Prompt for Module 5 Discussion:
Genji & Heike
Selections from The Tale of Genji and The Tale of the Heike
:,;:translated, with Introductions, by
~elen Craig McCullough
J91'-f Stanford University Press • Stanford, California
Contents
TraJ:\slator's Note 1x
- The Tale of Genji Introduction 3 Principal Characters 21 Table of Contents 23 Text 25
The Tale of the Heike Introduction 24 5 Principal Characters 257 Table of Contents 261 Text 265
Appendix: Offices, Ranks, and the Imperial Palace 461
Maps 463 The Heian Capital, 463; Japan in the Classical Age, 464
Glossary 467
Bibliography 489
Translator's Note
This book, p~b,lished as a companion volume to Classical Japanese Prose: An Anthology,· is intended for students in survey courses and others who may lack the time to read The Tale of Genji and The Tale of the Heike in their entirety. The. translations are based on the texts published in Nihon koten bungaku ta'ikei, Vols. 14-18 and Vols. 32-33, respectively. I am grateful to the Stanford University Press for permission to use copyrighted material.
Ages mentioned in the texts are calculated in the Japanese manner, ac- cording to the number of calendar years during which a person lives. Except in the case of fictional characters, those mentioned elsewhere are calculated in the Western manner.
For translations of characters' names in the Genji, I have followed the principles outlined in the Introduction. Names in the Heike, which appear in many different forms, have usually been reduced to given names after the initial occurrence.
Because the Japanese calendar was divided into twelve months approxi- mately equivalent to the lunations, they did not correspond to their numeri- cal equivalents in the Western calendar. The seventh month, for example, always included part of August, and in a given year might fall as late as the latter half of August and the first half of September. The four seasons were regarded as consisting of three months each, with spring beginning on the first day of the first month, summer on the first day of the fourth month, and so ori.
Terms not defined in the footnotes and particulars on many of the his- torical figures of the pre-Heike period will be found in the Glossary. For basic information about the imperial palace and the court, see the Appen- dix; and for fuller information on Heian society, see McCullough and
X Translator's Note
McCullough, Tale of Flowering Fortunes. The following abbreviations have been used in the footnotes:
GS IS GSS IM
rs KDKYS KKKS KKRJ KKS MYS
NKBT
SAS scss ShokuKKS SIS SKKS SKT
SSRES TN WKRES
Goshuishu. In Vol. 1 of s KT. Gosenshu. In Vol. 1 of s KT. Ise monogatari. In Vol. 9 of N KB T. Iseshu. In Vol. 3 of s KT. Kodai kayoshu. In Vol. 3 of N KB T. Kanke koshu. In Vol. 72 of N KB T. Kokin rokujo. In Vol. 2 of s KT. Kokinshu. In Vol. 1 of s KT. Man'yoshu. In Vol. 2 of SK T. Nihon koten bungaku taikei, ed. Takagi Ichinosuke et al. 102 vols. 1957-68. Saneakirashu. In Vol. 3 of s KT. Shin chokusenshu. In Vol. 1 of s KT. Shoku kokinshu. In Vol. 1 of s KT. Shuishu. In Vol. l of s KT. Shinkokinshu. In Vol. 1 of s KT. [Shinpen] kokka taikan, ed. Taniyama Shigeru et al. 5 vols. 1983-87. Shinsen roeishu. In Vol. 2 of s KT. Tosa nikki. In Vol. 20 of NKBT. Wakan roeishu. In Vol. 2 of s KT.
CHAPTER ONE
[ I l
Kiritsubo
[ From Genji's birth until his twelfth year]
During the reign of a certain sovereign, it happened that one rather insig- nificant lady enjoyed far greater imperial favor than any of the other con- sorts and concubines. She was regarded with contempt and jealousy by proud ladies of superior status-personages who had always taken their own success very much for granted-and her equals and inferiors among the concubines felt even more disgruntled. Perpetually agitated by her constant presence at the emperor's side, her rivals made her bear an increasingly heavy burden of resentment. And whether for that reason or another, she grew frail and melancholy, and took to staying away from court. The em- peror, who pitied her with all his heart, ignored the criticism and treated her in a manner that seemed destined to go down in history as an exem- plar of favoritism.
The senior nobles and courtiers averted their eyes in disapproval. "No- body wants to watch such excessive displays of affection. This is the kind of thing that led to turmoil and trouble in China," they said. People in general also began to find the situation unpleasant and distressing-bad enough to inspire comparisons with Yang Gueifei.1
Reassured by His Majesty's remarkable devotion, the lady continued to appear at court despite many humiliating affronts. Her father, a major counselor, was dead, and the absence of a reliable male sponsor left her pitifully helpless in an emergency, notwithstanding the exertions of her mother, the counselor's principal wife, who was an old-fashioned woman
I. Yang Gueifei (719-56) was the beautiful favorite of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty in China. When a rebel seized the capital in 755, the imperial army blamed her and her influential relatives, and the emperor was forced to agree to her execution.
The Tale of Genji
of great refinement, and who saw to it that the girl appeared just as well on ceremonial occasions as influential consorts and concubines who were blessed with two parents.
Perhaps the bond uniting the lady and the emperor was a legacy from a previous existence, for she was fortunate enough to bear a male child- moreover, one who glowed like a pearl, the prettiest baby in the world. The impatient emperor lost no time in having him brought to the palace, and when he looked at him, he thought he had never seen such a beautiful face. Everyone had been fussing over the oldest son, the First Prince, whose powerful backing made his succession seem assured. (The mother, a junior consort, was the minister of the right's daughter.) But the First Prince could not begin to rival the newcomer's beauty, and the emperor made the baby his personal favorite, seeing to his needs in every possible way, and merely bestowing public marks of special esteem on the older child.
The baby's mother had not entered the palace as a mere imperial atten- dant. People had accepted her as someone of consequence, and she had comported herself as a noblewoman should. Her status had inevitably suf- fered because of the emperor's unreasonable insistence on keeping her at his side-his summoning her whenever there was an interesting musical entertainment or anything else to serve as a pretext, his penchant for de- taining her while he lingered in bed in the morning. 2 But after the prince's birth she enjoyed very special imperial recognition, very special courtesies, and the First Prince's mother, the Kokiden lady, feared that the younger child might wind up in the crown prince's resid~nce if things took a turn for the worse. The Kokiden lady had been presented at court before any of the other consorts. Her status demanded the sovereign's utmost consid- eration, and she was also the mother of children, so that he found her re- monstrances both troublesome and pathetic. ' ':
Even though the baby's mother was sheltered by the emperor's august protection, there were many who subjected her to contempt and criticism; and the imperial affection became a source of misery, rather than of hap- piness, for someone so weak and fragile. Her apartments were in the build- ing called Kiritsubo. Naturally enough, others were unhappy when the em- peror went past their quarters on his constant visits to her. And when she went too often to his residence, the Seiryoden, they played unbelievably shabby tricks that ruined her attendants' skirts at bridges and galleries along the way. Or, very frequently, they conspired to torment her by locking both doors of an interior passageway she needed to use, so that she was trapped inside. Whatever the occasion, it was sure to bring some new addition to the endless list of her trials. Moved by her distress, the emperor transferred another concubine away from the Koroden, where she had always lived,
2. It was only women of low status who attended the emperor day and night. A recognized consort or concubine was expected to stay in her own apartments unless she received a specific summons, and to leave the imperial bedchamber before dawn.
and say,
\JC assu reso don, barn a be Kno borr
In fron agre "Sta and mot ing 1 at Sl his i swet stru: SWO.
dim livec
Tl ma not even aba1
Si
"I seen
H fate her ritu He
1- dav,
just as well :s who were
gacy from a 1ale child- , the world. the palace,
, a beautiful ·ince, whose 1er, a Jumor 'rince could de the baby and merely
Jerial atten- nd she had :vitably suf- :ping her at ing musical 1ant for de- the prince's I courtesies, :he younger took a turn. before any
1ost consid- und her re-
:or's august .d criticism; 1an of hap- n the build- h.en the em- d when she :nbelievably lleries along Jcking both vas trapped addition to transferred
.ways lived,
. A recognized ,ived a specific
Kiritsubo
and put those apartments at her disposal-an act for which, needless to say, she was never forgiven by the person in question.
When the young prince entered his third year, the emperor celebrated the assumption-of-the-trousers ceremony with lavish splendor, calling on all the resources of the palace storehouse bureau and the storeroom, just as he had done for his oldest son. There was much criticism of the way the event was handled, but it was impossible to dislike the boy, who was growing up with a beauty of face and disposition so uncommon as to seem quite unique. Knowledgeable people found it incredible that such a one should have been born into this world.
In the summer of that year, the Kiritsubo lady sought permission to retire from the palace because of a slight indisposition. The emperor refused to agree. Accustomed to seeing her in precarious health year after year, he said, "Stay awhile and see how you get along." But her condition worsened daily, and after a mere five or six days, she had sunk so low that her weeping mother persuaded him to release her. She resolved to depart unnoticed, leav- ing the young prince behind, lest she be subjected to fresh humiliation even at such a tillle .. The emperor could postpone the parting no longer, nor, to his inexpressible 'sorrow, was it even possible for him to see her off. Her sweet face was emaciated, and she slipped toward unconsciousness, after struggling in vain to express her anguish. His mind in a daze, the emperor swore all kinds ohearful vows, but she lay there, unable to answer, her eyes dim and her body limp, as though she were no longer certain that she still lived.
The emperor was frantic with anxiety. He issued orders for her departure in a hand-drawn carriage, but then he went to her room, and again could not bring himself to let her go. "Didn't we promise to stay together always, even on the road to death? I know you're sick, but I don't see how you can abandon me and go your own way," he said.
She gazed at him with infinite sadness. [Her poem:]
kagiri tote wakaruru michi no
kanashiki ni ikamahoshiki wa inochi narikeri
Grieved beyond measure to say farewell and set forth
on this last journey, gladly would I choose instead the road of the living.
"If I had dreamed this would happen ... " She gasped for breath. She seemed to want to say something more, but she was shockingly ill and weak.
He longed to keep her there, just as she was, so that he might witness her fate with his own eyes, but a messenger arrived with an urgent plea from her mother: "We have engaged eminent monks to conduct certain prayer rituals, which are scheduled to begin today. They will be starting tonight." He forced himself to endure the agony of letting her go .
His heart too full for sleep, he waited impatiently for the first light of dawn. He was already giving way to dismal forebodings before his messen-
The Tale of Genji
ger had had time to make the round trip. And when the messenger returned, it was with a stricken face. The people at the house, distracted and weeping, had announced that the lady had died shortly after midnight.
The emperor retreated into seclusion, shaken and dazed. His dearest wish was to keep the prince where he could see him, regardless of the mother's death, but there was no precedent for the child's remaining in the palace under such circumstances, and it was decided that he should leave. That his attendants should be weeping and wailing, and that the emperor himself should always be shedding tears, seemed strange indeed to the boy, who had no inkling of what had happened. Partings between parent and child are sad enough on ordinary occasions, but this one was indescribably moving.
There are forms that require observance, and people prepared for the cremation in the usual manner. The mother shed tears of bitter grief. "If only the smoke from my pyre might ascend with hers in a single plume!" she said. She called back one of the funeral carriages assigned to the ladies- in-waiting and got inside; and we may imagine her feelings when she reached Otagi, where solemn rituals were already under way. "Even with the body right there in front of my eyes, I was foolish enough to think of her as alive. Once I've seen the cremation site, I'll be able to accept her death," she had said earlier, in a show of bravery, but now, to the conster- nation of the others, she seemed in danger of tumbling out of the carriage. "This is exactly what we were afraid of," her people said.
