A while back, I wrote a post on Three Things from The Tale of Genji that still exists, which is why when this thread called 源氏物語で現代でも通じると思うエピソード (Episodes from the Tale of Genji that can be understood today) appeared, I was immediately intrigued. It’s a fairly long thread, but I’d still recommend reading the whole thing if you understand Japanese. If you don’t read Japanese, here are some of the most popular/my favourite answers translated into English:

Note: translations are pretty loose (I’m not translating word for word but rather by sentence, in the way I would say it in English), and anything in a bracket is my added explanation.

• #1: When Genji’s son, Yugiri, kept saying that he was thinking of Kumoi no Kari (who was this childhood friend and supposedly his first love) but still went on dates with Gosechi no Kimi
• #7: Good looking men with money can get whatever they want
• #12: Girls with red noses are considered ugly (reference to Princess Safflower/Suetsumuhana, a character that Genji was attracted to until he saw her nose)
• #16: The lady Akashi’s father, who while saying he is doing everything for his daughter, ignores her wishes in what he does.
• #23: The fact that Murasaki was surrounded by Genji from childhood because she resembled the person he loved and wasn’t loved for herself.
• #25: If you’re ugly (ブス/busu in Japanese), you’ll be thrown away after one night. If they continue to take care of you after that, you have to consider yourself lucky
• #32: In the end, a woman can’t prevent a man from raping her (Reference to Tamakazura, who probably married her husband because that’s what he did to her)
• #55: When your wife (Murasaki) gets sick of your constant cheating and leaves, chase after and say “I only love you”
• #61: The rainy night scene where the men are discussing the type of women they would marry – it seems like men still do this in the izakaya. Well, women also do it too.
• #70: Hanachirusato. Although Genji doesn’t visit her very often, she accepts it quietly. She was trusted by Genji and given the responsibility of raising Yugiri, becoming the mistress of the summer palace. Now and in the past, people who are calm tend to win.
• #73: The attitude of men towards women whom they think is lower than them. For example, Ukifune is treated horribly not just because of her status but because she is also meek. Even now, groups of men from elite universities also do horrible things.
• #78: I would like to praise Genji for taking care of Suetsumuhana till the very end

I stopped looking for entries to translate after the 100th post because after a while it’s people replying to the earlier posts and it would be harder to put them into context. But I hope you saw a pattern in these replies – it looks like relationships (and relationship troubles) from Genji are something that modern Japanese women feel still resonate with them!

For my take on the topic, check out this previous post on three things that I think still exist.

What about you? If you’ve read The Tale of Genji, was there anything that resonated with you?