Murasaki's childhood was not a happy due to the passing of her mother soon after she was born, then followed by her elder sister on whom she depended. Murasaki married rather late into a family of similar social class. Within a few years, her husband died leaving Murasaki with a daughter and much grief and pain. It was against this background that Murasaki began writing The Tale of Genji in which she looks closely at the relationships of men and women and the unfortunate circumstances in which women find themselves placed in.
Prime Minister Fujiwara no Michinaga appears to have found Murasaki a position working for the Empress Akiko based on the Murasaki's fame that resulted from the popularity of The Tale of Genji. Various theories exist as to when the writing of The Tale of Genji was finished but it seems likely that she continued writing it while serving the Empress. Although it is not certain as to the date of Murasaki's death, she likely passed away shortly after she finished the famous novel, perhaps when she was forty or so.
The Tale of Genji is composed of 54 chapters, and broadly divided into three sections. The first part of thirty-three chapters concerns with the first half of Genji's life. The second portion goes into Prince Genji's love affairs with the many women he had courted. The third section resolves by the Prince falling in love with one.
The story starts during the early 11th-century Japan, Kiritsubo, a woman of the lower ranks of the court, gave birth to a son whom she named Genji. The emperor showed such a liking for Genji that he brought him into the court so he could be raised in his company. Genji flourished and became a master of speech, manners, poetry, and music. He grew into an attractive young man as well. Both men and women were quick to notice his strikingly handsome looks.
After Genji had reached physical and emotional maturity, he spent most of his time showing his affections by writing poems to women that had little interest in him. Most of the women knew that nothing would ever result in an affair with him and resisted as much as possible. Although these women admitted that they had similar feelings toward Genji, they knew that the relationship with him would never grow. Genji's affairs often involved women from outside the court. Such behavior was scandalous for a person of his position, so he needed to carry out his affairs in complete secrecy. Genji went through great troubles to hide his illicit affairs and to please his peers at the court. He conscripted secret messengers from both inside and outside the palace, went out of his way to Utsusemi's house because the stars were not in the right alignment, visited Yugao's house only at night, and adopted a child under the guise that he wanted to be her father.
Each affair is significantly different from all others. In one of the first chapters, Genji tries to win the affections of Utsuemi by sending her messages and visiting her at odd hours during the night. The relationship between Yugao and Genji was never stable. Genji had a man named Koremitsu visit and tell him about the house in which Yugao lived before Genji talked to anyone there. This relationship ended with the unexpected death of Yugao after she and Genji first made love. Shortly after, Genji keeps a young girl named Murasaki. When the nun who raised her died, Genji immediately brings the girl to the palace and provided a room and friends for her---no matter how many people protested it. While Genji did not have a physical relationship with Murasaki at this point, he definitely said that this was his intention in the future. In the mean time, Genji lusts after a princess because he cannot resist the beauty of the music she plays on the zither (koto). Almost instantly he declares his love for her and pursues her with a flurry of letters. She never answers. The more he finds out about the princess, however, the less he likes of her. Genji cannot help but feel guilty after admitting this love, though, and maintains the relationship long after his feelings die down. In one of the last affairs, Genji is on the receiving side of lust. An elderly lady, who Genji calls an outrageous flirt, starts fawning on him and Genji has to think of creative ways to dodge the situation without losing face.
The Tale of Genji is at least in part a story about the interactions between Genji and the people (mostly women) that he encounters. The tale mostly explores the different themes of love, affection, friendship, filial loyalty, and family. Genji wanders through the landscape of life, death, and love while maintaining a teflon-like dignity. The story does not have a true, unifying conflict; it is composed of mini-sagas that overlap each other and complicate each other the further the story progresses.
To the traditional music aesthetic, the koto play an important part in the story, when the Prince Genji is in exile in Akashi. He consoles himself by playing koto and is joined by a retired courtier where they travel around Japan performing koto. Both reminisces about the pleasures at the court in Kyoto. The theme contains many romantic segments including when an old man's princess daughter, who plays koto as well, is introduced to Prince Genji. They two fall in love and he leaves his koto for her, saying that he will be as constant as the middle string of the koto, always tuned the same.
It was indeed on the night after the full moon, in just such a veiled light as Genji had spoken of, that they visited the Hitachi palace. I am afraid, said Myobu, that it is not a very good night for listening to music, sounds do not seem to carry very well. But he would not be thus put off. "Go to her room," he said, "and persuade her to play a few notes; it would be a pity it I went away without hearing her at all. Myobu found the princess sitting by the window enjoying the scent of the blossoming plum-tree. It did indeed seem just the right moment. I thought how lovely your zither would sound on such a night as this [The princess] sent for her zithern. Timidly she sounded a few notes. The effect was very agreeable. True, she was not a great performer; but the instrument was a particularly fine one and Genji found her playing by no means unpleasant to listen to.