The
baby thus appears as one of the very rare characters on the Genji scroll
with a genuinely individual expression, a sweet smile suggesting its innocence
from the complex emotional binds of the adults around it. For those familiar
with the entire Tale of Genji, this baby is of special significance,
since it is none other than Kaoru, who following Genji’s own death not
long thereafter would replace him as the protagonist of the novel.