The Tale Of Genji And The Tales Of Ise Literary Analysis

The Tale of Genji and the Tales of Ise, both being of the monogatari literature, share similarities in their theme of romantic courtship, presence of male protagonists famed for their romantic exploits and the presentation of courtly ‘miyabi’ aesthetics. Differences between the two, however, lie in the nature of their storytelling – while both texts incorporate poetic verses, the Tale of Genji is largely written in prose while the Tales of Ise is known as an ‘uta monogatari’ with waka poems being key to the narrative.

The similar portrayal of romantic courtship along with its process in the Tale of Genji and the Tales of Ise could be rooted in the cultural context of the Heian period. A common motif of love poems and romantic tales of the
Aside from being a medium to convey the individual’s emotions, prospective partners were also ‘judged on the quality of their calligraphy, the cleverness of their verses, and the colours and quality of paper used for the missives’ (Sprague, 2011). In the aforementioned Episode 1 of Tales of Ise, the protagonist ‘sent [his poem] in’ for he had ‘wished to meet’ the two sisters (Tales of Ise, 69). Genji, in his attempts to win Utsusemi over, also sent her letters through a younger brother. While Genji was repeatedly rebuffed by Utsusemi, ‘his writing was so extraordinarily beautiful that her eyes misted over’ (Tale of Genji, 42) and it is revealed later that ‘despite her show of indifference’, she had been moved by his letters and ‘apparent devotion to her’ (Tale of Genji,
‘Irogonomi’ is used to describe ‘a person who shows a strong predilection for romantic entanglements, often multiple, with the opposite sex’ (Levy, 2011). It was also ‘particularly associated with the aristocratic class’ (Levy, 2011) and we see how both Ariwara no Narihira and Genji can both be said to be ‘irogonomi’ characters. Ariwara no Narihira, renowned for his many love affiars, is also described as having ‘combined all the qualities most admired in a Heian courtier: he was of high birth, extremely handsome, a gifted poet, and an all-conquering lover’ (Keene, 1999). Likewise, Genji is said to be ‘remarkably beautiful’ and also depicted as ‘a perfect Heian courtier’ being ‘remarkably beautiful’ and equipped with a ‘mastery of high culture’ that ‘set him apart from all other men’ (Sprague,