Kaoru is a fictional character in The Tale of Genji[1] (Genji Monogatari). He only appears as the lead for the novel's third act, called the 'Uji Jujo' (Uji Chapters).[2] Kaoru has been called the first anti-hero in literature[3] and is known for always having a strange but pleasant smell around him. He is known to be comparatively calculated and calm, and somewhat of an overthinker, as opposed to his love rival and close friend, Niou, who happens to be more "passionate" than he is.[4]
He is the son of the protagonist of the first two acts, Hikaru Genji's wife, "Third Princess" (known as "Onna san no miya" in the Seidensticker version, or "Nyōsan" in Waley's), and Genji's nephew Kashiwagi. Kaoru is known to the world as Genji's son even though he was in fact fathered by Genji's nephew.
Kaoru’s story revolves around his love affairs with princesses Oigimi, Naka no kimi, and Ukifune, as well as his rivalry with Niou. Unlike acts one and two where the women of the story gravitated to the charismatic and assertive Hikaru Genji, Kaoru is portrayed with hesitancy and compunction towards his love interests.[2] Through a series of unfortunate events, as well as his own flaws, Kaoru ends up hurting the people he loves including Oigimi and Ukifune.
The final chapters of the Tale of Genji abruptly end, with Kaoru wondering if the lady he loves, Ukifune, is being hidden away by Niou, an imperial prince and the son of Genji's daughter, the current Empress now that Reizei has abdicated the throne.
^"Summary of the Tale of Genji / The Tale of Genji Museum, Uji City". Archived from the original on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
^ abTYLER, ROYALL (2009), "Pity Poor Kaoru", The Disaster of the Third Princess, Essays on The Tale of Genji, vol. 1, ANU Press, pp. 157–184, ISBN 978-1-921536-66-3, JSTOR j.ctt24h8q2.9, retrieved 11 May 2022
^Murasaki Shikibu (1977). The tale of Genji. Edward Seidensticker, Earl Tidwell (1st ed.). New York: Knopf. pp. I, xi. ISBN 0-394-48328-6. OCLC 2541047.
^Pekarik, Andrew (1982). "Rivals in Love". Ukifune: Love in the Tale of Genji. Columbia University Press: 217–27.
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