A messenger arrived from the palace-an imperial envoy, sent to an- nounce the Kiritsubo lady's posthumous elevation to third rank-and the proclamation of the edict called forth a fresh acces~ of grief. The promotion had come about because of the emperor's keen remorse for his failure to so much as ensure that people should call her "Junior Consort" during her lifetime. "At least, I can raise her rank a grade now,'!: he thought. There were many who resented even so innocuous an act.
To people of sensibility, the lady's death evoked poignant memories of her beauty and grace, of her mild, agreeable temper, and of how impossible it had been to dislike her. It was only the emperor's immoderate partiality that had made her an object of jealous spite. All the imperial ladies-in-waiting thought with affectionate regret of her sweet nature and loving disposition. It seemed that the poem "Now that she is no more" must have been com- posed at just such a time. 3
The emperor never failed to send messages of condolence as the days slipped by and the various memorial rites took place. The passing of time served only to deepen his inconsolable grief, and he spent the days and nights with tear-drenched sleeves, uninterested in summoning anyone else
3. Traced in a 12th-century commentary, Genji monogatari shaku, to a poem not otherwise identified: aru toki wa / ari no susabi ni / nikukariki / nakute zo hito wa / koishikarikeru ("I found fault with her whenever the spirit moved while she was alive, but how dear she seems to me now that she is no more!"). See Tamagami, Genji monogatari hyi5shaku, r: 54.
to sh. tumn
"SI feel h
Wl more along when stray, send patch choly Kiriti mure the o side, dark1
W1 tinati wido· for h, the pl lost i had I:
Aft some moth terrib way, thou~
"N tated- tive p a brie you, awak
4. j mo/m you in
5. l o omo reigns- rayuki zarike not he
;er returned, . nd weeping,
dearest wish. the mother's n the palace tve. That his eror himself oy, who had :hild are sad novmg. ared for the ter grief. "If ,gle plume!" o the ladies- ;s when she "Even with
t to think of ) accept her the conster- the carriage.
sent to an- 1k-and the e promotion failure to so ' during her ,ught. There
nories of her mpossible it artiality that :s-in-waiting disposition. e been com-
as the days .sing of time 1e days and anyone else
n not otherwise shikarikeru ("I :ar she seems to
54.
Kiritsubo
to share his bed. Even for those who merely witnessed his misery, the au- tumn of that year was a dew-drenched season .
"She may be dead, but he's still so crazy about her that nobody else can feel happy," said the Kokiden lady, nursing her grievance.
Whenever the emperor saw the First Prince, he missed the young prince more, and he kept sending people to find out how the boy was getting along-trusted ladies-in-waiting, an old nurse, and so forth. One evening, when an autumn gale had brought a sudden chill to the air, his thoughts strayed to the Kiritsubo lady even more often than usual, and he decided to send a certain Yugei-no-myiibu with a message to her mother. After dis- patching her by the light of a beautiful early moon, he sat lost in melan- choly reverie. He had been accustomed to enjoying music at such times. The Kiritsubo lady would play the koto with incomparable skill, and if she mur- mured some trifling bit of poetry, it was sure to excel the compositions of the other consorts. For a moment, he seemed to see her reclining by his side, but the form and face in the vision were less substantial than earthly darkness. 4
When Myiibu's attendants pulled her carriage inside the gate at her des- tination, she 'was saddened by the aspect of the grounds. In earlier days, the widowed mother had managed to keep up the place as a suitable residence for her daughter, but the autumn storm seemed to have wreaked havoc on the plants in the garden, which had shot up while their owner lay prostrate, lost in the darkness of parental grief; and no visitor except the moonlight had braved the tangled growths of wild vines.5
After the guest had been received at the south en trance to the main hall, some time elapsed before she or the mother could find words. Then the mother said, "It makes me miserable to linger on like this. And now I feel terribly embarrassed to have an exalted messenger like yourself grope her way through the dews of these mugwort-choked grounds." She wept as though indeed unable to bear her lot.
"Naishi-no-suke told His Majesty she felt much worse-really devas- tated-after she came here and saw things for herself. Even for an insensi- tive person like me, the experience is almost too much," Myobu said. After a brief pause, she delivered the emperor's message. "His Majesty said to tell you, 'For a time, I felt like someone in a dream, and I still can't seem to awaken, even though I am a little calmer now. There is nobody here to
4. Anonymous (KKS 647): mubatama no/ yami no utsutsu wa / sadaka naru / yume ni ikura mo I masarazarikeri ("It was little better than the vivid dream I dreamt-that meeting with you in earthly darkness, black as leopard-flower seeds").
5. Fujiwara no Kanesuke (GSS r 102): hito no oya no/ kokoro wa yami ni / aranedomo / ko o omou michi ni / madoinuru· ka na ("The hearts of parents are not realms where darkness reigns-yet how easily we wander in confusion on the path of love for a child!"); Ki no Tsu- rayuki (scss 8): tou hito mo/ naki yado naredo / kuru haru wa / yaemugura ni mo/ sawara- zarikeri ("Though this is a house where nobody pays visits, springtime, when it comes, does not hesitate to brave the tangled growths of wild vines").
The Tale of Genji
counsel me about ways of coping with this intolerable grief; I would be delighted to have you pay me a quiet visit. I worry a great deal about the little prince-it's sad to think of his living in a house of mourning. Come soon.' He could hardly talk for crying, but he was trying to control himself so as not to seem too emotional. It was a pitiful sight; I left without waiting to hear any more." She handed over the emperor's letter.
"I receive these august words as a light for one whose eyes have been blinded," said the mother. She read the letter. With great sincerity, it said, among other things, "I had been waiting to see if time would do anything to raise my spirits, but the days and months have made my pain more un- bearable, and now I am quite desperate. I also worry about the little boy who lacks a mother to help rear him. Please come to the palace and bring him with you as a memento from the past.'' She could not bear to read all of the poem he had included:
miyagino no tsuyu fukimusubu
kaze no oto ni kohagi ga moto o omoi koso yare
At the sound of the wind blowing to summon the dews
of Miyagino, it is the small bush-clover to which my thoughts turn.
"Knowing as I do that longevity is a curse, I feel ashamed even to imagine the thoughts of the Takasago pines, and I surely could not presume to come and go at the imperial palace. 6 I appreciate His Majesty's many gracious messages, but I could never accept for myself. Somehow, the little prince seems to have anticipated this invitation, and he is wild with impatience to go. His eagerness is only natural, saddening though it is for me. Please tell His Majesty all these things in private, just to let him know how I feel. It would be inauspicious for the prince to keep on livi,ng with an unlucky
; '. person like me," the mother said. ·
Myiibu felt that she had better not take the time to see the child, who was in bed asleep. "I'd like to be able to describe everything about him, but His Majesty is probably waiting, and it's getting late," she said.
"I would welcome a chance to talk to you and gain some relief from the anguish of my loss-just to dispel a fraction of the darkness that clouds a parent's heart-so please pay me an informal visit whenever you have time," the mother said. "You used to come on happy, gratifying occasions. To see you the bearer of such a letter now ... I know I'm repeating myself, but life is a burden to me. We pinned all our hopes on our daughter from the time of her birth, and my husband kept admonishing me about her up
6. Anonymous (KKRJ 3057): ika de nao I ari to shiraseji I takasago no I matsu no omo- wamu / koto mo hazukashi ("I must do my best not to reveal that I live. How embarrassing to imagine the thoughts of the Takasago pines!"). Pine trees were symbols of longevity. The poet, having outlived his contemporaries, fears that the pines may think it is past time for him to die. There were numerous pine trees at the Takasago Shrine (in southern Hy6go Prefecture), in- cluding one particularly old specimen, best known today from the Noh play "Takasago."
to th alwa: said. there word extra SOC!a
front came me it That late a
"H hers, was, want, much like t disgr: mitte 'If on mind delivt
It\ and< the ir [Myii
Th
"Th Si
Myc
7.
I would be 1I about the ning. Come ttrol himself 10ut waiting
s have been :rity, it said, do anything m more un- b.e little boy :e and bring r to read all
s
1 to imagine tme to aome ny gracious little prince 11patience to ~-Please tell ow I feel. It an unlucky
Id, who was 1im, but His
ief from the that clouds
er you have g occas10ns. ,ting myself, ughter from bout her up
:iatsu no omo- mbarrassing to :vity. The poet, for him to die.
Prefecture), in- 'akasago, ,,
Kiritsubo
to the very moment of his death. 'Be sure she's presented at court as we always intended. Don't make the mistake of giving up because I'm gone,' he said. I thought it would be better for her not to enter the palace than to live there without influential backing, but I didn't feel able to ignore his last words, so I sent her off. As it happened, His Majesty always favored her extravagantly-far more than her status warranted. I think she tried to as- sociate with the other ladies in the usual manner, hiding the inhuman af- fronts she suffered, but her rivals were frightfully jealous, and her life be- came such a series of torments that she finally died an unnatural death. To me it seems that His Majesty's love was more an affliction than a blessing. That shows how unreasonable a bereaved parent can be." The hour grew late as she faltered on in the same vein, choked with tears.
"His Majesty feels the same," Myobu said. "He says, 'I realize now that hers was a cruel karma: our time together was destined to be short, and that was why I adored her in a way that shocked some people. The last thing I wanted was to cause anybody the slightest disappointment, but there was much unwarranted bad feeling because of her, and at last she left me alone like this. It's more than I can do to control my grief; I've turned into a disgraceful edtentric-which, I suppose, may also be the result of acts com- mitted in a previous existence.' He sits there weeping, saying over and over, 'If only I knew what had happened in my last life."' She broke down. Then, mindful of the need to hurry back, she said in tears, "It's very late; I must deliver your reply before dawn."
It was not easy to leave the simple dwelling where tile sky stretched clear and cloudless in tile light of the setting moon, the breeze blew cool, and the insects in the grasses seemed intent on evoking tears with their wails. [Myobu recited:]
suzumushi no koe no kagiri o
tsukushite mo nagaki yo akazu furu namida ka na
Though I were to wail like a shrilling bell cricket
with unstinting voice, yet would the long night be too short to end the flow of my tears.
The mother instructed a lady-in-waiting to respond:
itodoshiku mushi no ne shigeki
asajiu ni tsuyu okisouru kumo no uebito
"The crickets must be complaining."
The person who comes from the place above the clouds
brings ever more dew to the neglected garden where insect voices lament.7
Since it was not an occasion for elaborate presents, the mother gave Myobu some of the Kiritsubo lady's things as keepsakes-a set of robes,
7. "Place above the clouds" was a term used of the imperial palace.
32 The Tale of Genji
preserved in anticipation of just such a need, and also some toilet articles of the kind required for dressing hair in a formal coiffure.
Of course, the prince's young ladies-in-waiting were grieved by the Kiri- tsubo lady's death, but they considered their present surroundings boring and lonely, accustomed as they were to a busy life at court; and they also kept the emperor's melancholy state very much in mind. They declared themselves strongly in favor of an early return to the palace. But it was not a light decision for the grandmother. "People would be bound to gossip if the boy were accompanied by an unlucky woman like me. On the other hand, I'd worry if he were out of my sight for a minute," she thought.
