# Suma Genji — Plays character guide

> Suma Genji in Plays by Zeami Motokiyo.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Shite, Genji

**First appearance:** 0016-suma-genji

## Snapshot

The exiled Genji, appearing in disguise by the Suma shore, whose hidden glory flickers through the humble figure of an old salt-gatherer.

## Who they are

Genji lives in exile at Suma, far from the capital and its pleasures, and he moves through the play as a figure whose true rank is known to the audience but not to the traveling priest who meets him. His tension lies in the gap between his radiant past and his lowly present, a disguise that is both concealment and revelation. His appearance turns the play's landscape into a meditation on fame, loss, and the transient brilliance of the great.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_2_se/characters/suma_genji
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_2_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_2_se/characters