Subject: Premodern East Asia Studies - Essay Example

The tale touches on some particular human experience during that era. The tale is a classic work of the Japanese literature written by Shikibu Murasaki. The primary human experience was the unique representation of livelihoods of high courtiers during the Heian period. The story was developed systematically from chapter to chapter. All the major players have their characterization developed to suit the livelihood depiction of that time1. The events are generated sequentially covering the central character’s lifetime and beyond.

The sequential trail does not follow a given plot, but rather characters evolve while growing older2. The writer takes the advantage of giving the characters names using their livelihood titles rather than explicit names such as Minister of the Left. Other livelihood titles include an honorific such as His Excellency. The characters are also given names according to their relations to other characters such as Heir Apparent. Some of the names changes as the livelihood events continue to change or progresses.

In that era, mentioning a person’s name was unacceptable3. The livelihood events recount the life of Hikaru Genji who was the son of an ancient Japanese emperor. The emperor is known to the readers of literature as Emperor Kiritsubo. According to the emperor’s political reasons, he removed Genji from the line of succession and made him an ordinary man. Genji pursued a career as an imperial officer. The tale automatically diverges from the livelihood experiences and concentrates on the love life of Genji.

The tale bases his love life to the culture of the time and the customs governing the society. His mother dies when he is only three years old. The human experience of emotions is vividly described in the sense that the emperor cannot forget his son’s mother. Love feelings and obsession are expressed by the actions of the emperor when he marries Lady Fujitsubo. The main reason