Chapter 1

7. A Tapestry of Courtly Life 183
“The major issue,” Tyler contends, “is not outrageous behavior by a son toward
his father, although this is bad enough. Rather, it is the implied possibility
of a break in the legitimate imperial line” (Tyler, “Genji Monogatari and The
Tale of Genji”).
Dezaki’s reconfiguration of his source delivers a number of structural
alterations based on the adoption of telescoping, capsulation and synthetic
collage. It is hence worth considering in some detail the anime’s approach to
Lady Murasaki’s text at the principally organizational level. (Please note that
even when plot details are outlined, there is no danger of incurring in spoilers
in this instance, since the series does not depend on the withholding of outcomes
for dramatic effect but frankly anticipates the likely consequences of
its characters’ actions from the outset.) As intimated earlier in this discussion,
Lady Murasaki begins her narrative ab ovo in keeping with Heian literary
tastes, describing Kiritsubo’s relationship with the Emperor and victimization
by jealous courtiers, Genji’s birth and his mother’s premature demise, Fujitsubo’s
introduction into the imperial household as a concubine and the protagonist’s
development up to his Coming of Age and betrothal to Aoi. The
structure to which Lady Murasaki adheres in the opening segment of the saga
is fundamentally linear and chronological—although, it must be stressed, this
approach is by no stretch of the imagination dominant in The Tale of Genji
as a whole, where conventional syntagmatic ordering is in fact repeatedly
shunned in favor of crosstemporal leaps. In Dezaki’s anime, conversely, the
opening installment moves back and forth in time between Genji’s childhood
and the present. This format demonstrates the director’s preference for a multitemporal
approach to storytelling, while offering him scope for reflection
on the enduring impact of the past and its emotive legacy upon the entire
course of the hero’s life. Genji’s mother features only in the context of flashbacks
and is said to have perished shortly after the child’s birth. Like Lady
Murasaki, Dezaki allows some time to elapse between Genji’s delivery and
Kiritsubo’s departure—supposedly, because Heian Japan believed that dying
at childbirth was a heinous sin.
Again in keeping with Heian preferences in literary matters, Lady
Murasaki then devotes a substantial section to the so-called conversation-ona-rainy-night
set piece, a subset of the “judgment” (sadame) formula, wherein
Genji and his male associates discuss the characteristics of various stereotypes
of femininity. This segment of the novel is followed by the narrative’s first
direct engagement with Genji’s amorous habits as it portrays the hero’s insistent—and
vain—pursuit of the character ot Utsusemi (“Lady of the Locust
Shell”). The anime adaptation skips these occurrences. However, its opening
episode is sufficient to give the audience a clear sense of Genji’s “diverse and
magnificent” erotic palate—as the character of Tou no Chuujou ironically