Myiibu was touched to find the emperor still up. While making a show of interest in the luxuriant bloom of the garden, he was talking quietly with four or five especially cultivated ladies-in-waiting, whom he had summoned to act as his sole attendants. Of late, he had taken to looking day and night at a group of pictures representing scenes from "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow"-paintings commissioned by Retired Emperor Uda, who had also commanded Ise and Tsurayuki to compose verses to go with them. 8 Japa- nese and Chinese poems on related themes had become his favorite topics of conversation. Turning his full attention to Myiibu, he now questioned her about the visit, and she spoke in a soft voice of the deep compassion she had felt. He read the mother's letter: "I am overwhelmed by the honor Your Majesty has conferred on me. Your kind message brings new confusion to a mother's darkened heart." [Her poem:]
araki kaze fusegishi kage no
kareshi yori kohagi ga ue zo shizugokoro naki
After the death of the tree, its protection against
the blustering wind, I ponder with anxious heart the fate of the y6ung bush clover.
He probably overlooked the breach of decorum because of her distraught state.9 Determined not to make a spectacle of himself, he did his utmost to calm his feelings, but his anguish was beyond endurance. In his mind, he sought out and savored every memory of the Kiritsubo lady, including those from the days when he had barely met her; and he marveled that he had survived so long after the death of one whose briefest absence had caused him distress. His heart ached with pity for the mother. "It was always my intention to do something to repay her for going ahead with the presenta- tion as the major counselor desired," he said, "but there's no use thinking about that now." He continued, "Even so, opportunity undoubtedly lies
8. "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow" is a poem by Bo Juyi about the tragic love of Em- peror Xuanzong and Yang Gueifei (translated in Birch, Anthology of Chinese Literature, pp. 266-69). Lady Tse and Ki no Tsurayuki were prominent poets of the late 9th and early 10th centuries.
9. The poem could be taken to imply that the emperor would not look after the child.
ahe pra:
l- one oft:
1 ma1 of Ii the pro his his son birc was his
I the nigl mg oft wai will imp
1
his
ilet articles of
l by the Kiri- 1dings boring ind they also 'hey declared ,ut it was not d to gossip if :::>n the other bought. ing a show of quietly with
.d summoned lay and night ,f Everlasting who had also them. 8 Japa-
1vorite topics uestioned her ssion she had : honor Your onfusion to a
t ;lover.
,er distraught his utmost to his mind, he eluding those I that he had e had caused 1s always my the presenta- use thinking
.oubtedly lies
agic love of Em- inese Literature, ,te 9th and early
er the child.
Kiritsubo 33
head for the young prince, once he grows older. His grandmother must ;ray to live a long time."
He asked Myobu to let him see her presents. "If only the hairpin were the one in the poem-the token brought back from a visit to the dwelling place of the dead!" he said to himself.10 But such thoughts were vain. [His poem:]
tazuneyuku maboroshi mo ga na
tsute nite mo tama no arika o soko to shirubeku
Would that I could find a wizard to seek her out,
for then I might know, at least by hearsay, the place in which her spirit dwells.
There is a limit to what a brush can do, no matter how skillful the artist may be, and thus Yang Gueifei's painted face and figure lacked the warmth of life. To be sure, one could recognize in the pictures the woman to whom the poet likened the Taiyi hibiscus and the Weiyang willow; and she was probably a brilliant beauty in her Tang-style robes. But to the emperor, with his memories of the Kiritsubo lady's engaging manner and touching charm, his lost love seemed beyond comparison with the color of any flower or the song of any bird. He had sworn day and night that they should be "as two birds sharing a wing, as two trees with joined branches," and now there was only the everlasting sorrow of the death that had made a mockery of his vows.11
Delighted by the beauty of the moon, and having long ceased to frequent the Imperial Apartments, the Kokiden lady was making music late into the night while the sovereign sat desolate, his gloom exacerbated by the sough- ing wind and the chirring insects. 12 He listened with distaste, and the sound of the instruments aroused pity in the hearts of the courtiers and ladies-in- waiting who had been witness to his recent behavior. The Kokiden lady, willful and difficult by nature, probably wanted to let people know that the imperial grief was no concern of hers.
The moon set. [The emperor:]
kumo no ue mo namida ni kururu
aki no tsuki ika de sumuran asajiu no yado
What light does it shed at the neglected dwelling-
the autumn moon whose radiance is dimmed by tears even above the clouds?
The emperor stayed up, fretting about the grandmother and child, while his attendants trimmed and re-trimmed the lamp until the oil was gone. The
ro. In "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow," a Taoist priest finds Yang Gueifei on an enchanted island, and receives from her a golden hairpin as a memento for the emperor.
rr. The quotation is from "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow." 12. The Imperial Apartments (ue no mitsubone) were two rooms used by consorts and
concubines when they came to the emperor's residence, the SeiryOden, from their quarters elsewhere in the palace compound.
34 The Tale of Genji
voices of men from the bodyguards of the right, identifying themselves for night duty, showed that the hour of the ox [I:oo A.M.-3:00 A.M.] must have begun.13 To avoid comment, he retired to the imperial bedchamber, but sleep refused to come. And when it was time to rise in the morning, he recalled the poem about sleeping "unaware of the dawning day," 14 and was seemingly as indifferent as in the past to his matutinal duties of state. He made only the merest pretense of eating breakfast, and at the formal meals later in the day, he betrayed a lack of interest that made all the people serv- ing him sigh over his pitiful mien. His closest attendants of both sexes con- fessed to one another that they were at their wits' end.
"Things were probably fated to turn out this way for him," some people said, "but he was wrong to ignore all the complaints and resentment and act the way he did about her; it's really too much for him to keep going on as though nothing mattered to him, not even affairs of state." There were those who sighed and made whispered comparisons with a foreign ruler.
Time passed, and the young prince came to the palace. Now that he was a bit older, the emperor discerned in him a beauty that seemed more than ever not of this world, and he fretted lest he be destined to die young.
In the following spring, when it was time to name a crown prince, the emperor wanted to disregard the First Prince's claim, but the younger child lacked influential support. Nor was the boy's nomination likely to win gen- eral acceptance-on the contrary, he feared that it might prove dangerous to him. Thus he took care to conceal his true feelings. "Besotted though he is, he does know where to draw the line," people said. The Kokiden lady breathed a sigh of relief.
Death came at last to the grandmother, the rriajor counselor's widow- perhaps in response to her prayers, for, inconsolable in her sorrow, she had asked that she might at least be allowed to go in search of her daughter. Again, the emperor was grieved beyond measure; It was the year in which the boy turned six: he was old enough to understand this time, and he wept for his grandmother. She, for her part, had told him over and over of her sadness at leaving him behind after so many years of loving intimacy.
The boy lived entirely at court from then on. When he was seven, the emperor held the first reading, and he was so unbelievably quick and bright that his father actually worried about the significance of such brilliance. 15
"I don't see how anyone could dislike him now," the emperor said. "Treat
13. The bodyguards of the left stood night duty during the first watch, from 9:00 P.M. to I:oo A.M.; the bodyguards of the right, during the second watch, from 1:00 A.M. to 5:00 A.M.
14. Ise, speaking as Emperor Xuanzong (1s 55): tamasudare / akuru mo shirade / neshi mono o I yume ni mo miji to / omoikakeki ya ("Did I imagine that I would never so much as dream of her-not though I slept, blinds still drawn, unaware of the dawning day?").
15. The first reading (fumihajime) was usually performed when the son of a high-ranking family reached the age of seven or eight. Ostensibly designed to show the child how to read, it was a largely symbolic event, during which the young· principal, dressed in elaborate robes, repeated a few words after hearing them read aloud from the Classic of Filial Piety or some other suitable text.
hirr his the aloe SIDI
dau 1
and all t and
It Chi
- oft that ther
A had perc the the brin
Tl starr com hap1 the€ I 061
Tl teres cleve "I d< this prod gant the I<
Wt cret, form
Th style kept his n
16,
Shinnc
hemselves for M.] must have chamber, but morning, he
y," 14 and was s of state. He formal meals e people serv- 1th sexes con-
· some people ,entment and :eep gomg on " There were :eign ruler. v that he was ed more than young. ·n prince, the rounger child y to win gen- ve dangerous ed though he (okiden lady
ir's widow- :row, she had 1er daughter. •ear in which . and he wept :1 over of her :imacy. as seven, the :k and bright 1 brilliance. 15
r said. "Treat
Jill 9:00 P.M. to M, to 5:00 A.M, > shirade / neshi ever so much as day?"). f a high-ranking l how to read, it elaborate robes, 1/ Piety or some
Kiritsubo 35
him with affection, if only because he's a motherless child." When he visited his ladies, he took the boy along and let him go inside the blinds, even at the Kokiden. The Kokiden lady, for her part, could not bring herself to keep aloof from him, for his countenance was so fair that it would have elicited smiles from the most fearsome warriors. She had borne the emperor two daughters, but their beauty was not equal to his.
The other ladies also let the child see their faces. Simultaneously intrigued and daunted by a refinement and elegance astonishing in one so young, they all treated him as a companion with whom it would not do to be too artless and open.
It was only to have been expected that the boy would excel in his formal Chinese studies, but his proficiency at the koto and flute was also the talk of the palace. Indeed, so numerous and so rare were his accomplishments that it would undoubtedly seem a disagreeable exaggeration if I were to list
. them all. Around that time, the emperor learned of a skilled physiognomist who
had come to the capital with a party of Koreans. Mindful of Retired Em- peror Uda's (.njunction against summoning foreigners to the palace, he sent the young prince to the Korokan in great secrecy. The major controller of the right, who had been assigned general responsibility for the boy's up- bringing, took him there as his own son.
The physiognoinist kept cocking his head in bewilderment. "He bears the stamp of one destined to ascend to the supreme status of emperor and be- come the father of the nation, but turmoil and distress may ensue if that happens. We might consider the possibility that he is meant to assist with the government as an imperial surrogate, but that would contradict the signs I observe," he said.
The controller was also a learned doctor, and the two engaged in an in- teresting conversation. They exchanged poems in Chinese, among them a clever composition in which the physiognomist said something to this effect: "I depart for home in a day or two, but I shall feel sad now that meeting this remarkable young man has brought me such happiness." The prince produced a touching couplet, to which the Korean responded with extrava- gant praise and splendid gifts. There were also many gifts from the court to the Korean.
Word of the consultation inevitably spread. The emperor guarded the se- cret, but the crown prince's grandfather, the minister, heard about it and formed his own suspicions concerning its significance.
The emperor was both a prudent man and also something of a Japanese- style physiognomist himself; and certain personal observations had hitherto kept him from even naming the boy an imperial prince. 16 Now he made up his mind, impressed by the Korean's sagacity. "I don't want him to be set
16. Being officially designated as an imperial prince (shinno) or imperial princess (nai- shinno) conferred a social cachet and made the recipient eligible for special perquisites.
The Tale of Genji
adrift as a rankless imperial prince, with no backing from any maternal relatives. And who knows how much longer I'll be emperor? The way to safeguard his future is to let him become a subject serving as a mainstay of the throne," he thought. He made sure that his son devoted increasing effort to many branches of learning. In view of the boy's remarkable intelligence, it seemed a shame to make him a subject, but he would be bound to incur suspicion if he became an imperial prince. Confirmed in this opinion by a wise astrologer with whom he took counsel, the emperor decided to name him a member of the Genji clan.
