Question

The Tale of Genji, written a thousand years ago in Japan, is a great masterpiece of world literature and psychology. Although not the oldest surviving example of prose fiction, it may well be the first novel ever written.  In spite of the distance of time and place for the setting of this novel, what elements of it strike you as real and familiar in terms of the characters?  How are their feelings, motives, and experiences recognizable to us as fellow humans?

Answer 1

In the Tale of Genji, the main thing required of a noble gentleman was a sense of style. While seducing another man’s wife could be forgiven, a bad poem, clumsy handwriting, or the wrong perfume could not. It appeared as though the society depicted on the was on the whole governed by style rather than by any moral principles, and good looks tended to take the place of virtue. In my view, these tendencies still persist in our current society as well. We seem to be focused today more on appearances, rather than virtue. We strive for material possessions and popularity, instead of rectifying our moral pricniples.