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Koremitsu
Naishi is an old woman who was one of the Emperor's lovers. At age sixty, she's described as experienced and refined, but also not afraid to ask for what she wants. As she and Genji woo each other and have sex, this causes Genji to come to think of her as being gaudy and tasteless. She also has a short-lived relationship with Tō no Chūjō.
Naishi Quotes in The Tale of Genji
The The Tale of Genji quotes below are all either spoken by Naishi or refer to Naishi. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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An Autumn Excursion Quotes
Naishi, though much discommoded, did not protest with great vehemence. There are those who do not dislike wrong rumors if they are about the right men.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Naishi Character Timeline in The Tale of Genji
The timeline below shows where the character Naishi appears in The Tale of Genji. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
An Autumn Excursion
...keeps pretty women around and Genji smiles and jokes with most of them. One woman, Naishi, piques Genji's interest: she's sixty years old and talented, but isn't discriminating when it comes...
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Naishi and Genji chat for a while and she attempts to convince him to visit her...
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...Genji's normal self-righteousness and sense of propriety is surely hiding something incriminating. Discovering Genji with Naishi, he decides to teach Genji a lesson. Genji hears someone come in and believes that...
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The next morning, Genji wakes to an angry note from Naishi about being abandoned along with packages containing several articles of his clothing. He finds the...
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Heartvine
...Genji and the lady exchange poems and he realizes the woman is none other than Naishi. He refuses her advances and thinks she's tasteless.
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...stays in seclusion for seven weeks, though Tō no Chūjō visits often. They laugh about Naishi and cry sometimes. One evening, Tō no Chūjō finds Genji on the veranda, crying in...
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