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maggiecheungs · 2 years

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I am extremely late but I am so happy to see someone else who's one the "Murasaki and the Akashi Lady should kiss" boat (the Akashi Lady totally deserved better imo)

YESSSSSSSS MURAKASHI TRUTHERS RISE!!!!!!!!!

(the above ^ is my short response. however, got excited thinking about them and accidentally wrote >1200 words, which are under the cut 😶)

just. AAAAAHHHHHH the (non)relationship between murasaki and the Akashi lady drives me absoLUTELy nuts. Akashi no onkata is, of all of genji’s many conquests, arguably the one whose existence makes murasaki feel most insecure. the only others who incite a comparable level of jealously—the third princess, and to a lesser extent, asagao—threaten her more as symbols of power, legitimacy and status (i.e. have a legitimacy of birth that she dies not, and thus would supplant her as genji’s primary wife). The Akashi Lady is probably the only one whom murasaki feels threatened by in this particular way, because she recognises and acknowledges her personhood on a level beyond rank and status. on several occasions throughout the book, despite being quite vocal about her jealouy, she compliments her new rival's taste, refinement, skills, personality...

And then, as if that wasn't enough, Akashi no onkata bears Genji a child, the one thing that murasaki has always wanted more than anything--and not only is this daughter wonderful in herself, she also is the key to Genji securing his ultimate life ambitions. But then, in one of the tale's many cosmic ironies, this child is taken from her birth mother and given to Murasaki to raise. she is, in a very real way, the daughter of both of these women; without the combined efforts of her birth mother and her adoptive mother, Genji's daughter would never become the deliriously happy Akashi Empress and fulfill her ~fated destiny~. which just adds another layer to their intense and silent relationship!! The two of them live in the same house for decades without really meeting face to face or spending time together, but their lives and loves are so inextricably tangled; they are bound together by their relationship with Genji, and by their love for their daughter, and by something else--a sense of admiration, of mutual respect.*

and it drives me insane because!!! just!!! for me, murasaki’s curse is loneliness. she can never form profound bonds with other women because the presence of the men in her life (mainly Genji) always transforms them from ‘ally’ into ‘competitor’. Genji raised her to be his and his alone, but she is not his only partner, and in the periods when he is off dallying with others she is left without her only real companion. Her unique position within Heian nobility makes it difficult for her to locate social equals--she’s the illegitimate daughter of a high-ranking clan, and is thus shunned by her father’s legal wife and not acknowledged as the equal of many ladies of higher rank, but she was also raised by Genji and held to an incredibly high standard, taught to perceive herself through the lens of all the things he valued (art, refinement, mastery of social etiquette, etc.). coupled with her (in)famous status as his most beloved wife, this effectively cuts her off from forming connections with anyone of slightly lower ranks, too. (which is like!!!! no wonder she is such a perfect match/foil for him--they’re both social oddities, who lead existences somewhat cut off from the typical circuits of rank and power in the aristocracy (which leaves them free to act in certain ways they might not otherwise, but constrained in others--and imo this social incompatability is a *massive* part of the reason that both genji and murasaki are so desperately lonely and given over to existential depression--but THAT is a conversation for another day skjhjkfhk . sorry for getting off track))

ANYWAY, back to the topic at hand: aka all the reasons why i think her (non)relationship with the akashi lady is so interesting. in terms of rank, akashi no onkata is no match for murasaki, but her beauty and intelligence and refinement offset the disadvantages of her birth (much as murasaki’s own charm made genji marry her without caring about her illegitimacy). Murasaki’s fear and hostility is born out of a genuine respect, and i think she knows that, rank aside, the akashi lady is the closest anyone would ever come to being her equal. if genji wasn’t in the picture, i truly believe that the akashi lady could become a companion and confidant that would alleviate Murasaki’s awful, claustrophobic loneliness. i truly believe that they could have been so much to each other. genuine human connection is the much-fantasised gold at the end of the rainbow in the tale of genji, but so few characters actually get to experience, or keep, it. but i desperately want to believe that Murasaki and Akashi no onkata could have. because you're right: they deserved better.

but of course, without genji, neither of the two women would have been lifted out of their humble beginnings; they never would have met. their daughter would never have been born and would never have become empress, and they wouldn’t have been able to derive joy from her happiness and successes. so essentially: their respective happy endings are also their own personal tragedies--which is ultimately one of the primary themes of the tale of genji, i think.

~~~

* sidenote: as i was typing this paragraph i found myself thinking about about (depictions of) the relationship between Empresses Teishi and Shoshi, whose competative (non)relationship Murasaki Shikibu would have had intimate knowledge of (she joined court as Shoshi’s lady-in-waiting just around the time of Teishi’s death). there are some similarities between them and murasaki/akashi: two refined and accomplished women, wives of the same high-ranking husband, living in the same palace in completely separate wings, their lives very much unfolding in parallel in some ways and diverging widlly in other. portrayals of teishi and shoshi's relationship/feud/power struggle/whatever vary wildly from writer to writer, but i’ve always been haunted by how it is depicted in eiga monogatari (written by murasaki shikibu’s contemporary akazome emon). Eiga isn’t always the most reliable historical document, but it does draw a beautiful portrait of two women placed on either side of an imperial power struggle, who still regard each other with respect as true equals who have earned their privileges and positions. (i have no idea if this was based in fact or purely fictionalised, but it is quite moving regardless.)

obviously, the stakes of the love triangle are slightly lower in the genji than in the eiga, (murasaki no ue and akashi no onkata are not empresses) but interestingly enough, the love triangle between genji/murasaki/akashi does have implications for the imperial line of succession (i won’t get too deeply into the politics of the whole thing, but to briefly summarise: genji betrothes his daughter by the akashi lady to the new emperor, thus ensuring that his grandson will eventually ascend to the throne. this is a calculated move on his part: in marrying his daughter into the imperial line, he is essentially supplanting the fujiwara family from their position as the de-facto power behind the throne and upsetting the centuries-old sekkan system of governance! which is cool.) (what i’m saying is: even though the politics of the tale of genji are rarely super explicit, they are incredibly interesting and intricate, and often have more to do with sexual and marriage politics than you might expect. also i’m a massive nerd about them <3)

~~~

P.S. last but not least: if you're interested in queer relationships in heian literature, may i recommend ariake no wakare / parting at dawn (link); a kamakura monogatari about a nonbinary (afab but raised male) protagonist who lives as both a man and a woman, and has romantic relationships with women and men (seriously, udaisho ariake is such a cool character & i love them). it’s not fully translated but the bulk of it is, and is available for free online. also shoutout to torikaebaya monogatari / the changelings, another queer-themed gender-bending kamakura monogatari (it's probably more famous than ariake no wakare, but conversely harder to source in english translation, so i still haven’t read it myself)

#ask response #mandatory 'sorry for the late reply i was on hiatus'#anonymous #genji monogatari #the tale of genji #ellis reads #murakashi #wlw #classical japanese literature #ty for giving me the opportunity to nerd out about the tale of genji #it's literally my favourite thing to do #🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰#also this is probably a mess because i'm posting it without even rereading it jfgdskjfgdkjgh

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