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Prince Hyōbu
Tō no Chūjō is Genji's brother in law. The two are very good friends, though they're also rivals. In their youth, their rivalry is based on women, specifically Naishi. Tō no Chūjō also struggles next to Genji, as Genji is often described as being far more perfect and a more accomplished dancer, singer, and poet. As mature adults, the two engage in the art competition between the palace women, as Tō no Chūjō wants his daughter, the Kokiden girl, to marry Reizei, while Genji wants Akikonomu to marry him. Throughout the novel, Tō no Chūjō is the man who most often spends time with Genji to reminisce about the past and play music. He even visits Genji while Genji is in exile.
Tō no Chūjō Quotes in The Tale of Genji
The The Tale of Genji quotes below are all either spoken by Tō no Chūjō or refer to Tō no Chūjō. 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
To no Chujo was a handsome youth who carried himself well, but beside Genji he was like a nondescript mountain shrub beside a blossoming cherry.
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Tō no Chūjō Character Timeline in The Tale of Genji
The timeline below shows where the character Tō no Chūjō appears in The Tale of Genji. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Evening Faces
...the Evening Faces, though he does discover that she has some sort of connection to Tō no Chūjō , Genji's brother-in-law. Genji wonders if the lady is one of his former lovers. Koremitsu...
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...her more easily. As their relationship progresses, Genji thinks often about whether she is indeed Tō no Chūjō 's former lover but doesn't question her.
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The only person Genji allows to visit him is Tō no Chūjō . Genji lies that he went to his old nurse's deathbed and then became sick....
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...out and reprimand him for seeing her. Eventually, Ukon shares that the lady was indeed Tō no Chūjō 's lover, but she ran away after his family scared her. She gave birth to...
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Lavender
...leave. He's interrupted, however, when a group from the Minister of the Left's house, including Tō no Chūjō , arrives. They decide to stay and enjoy the cherry blossoms. They drink wine, play...
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An Autumn Excursion
...out, he orders a full rehearsal at the palace so that the ladies can watch. Tō no Chūjō and Genji dance "Waves of the Blue Ocean," and though Tō no Chūjō is a...
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...Blue Ocean" moves people to tears. The other dances are boring in comparison. Genji and Tō no Chūjō are promoted, along with others.
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...a true affair; she thinks that the rumor might help her. The rumors spread and Tō no Chūjō decides he'd also like to begin seeing Naishi. Genji doesn't know about this and one...
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Tō no Chūjō believes that Genji's normal self-righteousness and sense of propriety is surely hiding something incriminating. Discovering...
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...wholly inappropriate and sends her an admonishing poem in return. He realizes the belt is Tō no Chūjō 's, so he wraps it and returns it to him. Tō no Chūjō returns Genji's...
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The Festival of the Cherry Blossoms
...poetry competition. Genji's voice when he announces that he drew "spring" is quite distinguished, and Tō no Chūjō does his best to sound just as distinguished when he announces his subject. Others are...
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The Emperor arranges a concert as well. Genji performs part of "Spring Warbler," and Tō no Chūjō performs "Garden of Willows and Flowers." After the dances, a reader reads the courtiers' poems....
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...at the cherry blossom festival, saying his music even made him want to dance. As Tō no Chūjō is in attendance, Genji insists that "Garden of Willows and Flowers" dance was far superior.
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Heartvine
Genji 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...
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The Sacred Tree
...that Reizei's security is the most important thing. Genji, the Minister of the Left, and Tō no Chūjō are also slighted when the promotions are announced. Tō no Chūjō and Genji spend a...
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One summer evening, Tō no Chūjō brings a collection of Chinese poetry with him when he visits Genji. Genji pulls out...
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Suma
...fix things. The two men reminisce and cry as Yugiri plays among them. Genji and Tō no Chūjō drink until late and then, Genji spends the night with one of Aoi's former serving...
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...he planted and thinks of the festivals going on in the city. In the city, Tō no Chūjō has achieved the rank of counselor and is doing well, but he spends most of...
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Channel Buoys
...to refuse an appointment to be a regent; both, however, must ultimately accept their roles. Tō no Chūjō is also promoted and hopes to send his twelve-year-old daughter, the Kokiden girl, to court.
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A Picture Contest
...time between Akikonomu and the Kokiden girl, whom he loves to play with. This worries Tō no Chūjō . Reizei begins spending more time with Akikonomu when he learns she's an artist; he...
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Catching on, Tō no Chūjō commissions painters to illustrate classic stories and installs the paintings in the Kokiden girl's apartments....
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Tō no Chūjō decides to offer his art collection for royal review. By now, the palace is filled...
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...collecting fine art and presenting it to one's favored side. Genji makes veiled jabs at Tō no Chūjō 's secret studio, suggesting they should only offer paintings that have been in their collections...
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Finally, the final contest is arranged. The ladies' chambers are elegantly decked out and Tō no Chūjō , Genji, and other courtiers attend. Reizei asks Prince Hotaru, his uncle, to act as...
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...drunkenly that the Emperor doted on Genji, and they ask for instruments. Hotaru, Genji, and Tō no Chūjō play until morning.
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...journals and Genji gives his paintings to Fujitsubo, promising to one day tell her everything. Tō no Chūjō hopes that Reizei won't forget the Kokiden girl after her loss in the art contest....
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