02

16. HIKARU GENJI
He is the second son of the emperor and a low-
ranking court lady which makes him a prince.
He is described as a very handsome man.
Genji, despite being a prince, is delegated to
civilian life for political reasons and lives as an
imperial officer.
Obviously, he is the main character of the
story.

17. EMPEROR KIRITSUBO
He is the father of Prince Genji with his wife
named Lady Kiritsubo who turned out to be his
favorite concubine out of all his wives.
Later on, after Lady Kiritsubo died, he married
another woman named Lady Fujitsubo who
resembles the face of his previous wife.

18. LADY KIRITSUBO
She is the mother of Prince Genji, the imperial
prince, and the favorite concubine of Emperor
Kiritsubo.
All of the other concubines were jealous of her.
The cruelty and hostility of the other
concubines made her sick which soon led to
her death.

19. LADY FUJITSUBO
She resembles the previous wife of Emperor
Kiritsubo which made the emperor make her
one of his wives. They soon bore a child who
became the royal prince named Reizei, Prince
Genji’s half-brother.
Genji loved her as his stepmother however, he
later loved her as a woman and they both fell in
love with each other without Emperor
Kiritsubo’s knowledge.

20. PRINCESS AOI
She is the principal (first) wife of Genji who
married the prince at 16-year-old while the
prince is only 12-year-old. Their marriage was
politically arranged that’s why they don’t have
mutual feelings for each other.
They bore a son whom they named Yugiri.
Unfortunately, she died after giving birth to the
child.

21. LADY ROKUJO
She became Prince Genji’s mistress during his
marriage with his first wife, Princess Aoi.
Prince Genji only sees her as a plaything so he
never paid much attention to her.
After knowing that Princess Aoi will be giving
birth to a child with Prince Genji, she became
so jealous that her spirit left her own body to
become an evil spirit who haunted Princess Aoi
after giving birth that killed her.

22. PRINCESS MURASAKI
She is the niece of Lady Fujitsubo, Prince
Genji’s stepmother turned to be his mistress.
The prince fell in love with her at first sight
because she looked like her aunt who is Prince
Genji’s first crush.
The prince decided to raise Lady Murasaki to
make her his second wife when she grows up.
Despite being the second wife, she became
Prince Genji’s greatest love of his life.

23. PRINCESS SUZUKI
She is the cousin of Lady Fujitsubo, Prince
Genji’s stepmother turned to be his mistress.
Princess Suzuki became the prince’s third wife
however, she had an illicit affair with a man
named Kashiwagi because she was jealous of
the attention that Prince Genji gives to her
niece, Princess Murasaki.

24. LADY OBOROZUKIYO
Prince Genji met her at a royal party where she
took advantage of her and raped her. However,
Lady Oborozukiyo still fell in love with the
prince. They started meeting regularly until
they discovered their true identities.
She is the wife of Emperor Suzaku, Prince
Genji’s half-brother from one of his father’s
wives. They didn’t care about their identities
until they were caught having sex by a minister
which led to Prince Genji’s exile.

25. LADY AKASHI
She is a middle-ranked noble in the place
where Prince Genji was sent to exile. She was
never interested with Prince Genji however, her
father who is a wealthy merchant insisted their
marriage.
Lady Akashi then gave birth to a beautiful
child with Prince Genji whom she also named
Akashi. Their daughter soon became a court
lady of a crown prince.

26. OTHER CHARACTERS
Prince Genji’s Descendants
Emperor Reizei
Son of Lady Fujitsubo who’s real father is Prince Genji.
Lord Yugiri
Son of Prince Genji with Princess Aoi.
Empress Akashi
Daughter of Prince Genji with Lady Akashi.
Lord Niou
Grandson of Prince Genji with Lady Akashi.

27. Reflection
Voluntary answering of the
following five questions.
03

28. Question 1
What do you think is the genre of
The Tale of Genji?

29. Question 2
What’s your insight on Prince Genji’s
principle on love and marriage?

30. Question 3
What can you say about Lady
Oborozukiyo knowing that she fell in
love with her rapist?

31. Question 4
If you were one of the children of
Prince Genji, what would you feel about
your father?

32. Question 5
The author quoted in the story that
“Real things in the darkness seem no
realer than dreams.” What do you
think does this mean?

33. CREDITS: This presentation template was created by
Slidesgo, including icons by Flaticon, and infographics
& images by Freepik.
THANK YOU!
REFERENCES:
https://www.slideshare.net/KuroShip/the-tale-
of-genji-report
https://www.slideshare.net/nathanaelgrace/the-
tale-of-genji-powerpoint
https://slidesgo.com/theme/classic-
wedding#search-Elegant&position-5&results-
18
Regine Kyle B. Regida
BSE English 3