The birth of a kingdom
The true value of Genji's good omen is found in the latter half of the story, where Genji's life has more or less exhausted its meaning, but his family has been born and established. He has two sons in the mountains, fighting like Remus and Romulus, with the implication that whoever wins the girl will begin the true Genji reign in the land of Uji. The long poetic story is largely to this effect (which is one of the most common uses for the epic poem).
The rejected king
The son of a concubine and a king, Genji is the perfect candidate to establish himself as a patriarch. As a royal person, he has the makings of leadership, but as the son of a dead concubine, he is simultaneously disenfranchised from his own community. But Genji is an attractive, powerful man, so he finds a way to live in the world, thanking the gods along the way.
The lives of the sons and daughters
The effect of the myriad minor stories about Genji's descendants is that they honor Genji for his long, difficult life, and for his wise instruction of his children. His value as a man can be seen in the breadth and color of his family. The novel's back half is dedicated largely to this act of honoring Genji by honoring his children.
