Blue trousers: Being the fourth part of 'The tale of Genji'

"Blue trousers" by Murasaki Shikibu is a section of a classic novel written in the 11th century. The volume continues the courtly saga of The Tale of Genji, centering on Genji’s efforts to secure a future for his ward Tamakatsura amid ceremonies, gossip, and political maneuvering. It follows Genji, Tamakatsura, Tō no Chūjō, and suitors such as Prince Higekuro as questions of marriage, status, and reputation collide within the Heian court.

The opening of this volume shows Genji weighing palace service versus marriage for Tamakatsura, set against the glittering Ōharano festival that leaves her dazzled by the Emperor and newly open to court life. Genji reconciles with Tō no Chūjō, reveals Tamakatsura’s true parentage, and stages her initiation, while gossip erupts—comically punctuated by the blundering Lady from Ōmi angling for a court post. As suitors press their cases through poems and gifts, Tamakatsura hesitates, wary of palace rivalries and uneasy about her ambiguous standing in Genji’s house; a guarded visit from Kashiwagi (now “brother,” once a suitor) underscores the tension. The narrative then pivots: Tamakatsura yields to Prince Higekuro and becomes pregnant, prompting Genji and Tō no Chūjō to regularize the situation while she temporarily serves as Lady-of-the-Bedchamber from Genji’s palace. Higekuro installs himself there, angering other suitors, while Genji counsels a tactful transition and delays her move to Higekuro’s home. In stark counterpoint, Higekuro’s wife, Lady Makibashira, unravels—her father threatens to reclaim her, and in a snowbound night she erupts in a mad fit, dumping a brazier of ashes over Higekuro, ending the opening on a jarring note of domestic chaos and exorcisms.