As the years went by, there was never a time when the emperor forgot the Kiritsubo lady. He arranged for the presentation of suitable consorts, hop- ing to find consolation, but society seemed incapable of producing anyone who might even rank in the same category, and he existed in a state of perpetual dissatisfaction.
As it happened, one of his attendants, Naishi-no-suke, had also served an earlier emperor whose fourth daughter was reputed to be a great beauty. The girl was being reared with the utmost care by her mother, the former empress. As a frequent friendly visitor at the empress's residence, Naishi- no-suke had seen the daughter from her childhood on, and she still managed to catch an occasional glimpse of her face. "I've served three emperors with- out encountering anyone who resembled her dead ladyship, but the em- press's daughter looks very much like her now that she's grown. One seldom sees so lovely a countenance," she reported.
His hopes aroused, the emperor sent the mother a courteous request for the daughter's presentation. She temporized, alarmed by the Kokiden lady's malicious nature, and by the open contempt to which the Kiritsubo lady had been subjected; and she joined the late emperor in death while she was still trying to come to a firm decision. Recognizing th.lit the princess had been left in a pathetic situation, the emperor sent earnest assurances that he would see to her needs just as he did for his own daughters. To her ladies-in-waiting, her guardians, and her older brother, Prince Hyobukyo, it seemed that palace life, with its opportunities for diversion, would be preferable to a lonely private existence, and so she was presented. She be- came known as the Fujitsubo lady. She did indeed bear an astonishing re- semblance to the Kiritsubo lady, both in face and in general appearance. Thanks to her lofty status, which predisposed people to admire her and forestalled criticism from her rivals, she did as she pleased and never had any cause for dissatisfaction. The difficulty in the Kiritsubo lady's case had simply been that people were outraged by His Majesty's open preference for someone they refused to regard as entitled to special treatment.
The emperor still thought about the Kiritsubo lady, but his affections shifted to the new consort before he knew it, and the pain of his loss was all but obliterated-a poignant reminder of the evanescence of worldly things.
As his father's constant companion, Genji was bound to see the lady the
emper< say th, appear prime. of her had he could 1 ful no1 affecti<
The "Don'1 thougl rude; I like yo
You for the of auti ammo lady h,
Gen appea1 andw And tl was cc:
Altl dress ; was tv tion, a to be I crown Shishi sched1 he sai, grow,
The chaml the ini durini the hr appea to reg lookir have· tumul
any maternal 1 The way to a mainstay of reasing effort : intelligence, mnd to incur opinion by a ided to name
:or forgot the ,msorts, hop- 1cmg anyone in a state of
.!so served an great beauty. r, the former ence, Naishi- still managed 1perors with- but the em-
. One seldom
lS request for okiden lady's iritsubo lady vhile she was princess had mrances that 1ters. To her : Hyobukyo, ,n, would be ated. She be- tonishing re- appearance.
nire her and 1d never had :ly's case had ,reference for
1is affections s loss was all ,rldly things. the lady the
Kiritsubo 37
emperor visited most frequently, whether she liked it or not. I need hardly say that none of the other imperial consorts considered herself inferior in appearance, and that all were in fact beautiful. But they were a bit past their prime. The Fujitsubo lady was young and sweet, and Genji caught glimpses of her in the natural course of events, try as she might to hide her face. He had heard from Naishi-no-suke of her close resemblance to the mother he could not remember, and in his boyish heart, he came to love her with wist- ful nostalgia-to yearn to visit her constantly, and to see her on terms of affectionate intimacy.
The two of them were the people the emperor loved best in the world. "Don't keep him at arm's length," he told the lady. "It's odd, but I feel as though I ought to consider you his surrogate mother. You mustn't think he's rude; be loving with him. His mother's face and expression were so much like yours that you could pass for her."
Young though he was, Genji found ways of demonstrating his fondness for the Fujitsubo lady-with small gifts of cherry blossoms, for instance, or of autumn leaves. His obvious devotion rekindled the Kokiden lady's old animosity, '71'.hich was aggravated by a smoldering dislike of the Fujitsubo lady herself, 'and she could no longer bear the sight of him.
Genji's glowing beauty was incomparably appealing, far superior to the appearance of the crown prince who was so precious to the Kokiden lady, and whom society praised to the skies. People called him "the shining one." And the Fujitsubo lady, with whom he shared the emperor's deepest love, was called "the radiant sun princess."
Although the emperor considered it a pity for Genji to discard the hair- dress and robes of a child, he arranged a capping ceremony when the boy was twelve. He assumed personal charge of the event, gave it his full atten- tion, and made additions of his own to the prescribed ritual. Everything was to be perfect; he was determined that it should create no less a stir than the crown prince's capping, which had taken place in an earlier year at the Shishinden, and which everyone had pronounced magnificent. The banquets scheduled for various places became the subject of special commands, for, he said, the officials at the palace storehouse bureau and the granary might grow careless if they merely followed regulations.
The emperor's chair was placed facing eastward in the eastern eave- chamber of the imperial residential hall, and in front of it were the seats of the initiate and the minister of state who was to confer the cap. Genji arrived during the hour of the monkey [3:00 P.M.-5:00 P.M.]. To those who saw the bright face framed in boyish loops of hair, it seemed a shame to alter his appearance. The treasury minister, who prepared the new coiffure, seemed to regret the responsibility as he cut the beautiful locks; and the emperor, looking on, found himself remembering the dead lady. If only she might have witnessed this scene! Only by stern self-discipline did he master his tumultuous emotions.
The Tale of Genji
After the capping, Genji went to a retiring room and changed into a man's cloak. Then he descended to the courtyard to perform the dance of obei- sance, a sight that moved all the beholders to tears. Again, the emperor was less able than others to control his feelings. He returned to the past with an anguished heart, experiencing anew the grief for which he had sometimes found solace.
Genji's beauty had increased to a startling degree, belying the misgivings of his father, who had wondered if it might not harm his looks to dress his hair in masculine style while he was still so young and delicate in appearance.
The minister of the left possessed one daughter, the offspring of an impe- rial princess, who had been reared with the utmost care. The crown prince had manifested an interest in her, but the minister had put him off, with the thought in mind that he might offer her to Genji instead. He spoke to the emperor, who encouraged the idea. "If that's what you want," the emperor said, "she could act as his bedmate.17 I don't know of anyone else who is prepared to help out with the capping ceremony." And so he had reached his decision.
Genji withdrew to the courtiers' waiting room, where he took a seat be- low the last of the imperial princes when it came time for the company to drink. The minister of the left dropped him a hint, but he was at an easily embarrassed age, and no reply occurred to him.
A handmaid arrived with an imperial summons for the minister. When he reported, the emperor gave him some gifts as a rew,ard for his services dur- ing the ceremony. They were the usual things: an extra-large white robe and an additional set of clothing, transmitted through His Majesty's attendant Myobu. With the wine, the emperor offered a poem in which he called the minister's attention to a matter that was on his mind: ' ·':
itokinaki hatsumotoyui ni
nagaki yo o chigiru kokoro wa musubikometsu ya
The minister replied:
musubitsuru kokoro mo fukaki
motoyui ni koki murasaki no iro shi asezuba
When you tied the cord to hold the young boy's hair,
did you pledge in your heart that those two should be bound in permanent union?
Great will be my joy if his interest fades no more
than the deep purple of the cord I fastened with a pledge of eternal ties.
17. When a prince was initiated into manhood, the event was normally climaxed by the acquisition of a feminine bed partner (soibushi), a girl of good family, often somewhat his senior, who usually became his principal wife later.
Then h ing by stables approi: princes maJor and ba
Ther were e, cappm:
That During courtei very cb sweet: two, tb
Not sort, tr former not en Genji , ence ol expectc
The ladies. lain an of the. nage vi the bo) bit as f law enj
Witt. chance the sec and hi1 someo1 pretty:
NoV1 inside 1 pressec
18, 1 the Seiry
19, S
into a man's 1ce of obei- mperor was ,ast with an I sometimes
: misgivings ,ks to dress delicate in
of an impe- ·own prince Jff, with the poke to the he emperor else who is tad reached
k a seat be- :ompany to at an easily
:r. When he ~rvices dur- te robe and s attendant e called the
. rt nd
maxed by the somewhat his
Kiritsubo 39
Then he went to the courtyard to perform the dance of obeisance, descend- ing by way of the long bridge. 18 While there, he received a horse from the stables of the left and a perched hawk from the chamberlains' office. Gifts appropriate to their status were bestowed on the senior nobles and imperial princes ranged in lines at the foot of the stairs. By imperial command, the major controller of the right had provided the prescribed boxed delicacies and baskets of fruit for Genji to present to the emperor.
There was scarcely room for all the rice balls and chests of presents, which were even more numerous than the ones distributed after the crown prince's capping. This was in fact an occasion far more splendid than the other.
That night, the emperor sent Genji to the home of the minister of the left. During the reception ceremonies there, the minister treated the boy with a courtesy so exquisite that it seemed quite beyond precedent. Genji was still very childish in appearance, and to the host he looked almost frighteningly sweet and appealing. But to the daughter, who was a little the older of the two, the match seemed unsuitable and embarrassing. 19
Not only did the minister enjoy the emperor's highest trust, but his con- sort, the daughter's mother, was His Majesty's full sister, the offspring of a former sovereign's empress. And as though those two circumstances were not enough to guarantee him a splendid position, he had now acquired Genji as a son-in-law. The marriage struck a devastating blow to the influ- ence of the minister of the right, the crown prince's grandfather, who was expected to assume eventual control of the government.
The minister of the left had fathered a good many children by various ladies. One of them, the princess's son, held the dual positions of chamber- lain and lesser captain. He was young and very handsome; and the minister of the right, unable to ignore so eligible a candidate, had arranged a mar- riage with his cossetted fourth daughter, even though his relationship with the boy's father was strained. The minister made it a point to treat him every bit as generously as the minister of the left treated Genji, and both sons-in- law enjoyed ideal relationships with their wives' fathers .
With the emperor constantly demanding his presence, there was little chance of Genji's settling down to life away from court. The boy cherished the secret belief that no woman could equal the Fujitsubo lady in beauty, and his love for her kept his young heart in turmoil. "If only I might marry someone like that-but there isn't anybody. His Lordship's daughter seems pretty and well-bred, but I don't really care for her," he thought.
Now that Genji had come of age, the emperor no longer allowed him inside the Fujitsubo lady's blinds as he had done in the past. The boy ex- pressed his feelings by playing his flute in harmony with the consort's koto
18. The long bridge was a corridor connecting the Shishinden, a ceremonial building, with the Seiryiiden.
19. She was 16, four years Genii's senior.
The Tale of Genji
when there was music, or sought consolation in the faint sound of her voice. Naturally enough, it was only at the palace that he felt happy. His visits to his father-in-law's house were sporadic-stays of two or three days after five or six days of service at court-but the minister did everything in his power to make him comfortable and refused to find fault with his behavior, which was, he said, entirely permissible for one of his years. Both for his daughter and for Genji, the minister selected ladies-in-waiting of exceptionally high quality. He also devised amusing entertainments, and in general took great pains to please the young man.
At the palace, the emperor gave Genji apartments in the Kiritsubo, where his mother had lived, and assigned to his service all the women who had attended the dead lady at court and at home, a disposition that made it possible for the group to stay together. In accordance with imperial com- mands to the palace repairs office and the bureau of skilled artisans, the Kiritsubo lady's old home was refurbished with incomparable magnificence. The original groves and the artificial hill had always been attractive, and now, with much commotion, work crews set about widening the lake to make the grounds perfect. "If only I could bring someone I loved to a place like this and live there with her!" Genji thought gloomily.
