All In: The Social Psychology of Poker

The Disaster of the Third Princess: Essays on The Tale of Genji

“…The Sagoromo passage, on the model of [3], has just been discussed. Nezame is most plausibly attributed to the "Daughter of Takasue," who described in her Sarashina nikki the enchantment she felt upon reading Genji.…”

“…3 Since then Ukifune has continued to arouse pity and admiration in some, and mixed feelings in others. Sakamoto Tomonobu struck an often-heard note when he identified the theme of Ukifune's story as that of "the establishment of self [jiga no kakuritsu]).…”

“…For example, one Sagoromo scene merges passage [3], above, with the moment in "Wakamurasaki" when Genji makes little Murasaki write a poem. 33 The Sagoromo hero has his little son, whom the emperor believes to be his own (another Genji motif), write a poem; and the boy's fetching looks, when he bashfully demurs, make the hero "wish he could turn him into a princess" (onna miya ni zo semahoshige ni mietamau).…”

The Disaster of the Third Princess : Essays on The Tale of Genji

“…And Genji is ambitious, as we shall see, but his political manipulations are usually masked, at times transparently, by erotic tension. 3 Attentive readers certainly recognize that the tale's love relationships play themselves out against a backdrop of political maneuvering and ambition. "Genji and Murasaki" and "The Disaster of the Third Princess," supplemented by aspects of some of the succeeding essays, offer a reading of this background narrative.…”

“…Shimizu Yoshiko called them Murasaki's "perils." 3 They are Murasaki's hurt when she learns about the lady from Akashi ("Akashi" and "Miotsukushi"); her fear when Genji courts Princess Asagao ("Asagao"); and her shock when Genji marries the Third Princess ("Wakana One," "Wakana Two"). These scenes have usually been given roughly equal weight when previously treated as a set, and discussed in isolation one from the other.…”