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Concept
Kaoru Genji
Summary
Kaoru is a fictional character in The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari). He only appears as the lead for the novel's third act, called the 'Uji Jujo' (Uji Chapters). Kaoru has been called the first anti-hero in literature 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.
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. 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.
Kaoru is known to the world as the late Genji's and Onna san no miya's son, but biologically, his real father is Genji's nephew, Kashiwagi. When he learns that his real father is Kashiwagi, he continues to venerate the memory of Hachinomiya (the 8th Prince) as a self-chosen father figure. The learning of this secret drives his obsessiveness with the past, seeking to comprehend it and atone for the sins of his parents, rather than devote himself to the promiscuity and procreation expected of him by society: "longing to know the facts of his birth, Kaoru prayed that he might one day have a clear explanation".
Official source
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