Persona 3 Reload: What kind of tale does the quote refer to?

Your in-class Persona 3 Reload question on July 3 (7/3) comes courtesy of Mr. Ekoda. The lesson is on the topic of Murasaki Shikibu, and Mr. Ekoda wants to know what a famous Shikibu quote refers to. He asks Junpei who, as always, turns to you for help.

Shikibu wrote the famous literary work, The Tale of Genji. The quote is taken from that text and goes, “Thou shalt not recite such a tale of this world before the princess.” And Mr. Ekoda asks, “What such tale does this quote refer to?” He nominates Junpei to answer, but Junpei has no idea, and so turns to you and says, “H-Hey, lend me a hand here…”

What kinda tale is he talkin’ about?

There are three possible answers to this question:

• About a peaceful world
• About public opinion
• About romance

I had pretty good look, but couldn’t find the quote Mr. Ekoda refers to among any of the lists of the best and most famous quotes from The Tale of Genji. In fact, I couldn’t find any references to that quote or to the scene it’s taken from anywhere on that modern-day library we call the internet.

But I determined The Tale of Genji is, in itself, a romantic tale, so I took a bit of a guess and chose “About romance.” as my answer. And it was correct. Mr Ekoda is talking about a tale about romance, so the correct answer is “About romance.” Have a boost to your Charm.

The general point of the quote is it was considered inappropriate in 11th century Japan to tell romantic tales within earshot of a princess, lest she get any ideas. Princesses were very chastened and protected in those days, and led very rigid, controlled lives. And they definitely didn’t get to choose their own romantic partners, so it would have been considered a bad idea to even let them learn that doing so might even be possible. Better to let the princess believe marrying the son of some other powerful aristocrat is the best, and only, option available.

And people try to claim the video games are a waste of time and have no educational value! There’s so much to be learned from Persona 3 Reload, that I’d even go so far as to recommend reading our entire round up of classroom and exam answers from start to finish, just for the educational value. Or to maximize your in-game rewards. Whatever you prefer.