People say there is a tradition that it was the admiring Korean who first called Genji "the shining one."
Genj char1 there abou for i: futur acutf tain adve1
Ar light hous, love,' frivol plora his h, times
Du perio, time. tinue,
r. l success hyosha
d of her voice. ,. His visits to days after five ~ in his power havior, which r his daughter Jtionally high ral took great
itsubo, where nen who had that made it
mperial com- artisans, the
magnificence. ttractive, and g the lake to ,ed to a place
ean who first
CHAPTER TWO
[ 2 l
The Broom Tree
( Summer of Genji's seventeenth year)
Genji made qi~ mistakes-so many, indeed, as to lay him open to the charge that his fine sobriquet, "the shining one," was a misnomer; and there even seems to have been talk (which can only be called malicious) about affairs that he tried to keep secret, afraid of acquiring a reputation for indiscretion if' still more tales of his amours should be passed on to future generations. In reality, his sensitivity to the world's opinion was acute. He was the soul of circumspection, and the Katano lesser cap- tain must have been vastly amused by his lack of romantic, interesting adventures.'
Around the time when he was still a middle captain, he took great de- light in his court duties and seldom left the palace for his father-in-law's house. The minister's people suspected a case of "the confusion of secret love," but, to tell the truth, his was not a nature to be much attracted to frivolous, commonplace, spur-of-the-moment affairs.2 Instead, he had a de- plorable habit of very occasionally, and most uncharacteristically, setting his heart on a relationship that was bound to result in misery; and at such times his behavior was not always what it should have been.
During the unrelenting summer rains, the court observed an extended period of ritual seclusion, and Genji stayed on duty for an unusually long time. Impatient and disgruntled, the people at the minister's mansion con- tinued to provide him with magnificent costumes, perfect down to the last
1. The Katano lesser captain, the hero of a lost romance, is said to have been an ever- successful philanderer who paid no attention to public opinion. Tamagami, Genii monogatari hyoshaku, r: r 60.
2. Anonymous {IM, sec. 1): kasugano no/ wakamurasaki no/ surigoromo / shinobu no mi- dare / kagiri shirarezu ("Like the random patterns on this robe, dyed with young purple from Kasuga Plain, utterly confused is the heart of one secretly in love").
42 The Tale of Genji
detail, and the sons of the house were always to be found waiting on him at the Kiritsubo. Middle Captain T 6-no-chiijo (the princess's son) was on especially close terms with him, more relaxed and informal than his broth- ers when there was music or some other entertainment. Somewhat heart- lessly flirtatious and fickle, T6-no-chiii6 also found it distasteful to live with the daughter of the minister who treated him so well. He maintained his apartments at home in luxurious style and usually went along on Gen- ii's visits to the family mansion, where he shared his Chinese studies and amusements day and night. Wherever Genii went, he was sure to be there. As a natural consequence of such close association, the two became great friends, their lack of reserve so complete that neither could conceal his in- nermost thoughts from the other.
It was a hushed evening toward the end of a long rainy day. The courti- ers' hall was almost deserted, and things were also unusually quiet at the Kiritsubo. Genii sat next to a lamp, looking at books. From the cabinet beside him, he withdrew some letters on paper of various colors. T6-no- chiii6 was immediately curious, but Genii refused to hand the papers over. "I could show you a few that are harmless enough, but I'm afraid some aren't in the best of taste," he said.
"The frank ones you seem to consider 'not in the best of taste' are the very ones I want to see," his friend complained. "I can't profess to be any- one of much importance, but I do manage to carry on a correspondence suited to my status, and it produces a surfeit of humdrum, hackneyed love letters. The only ones worth reading are the ones,written when the senders are full of resentment and accusations-or perhaps when they're waiting impatiently at nightfall."
If it had been a question of letters from ladies of high degree, the kind demanding strict secrecy, Genii would certainly have' fiidden them away in- stead of letting them lie loose in an ordinary cabinet. These must have been less important-nothing to worry about. T6-no-chiij6 took them up and glanced through them, one by one. "Quite a collection!" He tried to iden- tify the authors, and some of his guesses hit the mark. To Genii's amuse- ment, he challenged the denials even when he was wrong. Genji guarded his tongue, misled him as well as he could, and finally repossessed the let- ters and put them away.
"You must be the one with the big collection," he said. "How about let- ting me see them? I'll be glad to open this cabinet afterward."
"I fear there's nothing worth showing," T6-no-chiij6 said. "I've gradu- ally come to realize that it's almost impossible to find a woman one can regard as beyond criticism," he continued. "There seem to be many who possess surface attractions-they write a beautiful hand, know how to make just the right reply to a letter, and in general perform rather well in terms · of what might be expected of them. But even so, if I were really choosing on the basis of such accomplishments, it would be hard to find
some( grasp grate
"Sc girl VI their and,, becor her, a peopl to the never false, with l his ex
Ge1 pene1 any ,
"If 1mag1
"\l<i tectiv to be perso amon
He whett for di who: the cc with anyb(
]us the ri and 1 to see
"E, doesr come. self, l can't decisi defini iob o
1iting on him son) was on
,an his broth- tewhat heart- steful to live :e maintained long on Gen- e studies and e to be there. became great onceal his in-
y. The courti- r quiet at the n the cabinet olors. To-no- : papers over. l afraid some
taste' are the :ss to be any- rrespondence tckneyed love ,n the senders tey're waiting
iree, the kind hem away in- ust have been them up and tried to iden- ' .. , ,enJI s amuse- ;enji guarded ,essed the let-
ow about let- ,,
, "I've gradu- •man one can Je many who :now how to rather well in I were really , hard to find
The Broom Tree 43
someone of whom I would think, 'I absolutely can't let her slip from my grasp.' Most of them take inordinate pride in their own skills and deni- grate others in a thorou?hly disag_reeable manner.
"Sometimes, a man will get excited over reports of a skill possessed by a girl with a pair of doti~~ parents :,vho are rearing. her in strict seclusion, their hearts set on a bnlhant marnage. She's beautiful, gentle, mnocent- and, with time on her hands because she doesn't mingle in society yet, she's become absorbed in some little art, taken up in imitation of those around her, at which she has become expert by dint of incessant practice. When the people who look after her mention her to others, they keep her weak points to themselves and talk up the reasonably good ones. And since the man has never seen her, how can he be sure that he should dismiss their reports as false, merely on the basis of guesswork? But once he gets on intimate terms with her, lured by the hope that it may all be true, she invariably disappoints his expectations." He breathed a deep sigh.
Genji smiled, as though his companion's rather intimidating display of ex- perience had recalled a similar incident in his own past. "I wonder if there's any woman yvho can't boast of at least one accomplishment," he said.
"If there whe, no man would let himself be persuaded to approach her. I imagine there are just about as many hopeless cases as there are paragons.
"When a girl is born into an exalted household, there will always be pro- tective people around to conceal her faults, and she will naturally seem to be the peak of perfection. Women from the middle rank have distinct personalities and individual tastes; there are many ways of distinguishing among them. As for the lower class, they can be of no particular interest."
He seemed to have mastered every detail of his subject. His curiosity whetted, Genji said, "Now about those classes-what should the basis be for distinguishing among them? How shall we treat the high-born individual who sinks into ruin, loses rank, and scarcely lives like a human being, or the common fellow who rises to become a senior noble, decorates his house with all the self-confidence in the world, and considers himself as good as anybody else?"
Just then, Uma-no-kami and To Shikibu-no-jo arrived to participate in the ritual seclusion. They were great sophisticates, clever at argumentation, and To-no-chiijo drew them into a debate on the nature of class, delighted to see them. A good many disagreeable things were said.
"Even when a man rises in the world, people will reject him if his lineage doesn't fit his new status," Uma-no-kami declared. "And even if someone comes from an exalted family and continues to have a high opinion of him- self, he'll .suffer from want and be forced into unbecoming expedients if he can't make his way in the world, falls behind, and loses his popularity. Our decision should be that both belong in the second rank. Society has already defined the status of the so-called zuryo-the men who get involved in the job of governing the provinces-but there are gradations among them, and
44 The Tale of Genji
in times like the present, it's all right to single out some who aren't too bad and include them at the middle level of the middle class. The kind of man I personally find a refreshing improvement on a boorish senior noble is some- one of fourth rank, elegible to be a consultant, who enjoys a decent reputa- tion, comes from a respectable family, and lives in comfortable style. There seems to be nothing he doesn't have in his house, no skimping anywhere, and he probably has any number of daughters, all being reared with fantas- tic solicitude, and all growing up without a flaw. Many such girls enter court service and score surprising successes."
Genji laughed. "It seems we'd better concentrate on the rich ones, doesn't it?" he said.
"You don't sound like yourself," T6-no-chuj6 said with a frown. "There's no point in discussing the girl who is born into a great house-a
family irreproachable in lineage and reputation-but who is inferior both in her deportment at home and in the impression she makes on others. We can only shrug our shoulders in disgust and wonder how she managed to grow up like that," Uma-no-kami said. "If someone with the same advan- tages turns out supremely well, that's only natural. People think it is only to have been expected, and nobody is likely to exclaim in amazement, 'What a rare phenomenon!' Such a girl is beyond the reach of someone like me, so I won't go on about the top of the top class.
"What would be amazing would be to discover an unbelievably sweet, appealing maiden shut up in a lonely, dilapidated, vine-choked dwelling, her very existence unknown to others. We would m;irvel at finding her there and would feel strangely drawn to her just because of the way she has con- founded our expectations. Her father would perhaps be old and disagree- ably overweight, her brother ill-favored, but she would lead a dignified life inside her predictably undistinguished rooms, and th~ polite accomplish- ments with which she whiled away the time would seem delightful. Her skills might in fact be limited, but we'd still consider her unexpectedly inter- esting. I don't say she could be singled out as superb or flawless-just that it would be hard to dismiss her." He glanced at Shikibu, who remained silent. (Shikibu may have wondered if his friend was thinking of his own sisters, who had been the subject of a fair amount of praise.)
Genji must ·have considered the chances of such a discovery negligible, since it was impossible, after all, to find the right person at even the highest social level. He was leaning against an armrest, attired in an informal cloak that was draped with deliberate negligence over some soft white inner robes, its cords untied; and his beauty in the lamplight made it tempting to think of him as a woman. To see him was to sense the difficulty of choosing a woman who could be completely worthy of him, even if she were the highest of the high.
