Plurk paste

In The Tale of Genji, Murasaki Shikibu’s characters express emotions about their relationships through poetry adhering to gendered conventions of aggression, exemplified in the Akashi episode of the thirteenth chapter. Less prosaic than other chapters, the action is confined to Genji’s forceful initiation of poetic exchange, demanding Akashi Lady’s climactic koto performance, and their sorrowful separation as he returns to the capital, source of his wife Murasaki’s letters.