Characters in the Tale of Genji

The table shows the principal characters in the Tale of Genji, with the names used for them in the Seidensticker translation. The Tyler translation follows the original Japanese text in referring to characters by their rank. Since many of them change rank multiple times in the novel, he provides a list of characters at the beginning of each chapter.

Seidensticker	Description
Akashi Empress	daughter of Genji and Akashi Lady
Akashi Lady	former Governor of Harima's daughter, the mother of Genji's daughter
Akikonomu	The Rokujo Lady's daughter
Aoi	Genji's first wife, Left Minister's daughter
Asagao	Genji's first cousin, daughter of his uncle
Eighth Prince	Genji and Suzaku's half brother
Emperor (1)	the Kiritsubo Emperor, Genji's father
(2) Suzaku Emperor	Emperor, then Retired Emperor; Kiritsubo Emperor's eldest son
(3) Reizei Emperor	son of Genji and Fujitsubo
Emperor (4)	son of Suzaku, reigning Emperor after Reizei
Evening Faces, Lady of the	mother of Tamakazura
First Princess	daughter of Reizei and To no Chujo's daughter
Fujitsubo	Kiritsubo Emperor's Empress, Reizei's mother
Genji	son of the Kiritsubo Emperor and a low-ranking court lady; hero of the novel
Higekuro	Tamakazura's husband
Hotaru, Prince	Genji's half-brother
Hyobu, Prince	Fujitsubo's elder brother, Murasaki's father
Kaoru	son of Third Princess and Kashiwagi
Kashiwagi	To no Chujo's eldest son
Kobai	To no Chujo's second son
Kokiden	Right Minister's daughter, Suzaku's mother
Koremitsu	Genji's foster brother and confidant
Kumoinokari	To no Chujo's daughter, later Yugiri's wife
Locust shell, Lady of the	stepmother of Governor of Kii, Iyo Deputy's wife
Makibashira	Higekuro's daughter, later Kobai's wife
Minister of the Left	Minister of the Left; then Chancellor; Aoi's father
Minister of the Right	Minister of the Right, then Chancellor; father of Kokiden; Suzaku's grandfather
Murasaki	daughter of Prince Hyobu, niece of Fujitsubo, and granddaughter of a former emperor; Genji's favorite lady
Nakanokimi	second daughter of the Eighth Prince, eventually wife of Niou
Niou, Prince	Akashi Empress' son, Murasaki's favorite, Nakanokimi's husband, Ukifune's lover
Niou's Privy Secretary	Niou's retainer
Oborozukiyo	Right Minister's sixth daughter, sister of Kokiden
Oigimi	the Eighth Prince's elder daughter
Omi, Lady of	To no Chujo's lost daughter
Omiya, Princess	Kiritsubo Emperor's sister; Left Minister's wife; Aoi and To no Chujo's mother; Yugiri and Kumoinokari's grandmother
Ono, Nun of	Ukifune's protector
Orange Blossoms, Lady of the	sister of the Reikeiden Consort
Rokujo Lady	widow of a former Crown Prince, Genji's uncle; mother of Akikonomu
Rokunokimi	Yugiri's sixth daughter (by Koremitsu's daughter), later Niou's wife
Safflower Lady	daughter of the Hitachi Prince
Second Princess (1)	Suzaku's second daughter, wife of Kashiwagi
Second Princess (2)	Kaoru's wife, daughter of Emperor 4
Tamakazura	Yugao and To no Chujo's daughter, later Higekuro's wife
Third Princess	Suzaku's favorite daughter, Genji's wife, Kaoru's mother
Tokikata	Niou's retainer
To no Chujo	the Left Minister's eldest son, Aoi's brother
Ukifune	the Eighth Prince's unrecognized daughter
Ukifune's mother	the Governor of Hitachi's wife
Yokawa, Bishop of	brother of the nun of Ono
Yugiri	son of Genji and Aoi

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