They talked on, comparing various types. "The world is full of women," said Uma-no-kami, "but when a man tries to pick a dependable spouse, he
learns perfec- to fine than c may b the su comm act as she'll I case o well, t didate adopt! comp; a girl find sc reqmr
"Or don h mark, are sti qualiti thats peoph native
"W: proacl her an let's s::
out ac then,, or twc an exc
"So appar, herwl
''Se, glect, epherr ing ph there'i
3. A kirusa r try that
aren't too bad , kind of man J noble is some- decent reputa- >le style. There fog anywhere, :d with fantas- irls enter court
1 ones, doesn't
rown. ;reat house-a ; inferior both on others. We .e managed to : same advan- 1k it is only to ment, 'What a e like me, so I
ievably sweet, I dwelling, her ling her there , she has con- and disagree- t dignified life : accomplish- elightful. Her >ectedly inter- ess-just that rho remained 1g of his own
ry negligible, !ll the highest tformal cloak e inner robes, ,ting to think >f choosing a re the highest
I of women," le spouse, he
The Broom Tree 45
, 5
how hard it is to settle on anyone, even a person who would seem ~ctly all right as somebody else's wife. It is not all that easy, I imagine,
}ind men with the potential to serve as pillars of state, but it takes more ''n one or tWO people to run the government, no matter how able they ItY be. The superior accepts help from the inferior, the inferior_ defers to e superior, and broad-rangmg funct10ns are performed m a spmt of ac- mmodation. When we come to think about the lone woman who must t as mistress within the narrow confines of a household, we can see that e'll have to have a great number of indispensable qualities. It becomes a
ease of 'When I venture this, thinking, since the case is thus-when this is ~ell, that is ill,' 3 and a man reconsiders, acknowledging the scarcity of can- didates who are even marginally acceptable. It isn't that he deliberately
,>:idopts the role of a dilettante, indulging a flirtatious heart by meeting and comparing all kinds of women-no, he merely wants to satisfy himself that
'a girl is the wife for him, so he throws himself into the attempt to at least find someone he can love, and whose flaws are not egregious enough to
<require correction and instruction. His first such choice is bound to be hard. "Once a man is married to a woman, it can be difficult for him to aban-
don her, evei't though she may not be what he could wish. People will re- mark on his constancy in staying with her, and, naturally, the fact that they are still together will cause others to surmise that she possesses exceptional qualities. But in all my observation of marriages, I've never encountered one that seemed unbelievably successful. And considering the problems of people like me, whose range of options is fairly wide, what kinds of alter- natives are there for you young lords, who search at the very highest level?
"While women remain pretty and young-looking, they all make irre- proachable behavior a point of pride. One of them may write to a man, but her ambiguous language and faint handwriting will keep him guessing. Or let's say a man calls on a woman and makes up his mind not to leave with- out actually meeting her. He'll be subjected to an unconscionable wait, and then, when he ventures a gallant sally, in the hope of at least eliciting a word or two, she merely murmurs a little something under her breath. All this is an excellent way to hide defects.
"Sometimes a man falls head over heels in love, fascinated by a woman's apparent gentleness and femininity, but the moment he. begins catering to her whims, she turns into a tease. Of all their faults, I think this is the worst.
"Seeing to her husband's needs is the one responsibility a wife can't ne- glect, so it would seem just as well for her not to brood over the pathos of ephemerality, or feel an obligation to respond with sensitivity to every fleet- ing phenomenon, or immerse herself in elegant pursuits. On the other hand, iliere's the plain-looking housewife who demonstrates her sense of respon-
3. Anonymous (KKS 1060), soe ni tote I to sureba kakari I kaku sureba I ana iishirazu I ausa kirusa ni ("When I venture this, thinking, 'Since the case is thus,' that is what results. When I try that . .. what to say? When this is well, that is ill").
The Tale of Genji
sibility by tucking her hair behind her ears and devoting herself heart and soul to domestic concerns. Her husband thinks, 'I can't talk to some out- sider about everything that happens at court and elsewhere while I'm away-what people do, the good and bad things I remember seeing and hearing. If only I could discuss matters with a wife who would listen to me and understand what I say!' A smile comes to his lips, tears fill his eyes-or, often enough, he fires up with moral indignation about something or other. But what good would it do to tell her? He turns aside involuntarily, and a private recollection evokes a spontaneous laugh. 'I declare!' he says, talking to himself. He can scarcely help feeling depressed when she looks up, with her mind on something else, and asks, 'What's so funny?'
"Actually, it's not a bad idea to look for a completely childlike, docile woman, train her a little, and marry her. The man may have misgivings about her reliability, but at least he can feel that she's educable. And to be sure, he'll overlook the faults she commits in his presence the more readily because she's such an appealing little thing. But once they're apart and he sends a message about something that needs to be done, she lacks the judg- ment to decide how to take care of it, whether it's a matter of taste or some- thing more practical. This is most disturbing: one feels, after all, that the flaw of undependability can be a source of infinite grief.
"And then there's the woman who's usually blunt and disagreeable but makes a wonderful appearance when the occasion calls for it." The omni- scient debater heaved a deep sigh, unable to reach a conclusion.
"My present feeling," he continued, "is that I'm not going to make social position my main criterion-much less physidl appearance. The one dis- qualification will be a terrible disposition. Otherwise, a man should simply choose for his lifetime companion anyone who is serious and placid by na- ture. If, in addition, she happens to be talented an,d discriminating, he'll rejoice. If she's a bit inferior in some respects, he won't dwell on her defi- ciencies: as long as she's faithful and not unreasonably jealous, he'll see that she acquires surface accomplishments in the natural course of events.
"A gentle, shy woman of the second kind may pretend not to notice things about which she might justifiably complain. To all outward appearances, she has nothing on her mind. But when she reaches the breaking point, she flees in secret to some remote mountain dwelling or isolated shore, leaving behind an indescribably poignant letter, a pathetic poem, and mementos that are sure to make the man think of her, whether he wants to or not. When I was a chila listening to the ladies-in-waiting read stories, I used to feel deeply moved, even to the point of tears, by the plight of the women who made such decisions. But thinking about it now, I find their behavior rash and theatrical. Even if a wife has to put up with something at the moment, what could be more foolish than to doom herself to a lifetime of misery by ignoring her husband's sincere devotion, running away into hid- ing as though unaware of his feelings, and causing him no end of trouble-
all in her dt of enl; thats acqua you VI tears I world elder! cheek tears regret befor,
mind. stays incid, const
one e love, seem
"A tion, in an easil) Ont
inorc pleas boat,
To the fi he sa and, who!
., beha fit hi that
U1
rself heart and : to some out- ere while I'm ,er seeing and Id listen to me I his eyes-or, thing or other. mtarily, and a .e says, talking .ooks up, with
tildlike, docile 1ve m1sg1vmgs )le. And to be e more readily : apart and he acks the judg- taste or some- :r all, that the
;agreeable but t." The omni- >n.
:o make social . The one dis- should simply placid by na-
ninating, he'll II on her defi- ;, he'll see that events.
, notice things appearances,
ing point, she shore, leaving nd mementos nts to or not. ries, I used to Jf the women :heir behavior tething at the ) a lifetime of way into hid- l of trouble-
The Broom Tree 47
;. order to test his heart? Her emotion swells, fed by people who praise ;!decision, and she's a nun before you know it. She seems to be in a state r nlightenment when she reaches her decision, and it doesn't occur to her
•• ~ she may someday look back on her secular life with regret. But her a µaintances come to commiserate with her-'What a tragedy! To think
were ready to go this far!'-and the news of her action is greeted with • :s by her husband, whom she still can't bring herself to hate. 'Why in the f~rld did you do it when he loved you so much?' say her servants and {derly ladies-in-waiting. As she g~opes _for the tress~s that once brushed her '.heeks, her own face contorts with misery. She tnes to be brave, but the ~ars overflow, and each time it's more than she can bear: she's so full of
regrets that the Buddha must think her heart is more impure than it was before. It certainly seems to me that a woman is more likely to stray onto
,,one of the evil paths when she's halfway enlightened than when she remains ·~ sinful lay person. And even if the karmic bond is so strong that the man
> finds her before she takes the vows, the memory is bound to rankle in his '.mind. The truly strong, impressive marriage is the one in which the woman stays at the rpan's side through thick and thin, overlooking disagreeable incidents. Esdl.pades like this are bound to leave a residue of uneasiness and constraint.
"It's also foolish for a woman to show open resentment and pick a quarrel with a man just because he gets involved in a meaningless affair with some- one else. As long as he associates the wife fondly with the early days of their love, he will value the relationship, however attractive the other woman may seem; but the marriage may well end if she deluges him with complaints .
"A husband's love will increase if a woman remains calm in every situa- tion, merely hints at her knowledge of causes for jealousy, and speaks only in an unobjectionable, roundabout fashion of matters at which she might easily take offense. In more cases than not, he'll be moved to mend his ways. On the other hand, a woman will find herself dismissed as negligible, no matter how sweet and appealing she may be, if she simply stands back, inordinately reluctant to interfere, and lets her husband do whatever he pleases. A man doesn't really get any fun out of drifting like an unmoored boat, wouldn't you agree?"
To-no-chiijo nodded. "It can be a serious matter when we have to doubt the fidelity of someone whose charm and appeal have captured our heart," he said. "We think we can reform the person by remaining faithful ourselves and overlooking the transgressions, but we aren't likely to succeed. On the whole, I suppose it's best to adopt an attitude of calm forbearance toward behavior at which we might take legitimate offense." This was a verdict that fit his own sister's case, he thought. He was disappointed and vexed to find that Genji had dozed off and had nothing to say on the subject.
Uma-no-kami, the expert, talked on, and To-no-chiijo paid close atten- tion, eager to hear the rest of his dissertation.
The Tale of Genji
"Think about some comparisons-for example, the woodworker who makes all kinds of things to suit his fancy. If one of his products happens to be a spur-of-the-moment trifle for which there is no fixed model, it may look stylish at first glance. 'Well! Here's another way to make that,' we think. As one such occasion follows another, the form keeps changing, and some of the results impress us as modern, fresh, and appealing. But when it comes to carefully fashioning a perfect piece of formal furniture-a decorative ob- ject made in the prescribed way-then the true expert demonstrates his unique skill.
"Again, there are many fine artists in the office of painting. When a group has been chosen to draw preliminary sketches in black and white, it's im- possible to glance at the individual pictures and find clu~s to distinguish the superior from the inferior. In an extravagantly colored picture of Mount Penglai, the fairy isle no mortal has ever seen, or of fierce fish in wild seas, or horrendous Chinese beasts, or invisible spirits, the painter lets his imagi- nation run riot to astound us the more, and the result will pass for the real thing, even though it's untrue to life. But the brush of a master is unique- far better than the efforts of a mediocre artist-when it comes to drawing ordinary mountains and streams and familiar dwellings in such a way that we think, 'That's it, exactly,' or inserting unobtrusive bits of scenery that seem appealing and gentle, or depicting range after range of densely forested rolling hills so that they seem infinitely remote from the busy world, or creating a meticulous design for a garden behind a rustic fence.
"Also in calligraphy, an ill-trained writer's ch<jracters may look skillful and stylish at first glance, with their dots running into lines and their vague aura of assertiveness, whereas the writing of someone who has mastered the essence of the art through painstaking study may appear unremarkable. But when we pick up the two specimens and compare tHel:n again, we see that the product of the competent hand is the better.
"That's the way it is in these relatively minor matters. So when it comes to the human heart, I certainly don't feel like trusting somebody who is all coquetry and surface charm. I'll tell you about one of my own early experi- ences, even though it may sound a bit indecent." He inched closer on his knees, and Genji awoke. T6-no-chiij6 sat opposite with the expression of a true believer, cheek on hand. It was amusingly like the scene when a learned monk delivers a Buddhist sermon, except that this was the kind of occasion on which those present find it impossible to keep from discussing their love affairs.
