The Tale of Genji Essay

This Study Guide consists of approximately 136 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Tale of Genji.

The Tale of Genji Essay

This Study Guide consists of approximately 136 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Tale of Genji.
This section contains 3,431 words
(approx. 9 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy The Tale of Genji Study Guide

In this excerpt, Mary Dejong Obuchowski explores the influence of Japanese religious eclecticism on

The Tale of Genji.

In the lengthy and complex Japanese novel, The Tale of Genji, Buddhist priests attend court ceremonies, women disappointed in love become nuns, jealous spirits possess the bodies of Genji's wives and mistresses, and folk superstitions work their way into the most dramatic of adventures. These varied and apparently conflicting religious elements pose some questions about the dominant religious attitudes in the story. Are the various practices exclusive, and are they ever at odds with each other? How do knowledge of religious rites and understanding of the associated beliefs illuminate both the plots in the novel and the themes that dominate it?

Rather than maintaining distinct identities, these religious beliefs and their related customs tend to come together in Japan.

In order to approach these questions, one may look at...

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This section contains 3,431 words
(approx. 9 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy The Tale of Genji Study Guide
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The Tale of Genji from Gale. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.