Essay Questions

Explain the historical background of the story.

The story was written in the 11th century BC in Feudal Japan by a noblewoman who was a lady in waiting. While the writer spent time at court, she took the time to write the fictional story of Genji which many believed is based on the real-life story of the ruler of the time, Fujiwara. It is possible that the author felt displeased with the way in which the Japanese Emperor ruled the country and used this novel as a way to criticize him. It is also suggested that many characters have been based on real-life people whom the narrator met but there is no clear evidence pointing to this matter.

Why are the concubines jealous of one another?

From the beginning, it is clear that the concubines are jealous of one another to the point where they are willing to hurt the other women around them. The concubines were fighting for supremacy in a sense and this jealousy is linked with the women's desire to succeed at court. A concubine had better chances of surviving if she was among the Emperor's favorites. This often pushed concubines to bully and even kill the women who were better liked by the Emperor.

Explain why the Emperor could not make Genji his successor and why he did not have the power to bring the young boy to court.

It appears that the Emperor had little to no power when it came to Genji. In fact, the father could not even request Genji be brought to court to live with his father after his mother died. The reason why the Emperor had no power when it came to Genji is that the society in which the action took place was a matriarchal one. The children were seen as being the mother's responsibility and as such the father had little to no control over them. It could also be possible that because Genji was the son of a concubine the Emperor did not want to anger his wife by expressing his desire to make a concubine's son his heir.