"Early in my career, while I still held a junior post, there was a woman I fancied. I mentioned her earlier-the one who was no beauty. Being young and setting great store by a pretty face, I considered it a minor liaison and never thought of making her my principal wife. When I got bored and sought distraction in other quarters, she flew into jealous fits. I was annoyed
and wisl On the c for her, t so unreli
"This to see ti puzzle o get them
.... jealousy. "At tb
said, 'St1 it; I WO] things o: stay tog,
· to shrug heart, ar
"Afte1 doing a impatier erty and can't be. after ye, might cl her voic
>sioned t, "I tur
•form m} ,rise abo
)dworker who 1cts happens to lei, it may look ,' we think. As ;, and some of when it comes decorative ob- monstrates his
When a group white, it's im- distinguish the :ure of Mount h in wild seas, lets his imagi-
1ss for the real :er 1s umque- 1es to drawing 1ch a way that >f scenery that msely forested ·usy world, or :e. y look skillful nd their vague s mastered the markable. But .n, we see that
when it comes ody who is all n early experi- 1 closer on his expression of
scene when a ·as the kind of om discussing
,as a woman I ,. Being young or liaison and :ot bored and I was annoyed
The Broom Tree 49
. wished she could be more even-tempered, but her attacks never let up. the one hand, it was exasperating, but there we_re times when I felt sorry her too, wondermg how she could keep on carmg so much for someone
· · nr~liable; and almost without realizing it, I lost the desire to roam. '~This woman paid scrupulous attention to all my needs and tried her best see that everything was exactly as I desired. For instance, she would zzle out ways to perform tasks she really was unequal to, determined to t them done for my sake; or she would devote tremendous effort to mas- ring a skill at which she didn't excel, so that I wouldn't find her wanting. had thought that such behavior signified a strong will, but she was always ubmissive and gentle. She paid great attention to makeup and dress because
.·she was afraid her ugliness might disgust me, she avoided strangers because she thought it might be a blow to my dignity for her to be seen, and in
:.general she tried to be prudent and circumspect. As we went on together, I found no fault in her character except for the one thing-her intolerable jealousy.
"At that point, I thought, 'She seems to be an inordinately devoted, timid woman. If I C\ln scare her just enough to teach her a lesson, she'll probably calm down ari'd' quit being so obnoxious.' It seemed to me that if I let her know I intended to break with her because I was fed up, anyone so submis- sive would be bound to mend her ways; and I intentionally put on a great show of coldness. Then, when she flew into one of her usual jealous rages, I said, 'Strong as our karmic bond may be, this kind of willfulness will sever it; I won't be seeing you anymore if this keeps up. If you want to break things off, just go on nursing your groundless suspicions. If you want us to stay together far into the future, you'll have to bear the hard things, learn to shrug them off, and quit being jealous. Then I'll love you with all my heart, and you'll be my principal wife when I rise to a modest prominence.'
"After I had gone on for a while in that lofty vein, satisfied that I was doing a fine job of teaching, she answered with a faint smile. 'I wouldn't be impatient or upset if it were simply a matter of accepting your present pov- erty and insignificance and waiting for you to move up in the world, but I can't bear the anguish of going on like this month after month and year after year, putting up with your cruelty and hoping against hope that you might change someday. The time has come for us to part.' The hostility in her voice aroused my anger, and I showered her with abuse. Too impas- sioned to control herself, she seized one of my fingers and bit it.
· "I turned on her with exaggerated reproaches. 'I'll never be able to per- form my duties at court with a wound like this. Now how am I supposed to rise above the insignificance you cast up to me? I'll just have to become a monk.' I left, holding my finger curled against my palm and saying, 'Very well, today marks the end for us.' To my parting poem I added the comment, 'You can have no complaint':
50
te o orite aimishi koto o
kazoureba kore hitotsu ya wa kimi ga uki fushi
The Tale of Genji
When with my fingers I tell over the events
of our married life, I see that jealousy is far from your only flaw.
Angry though she was, she burst into tears:
uki fushi o kokoro hitotsu ni
kazoekite ko ya kimi ga te o wakarubeki ori
Your flaws I have told in the silence of my heart
as time has gone by: this is indeed the hour when I must bid you farewell.
"Despite the quarrel, I didn't really intend to break with her, but I was leading an unsettled life, and I let the days slip by without even sending her a note. One night when a dreary sleet was falling, a group of us left the imperial palace together, after staying late to rehearse some dances for the Kamo Special Festival, and when we separated to go our own ways, I real- ized that her house was the only place I thought of as home. The prospect of spending the night alone at the palace was depressing-nor could I expect much warmth at the house of a rather affected lady I had been visiting. I resolved to go where I could be sure of comfort, and also to use the occasion to test her attitude. I felt a little sheepish and shy as I entered, brushing the snow from my garments with unnecessary vigor, but I said to myself that a visit on such a night surely ought to be enough to melt even so long hard- ened a heart. \
"A dim lamp stood facing the wall, several soft, thickly padded robes were spread on a large incense basket, and all the curtains were up, just as though she had been hoping I might appear. 'No more than I expected,' I thought smugly. But she herself was not to be seen; nobody was there but a few ladies-in-waiting who were looking after the place. 'Her Ladyship went to her father's house at nightfall,' they said in answer to my questions.
"I had already been disappointed by her behavior-shutting herself up in the house, never sending a coquettish poem or elegant note or doing any- thing else of interest-and now in my irritation (and little as I actually be- lieved it), I wondered if her shrewishness might have been part of a delib- erate plan to turn me against her. But the perfect dyes and impeccable tai- loring of the robes laid out for me showed that they had been prepared with more than usual attention, and that, in characteristic fashion, she had been thinking about me and my needs, even after apparently deciding to break with me.
"Whatever the evidence to the contrary, I was positive she didn't want to give me up. I tried some approaches, and she accepted them. She made no effort to confuse me by hiding, nor did she embarrass me by refusing to answer any of my letters. She merely said, 'If you continue in your old ways,
I won't be, to live toge me.' Convi1 ise of refor took it dre, my sport.
"Whens: woman wh, matter, hov When it ca stress shew her, she see
"We'd pi share the C chiijii chim truly uniqu we can't e, which all t<
·• and go wit! "Around
thing of a whose tast< hand, and comings at
, sional surre •and in tim with grief, habit of pa
. what flash} ••to the con, · fell off, an, \over.
"As I w;: •month, Im ,fpend then · '"I have probably b,
"As it ha i e could s {which was
v.
well.
her, but I was ren sending her J of us left the dances for the
m ways, I real- :. The prospect r could I expect been visiting. I se the occasion :I, brushing the o myself that a L so long hard-
padded robes rere up, just as 1 I expected,' I vas there but a Ladyship went [Uestions. tg herself up in or doing any- ' I actually be- •art of a delib- mpeccable tai- prepared with , she had been iding to break
didn't want to , She made no by refusing to rour old ways,
The Broom Tree
't be able to overlook it. If you learn to settle down, I'm willing for us , n together.' 'All very well,' I thought, 'but she can't bear to part from '.v~onvinced that a little discipline would do her good, I made no prom-
( f reform, but instead subjected her to some very perverse antics. She ;,i it dreadfully to heart and died, and only then did I realize the folly of ··•· sport. ''When she comes to mind now, I always have the feeling that she was a
'C man who met every requirement for a lifetime companion. There was no :tter however large or small, on which I couldn't consult her with profit.
en it came to dyeing, she was a veritable Tatsutahime, and as a seam- tress she was a marvel, as deft as the Weaver Maid." As he sat remembering
"er she seemed to him infinitely pathetic.
1 ,:We'd probably settle for less than the Weaver Maid's skill if we could
hare the Ox-Driver's good fortune in keeping his spouse forever," To-no- hiijo chimed in. "It sounds as though your Tatsutahime must have been ruly unique among women. No wonder it's hard to find the ideal wife when
we can't even count on things as trivial as blossoms and autumn leaves, which all too ,?~ten display drab colors, unworthy of the season, and come
rand go withou·t meriting our attention." "Around the same time," Uma-no-kami resumed, "I was seeing some-
thing of a woman who had a nicer personality than the other one, and whose tastes seemtd to be refined. She composed poetry, wrote a flowing hand, and played the koto agreeably-in fact, I didn't notice any short- comings at all. She wasn't bad looking, either, so I paid her an occa- sional surreptitious visit, meanwhile relying on the nagger to look after me; and in time I fell deeply in love. When the other one died, I was dazed with grief, but it does no good to cling to the departed, and I got into the habit of paying her frequent visits. Gradually, I became aware of a some- what flashy, flirtatious side to her character, which displeased me and led to the conclusion that she wouldn't make a trustworthy wife. My visits fell off, and presently it began to look as though she had taken a secret lover.
"As I was leaving the palace on a beautiful moonlit night in the tenth month, I met a certain courtier who joined me in my carriage. I decided to spend the night at the major counselor's place.4
"'I have an odd feeling of concern about a house where someone has probably been waiting for me tonight,' my companion said.
"As it happened, the woman I've been telling you about lived on the way. We could see the reflection of the moon in the lake beyond her outer wall (which was crumbling here and there), and the other man got out-unable, he announced, to go past a place where even the moon had sought a lodg- ing. He had apparently been on close terms with my mistress for quite a
4· The major counselor was probably his father.
I I !
' I' ii
!,, ! i , I
52 The Tale of Genji
while, because he seated himself jauntily and gazed up at the moon from a sort of veranda, which was attached to a corridor near the middle gate. The white chrysanthemums had taken on a delightful reddish tinge, and the au- tumn leaves were scattering in the wind, as though in competition to forsake the boughs-all in all, a moving scene. The man drew a flute from his breast and began to play, interspersing his piping with snatches of song, such as, 'The shade is good.' 5
"Presently, I heard the mellow strains of a six-stringed koto, already tuned to the right key, harmonizing skillfully with the flute. The effect wasn't at all bad, nor did the modern sound of a ritsu mode seem inappropriate to the bright moonlight as it drifted from behind the bamboo blinds, sum- moned by the woman's gentle touch. Filled with admiration, the man walked over to the blinds. 'I see no sign that anyone has made his way through the autumn leaves in this garden,' he teased. 6 He picked a chrysan- themum and offered it with a poem:
koto none mo tsuki mo e naranu
yado nagara tsurenaki hito o hiki ya tomekeru
'I really shouldn't talk that way.'
Splendid beyond words both koto and moonlight
at this dwelling, but I wonder if they have held an indifferent man.
'"How about another song?' he continued. 'Don't be ungenerous when there's someone here who can appreciate it.' To,this and other jesting, fa- miliar remarks, she returned a coquettish, affected answer:
kogarashi ni fukiawasumeru
fue none o hikitodomubeki koto no ha zo naki
I have no words, nor has my koto notes
sufficient to hbl'd one whose flute harmonizes with the cold autumnal wind.
"Unaware that I was listening to their badinage with mounting indigna- tion, she tuned a thirteen-stringed koto to the banshiki mode and began to play in the currently fashionable manner. The music was not without its brilliance, but I found it loathsome.
"When a man is merely involved in a casual, off-and-on affair (with a lady-in-waiting at court, for example), it may be amusing enough, for as
5. A line from a folksong (saibara), "Asuka Well" (KDKYS, p. 3 85 ): "At Asuka Well-that's where I want to spend the night. YA! OKE! The shade is good; the water is cold; the fodder is good," The woman is expected to recall the second line, and to understand that the singer is asking to stay with her. The small-capped words are nonce syllables.
