The Third Princess
| The Third Princess | |
|---|---|
| The Tale of Genji character | |
 The Third Princess, depicted in a ukiyo-e created by Suzuki Harunobu (ca. 1766) | |
| Created by | Murasaki Shikibu |
| Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Family | Emperor Suzaku (father), Lady Fujitsubo (aunt) |
| Spouse | Hikaru Genji |
| Children | Kaoru |
| Nationality | Japanese |
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The Third Princess, also known as Onna San no Miya (女三宮) or Nyōsan in later translations[1], is a fictional character in The Tale Of Genji, written by noblewoman and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu. She first appears in Chapter 34 (Wakana) of Genji, and continues to play a major role in the third act as the mother of Kaoru. Daughter of the Emperor Suzaku, she is married to Hikaru Genji, her uncle, and becomes his second lawful wife.
Biography
The Third Princess is the daughter of the Emperor Suzaku, brother to Hikaru Genji. When Suzaku falls ill, he, planning to retire into priesthood, becomes worried for his daughter's future. With her mother dead, and no guardian to take care of her, Suzaku decides to have her marry Genji. She does so, and she becomes Genji's second lawful wife after Lady Aoi.
Genji agrees to marry the Third Princess in part due to the fact that she is the niece of Lady Fujitsubo, his stepmother who is obsessed with (this is also why he loves Murasaki, due to her also being a niece to Lady Fujitsubo). He, however, finds the Third Princess disagreeable due to her childish nature spawned from Suzaku's doting and pampering, which draws him more to Murasaki.[2]
After she is married to Genji, the Third Princess moves into the Rokujo-in Palace. There, Kashiwagi, Genji's nephew, becomes obsessed with her and anxious about her marriage. He goes to the Rokujo-in palace to play games of kemari, and it is there that he catches a glimpse of her when she comes out of her quarters to chase her cat, who runs into the bamboo grove nearby the courtyard he is in.[3][4] Soon, his obsession with her grows.
Kashiwagi eventually marries The Second Princess, the elder sister of the Third Princess. Murasaki becomes ill, and is moved into the Nijo-in palace where Genji accompanies her regularly. Kashiwagi, dissatisfied with his marriage, decides to approach the Third Princess with the help of Kojiju, a menotogo (a son of a breastfeeder). It is there that he forces himself onto the Third Princess, leaving her pregnant.
As a result of the incident, the Third Princess gives birth to Kaoru. Genji, upon discovering that Kaoru was fathered by Kashiwagi, covers up the incident by presenting Kaoru as his child. Kashiwagi grows ill from his guilt, and eventually dies. The Third Princess decides to become a nun, and her wishes are hesitantly granted by Genji.
The Third Princess makes further appearances in the Uji Chapters, where Kaoru takes the role as protagonist following Genji's death. Kaoru lives his life believing that Genji is his father, but upon finding out that he was lied to, he becomes obsessed with discerning the past and atoning for the sins of his true father.
Name
The title given to the character is The Third Princess, but different English translations of The Tale Of Genji have given her different names. In the Seidensticker translation, she is known as Onna San no Miya. In the Waley version, she is known as Nyōsan. Similarly, the Second Princess, the elder sister of the Third Princess, is referred to as Ochiba no Miya in other translations.
In Genji, none of the characters are given explicit names. Instead, they are either referred to by their roles, honorifics, or by their geographical locations. This lack of names is a result of the manners of the Heian era, in which it would have been considered rude to refer to people by their family names, which is why none of the characters are referred to by a name. It would have also been considered a sign of respect to refer to one by their title.[5] In English translations, the characters have been given nicknames that derive from poems and translations. Murasaki, the heroine of Genji, has her name from a poem written about her by Genji, in which he likens her to a Murasaki flower. The Japanese word "Murasaki" translates to purple or violet.
The Heian-era court manners is also the reason why the actual name of Genji's author, Murasaki Shikibu, is unknown to this day: her name is composed of the name of the tale's heroine, and a post that her father held in court, Shikibu (which translates to Bureau of Ceremonial).[6]
References
- ↑ "Onna San no Miya - Japanese Wiki Corpus".
- ↑ "Wakana (new herbs) (The Tale of Genji) - Japanese Wiki Corpus".
- ↑ "Tsukioka Settei | the Third Princess with her Cat, from the "New Herbs I" (Wakana I) chapter the Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari} | Japan | Edo period (1615–1868)".
- ↑ "The Changing Images of the Third Princess from the Tale of Genji | the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Japanese Art".
- ↑ https://study.com/academy/lesson/murasaki-shikibus-tale-of-genji-summary-characters.html
- ↑ https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2002/05/murasaki-shikibu.html
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