6. Anonymous (KKS 287): aki wa kinu / momiji wa yado ni / furishikinu / michi fumiwa- kete / tou hito wa nashi ("Now autumn has come. Fallen leaves have covered the garden, and along the buried path no visitor makes his way"),
long as tl attain met too little consider: I used th,
"When even as , woman, view wit! terested c were, see boo gras another s who loo! their mer
To thi1
"Let rr was som had seerr thought
,, me as I g even tho regardin1 when I c<
, that any determin who mer )ng her t ;.found it iny pro!: '·''' "Then ~top a c eriod" ase bee:
Never
te moon from a 1iddle gate. The 1ge, and the au. • :ition to forsake from his breast
f song, such as '
>, already tuned effect wasn't at 1appropriate to ,o blinds, sum- 1tion, the man made his way
;ked a chrysan-
Is
held
generous when :her jesting, fa-
~es rind.
mting indigna- e and began to 1ot without its
. affair (with a enough, for as
,suka Well-that's cold; the fodder is i that the singer is
m / michi fumiwa- ,d the garden, and
The Broom Tree 53
. as the liaison lasts, to watch his fair one flirt and preen herself on her ~nments. But I couldn't help turning against this woman and judging her little trustworthy, too forward, to qualify as a partner in what I would sider a permanent relationship, even though my visits might be irregular.
'ed the events of that evening as an excuse for breaking with her. ~When I think over iliose two experiences and compare them, I see that n as a youth I recognized the unseemly, untrustworiliy character of a man who would flaunt her talents like that. I expect to hold the same w witli deeper conviction in the future. You gentlemen are probably in-
rested only in flirtatious, yielding women-dewdrops on bush clover, as it ere, seemingly ready to fall if we break the branch, or hailstones on barn- ho grass, ready to vanish if we pick. them up. But you'll know better in nother seven years or so. Take a humble man's advice: beware of the female ho looks like an easy conquest. Such women commit indiscretions, and eir men acquire reputations as fools." To this advice, T6-no-chiij6 responded with his usual affirmative nod. enji gave a slight smile in apparent agreement. "They're both rather awk- ard embarrassing stories, aren't they?" he said, laughing. ' .. "Let me tell'you a story about a foolish woman," T6-no-chiij6 said. "She
vwas someone whom I had begun to visit in strictest secrecy, and whom it had seemed worth my while to keep seeing in the same way. There was no
· thought in my mind of a permanent relationship, but she became dear to me as I got used to her, and I felt that it would be impossible to forget her, even though my visits were irregular. I noticed that she showed signs of regarding me as her protector; and that being the case, there were times when I couldn't help expecting her to get upset, but she didn't seem to notice that anything was wrong: however long my absence, she always seemed determined to act patient and resigned, and not to consider me a philanderer who merely dropped in now and then. Moved to compassion, I kept assur-
. ing her that she could count on me. She was a defenseless orphan, and I found it appealing that she thought, 'I'm all right; I have him,' whenever
· any problem came up. "Then someone at my wife's house availed herself of an opportunity to
drop a cruel, vicious innuendo in my mistress's ear. It happened during a period when I had let a long time elapse without visiting her, my mind at ease because of her mild manner; and it wasn't until later that I learned of it. Never dreaming that she had suffered such a harsh blow, I continued to stay away, without even sending a letter-though, of course, I didn't forget her. Meanwhile, she felt extremely depressed and vulnerable, especially since there was a child to consider. In desperation, she picked a wild pink and sent it to me." There were tears in his eyes.
"What did her letter say?" Genji asked. "I don't seem to remember anything in particular. [There was a poem:]
54
yamagatsu no kakiho aru tomo
ononm aware wa kake yo nadeshiko no tsuyu
The Tale of Genji
Though the rustic's fence sink neglected into ruin,
may the kindly dew descend now and again on the wild pink at its base.7
"This reminder brought me to her house. As usual, there was no coldness in her manner, but she looked terribly unhappy, and she seemed to me to • resemble a character in an old romance as she gazed disconsolately at the dew-drenched grounds of the neglected dwelling, weeping as though in ri- valry with the wailing insects. (I recited a poem:]
sakimajiru hana wa izure to
wakanedomo nao tokonatsu ni shiku mono zo naki
Hard task though it be to distinguish between flowers
in intermingled bloom, there is still none to equal the wild pink, "blossom of the bed." 8
"My idea was to forget for the moment about the child, the 'wild pink of Yamato,' and concentrate on soothing the mother-on making it clear that I would guard her 'even against a speck of dust.' She responded with a poem, murmured as though the matter were unimportant, with no hint of serious resentment.
uchiharau sode mo tsuyukeki
tokonatsu ni arashi fukisou aki mo kinikeri
A cold gale adds its threat to the wild pink burdened with dew
where tears,_have dampened sleeves employed to brush a dusty bed. Love's autumn has truly come!9
"She tried to keep me from noticing her tears, which ~eemed to cause her great embarrassment, and acted as though nothing could be more distress- ing than to let me see that she minded my behavior. So I didn't worry; again,. I stayed away. And she simply disappeared-vanished without a trace. She must be having a hard time if she's still alive. I'd never have let her wander off like that if she had made any demands on me in the days when I was fond of her. Nor would I have neglected her for such long stretches of time; I could have arranged to give her a certain position and look after her per·
7. Fence, dew, and wild pink are metaphors for the author, T6-no-chuj6, and the child. 8. Whereas the woman has used nadeshiko, "wild pink," to mean the child, T6-no-chuj6
uses tokonatsu, another name for the flower, to refer to the woman herself. The first two syllables of tokonatsu are ho~ophonous with a word meaning "bed." The reader is intended to recall a poem by Oshikochi no Mitsune (KKS 167): chiri o dani / sueji to zo omou / sakishi yori / imo to wa ga nuru / tokonatsu no hana ("! have guarded them even against specks. of dust since first they blossomed-those wild pinks, 'flowers of the bed' where I lie with my wife"). .
9. The cold gale represents T6-no-chUj6's wife; aki puns on "autumn" and a form of the~ verb aku, "tire of," of which T6-no-chiij6 is the subject.
anently. 1 er, but I h
',"This we pe. Decei
er heart VI · adually f< ring me, ows ther n, the kir "Your na hard to'
ysterious C?Shikibu tii-no-chiij ""What s1 wien like 'T6-no-d >After m1 · nee whi e brainy red sage: lous abili ve put S< ough to 1 "This ha
/th him.
sn't es· her ra
ed our ·n the l
lo. A line ghter tog to get m.: jo his dau
ence
ase. 7
was no coldness :eemed to me to msolately at the as though in ri-
Je lowers n, al of the bed." 8
;he 'wild pink of dng it clear that sponded with a with no hint of
hreat ed with dew 1pened sleeves sty bed. come! 9
ned to cause her ,e more distress- 1't worry; again, wu t a trace. She e let her wander lays when I was tretches of time; Jk after her per-
io, and the child. , child, T6-no-chiij6 erself. The first two te reader is intended to zo omou I sakishi even against specks ,d' where I lie with
." and a form of the
The Broom Tree 55
/1 The 'wild pink' was an adorable child. I want very much to find t~ l . ••·•.· l haven't been ab e to learn anythmg about her yet. _t woman would certainly seem to be an example of your unreliable is ceived by her placid air, l went on loving her without realizing that
c ;t was seething with anger-a fruitless, one-sided love, indeed. I'm e~ly forgetting her now, but I have a feeling that she can't help remem- : me, that there are evenings when her heart aches with love, and she
·sthere's nobody but herself to blame. She was an untrustworthy per- :the kind a man can't keep. .
::\'our nagging spouse was a memorable woman, but such Jealousy would 'ard to live with-and, one suspects, might produce active dislike under wrong circumstances. In the case of the accomplished performer on the
0 we must consider her flirtatious nature a damning flaw. There is also
<~ for doubt about the true sentiments of my unreliable mistress. If we d to choose which of the three would make the best wife, I don't believe could do it. This kind of comparison of good and bad points is far from y. But where is there a woman who possesses all the virtues and lacks all faults? Some may think of Kichijoten, but she's too otherworldly and
ysterious fot comfort." Everyone laughed. "Shikibu must have some interesting stories. Tell us a little something,"
6-no-chiijo urged. If "What story from the lowest of the low could merit the attention of gen- .iHemen like you?" Shikibu-no-jo demurred. · T6-no-chiij6 was serious. "Come on," he insisted. "You're wasting time."
After mulling over possible subjects, Shikibu-no-jo began his account. •"Once while I was still a student of literature, I ran across an example of the brainy woman. Just as in the case Uma-no-kami has described, she of- fered sage advice when I consulted her about my work, and revealed a mar- velous ability to cope with the problems of everyday life. Her learning would
• have put some of our would-be scholars to shame, too. All in all, she was · enough to make a man afraid to open his mouth.
"This happened at a time when I was visiting a certain professor to study with him. I'd been informed that he had several daughters, and when an opportunity arose, I made advances to one of them. The father heard about it and brought out the wine bowl. 'Listen while l sing of two ways,' he said. 10
I wasn't especially eager to visit the girl, but I let myself become involved with her rather than offend him. She looked after me with loving care, sea- soned our pillow talk with instruction in such Chinese lore as might help me in the proper execution of my official duties, and wrote me letters in a
10. A linf. from a composition by Bo Juyi. The poem continues, "It's easy for a rich man's daughter to get married, but she looks down on her husband; it's hard for a poor man's daugh- ter to get married, but she's good to her mother-in-law." The professor is offering Shikibu- no-j6 his daughter.
11 'I
The Tale of Genji
fine, clear hand, using formal, convoluted Chinese diction, unmarred by kana. Naturally, I couldn't stop visiting her. She was the teacher from whom I learned what little I can manage in the way of composing a lame sort of Chinese, and I still thank her for that. But it seemed to me that it would be embarrassing for a man to keep letting himself be shown up as a less-than' brilliant scholar in front of a woman he cherished as a true wife. And some- . one like the professor's daughter would certainly have no appeal at all for young lords who can dispense with strong, active feminine support. One . side of me wanted to be rid of her, but I liked her well enough to keep see- ing her, possibly because of some karmic affinity. Men don't have much backbone."
The others were curious to hear the rest of the story. Tongue in cheek, they egged him on. "Well, well! A most interesting woman, indeed." Al- though he knew their pleas were insincere, he returned to his subject with a comical expression of satisfaction.
"Once when something took me to her house after a long absence, I was annoyed to find that she received me from behind curtains instead of in the usual comfortable room. 'How absurd,' I thought. 'ls this her way of ex- pressing displeasure?' It occurred to me that I was being given an opportu- nity to break with her. But my sagacious lady was not one to indulge in rash displays of jealousy. Well aware of the conduct proper to a wife, she uttered no word of reproach. In a high-pitched voice, she said, 'For several months now, I have been afflicted with the vapors, which I am treating with the "extreme heat" garlic decoction. The odor is pungent, and I must decline an interview, but I shall be happy to execute· any minor commissions with which you may wish to charge me.' Unable to frame a suitable response to this admirable formal speech, I said merely, 'I understand.' She may have felt that something more was needed, for she ¢ailed out as I prepared to leave, 'Come and see me when the smell's gone.' It seemed heartless to go without a word, but I couldn't bring myself to tarry, especially after an unbearable reek of garlic began to assail my nostrils. Poised for flight, I. recited a poem:
sasagani no furumai shiruki
yugure ni hiruma suguse to iu ga aya naki
'What kind of excuse is that?'
I don't understand why you say, 'Come by day'
on an evenmg when the spider with its web had told you of my visit.11
"I dashed off without further ado. She sent a poem in pursuit:
11. The expression attributed to the woman, hiruma suguse ("Come by day"), can also mean, "Wait until the garlic smell goes," It was a popular belief that a spider spinning its web at dusk was a sign that one's lover would come that night.
"Y "~ "I'
11, unmarred by :her from whom g a lame sort of that it would be p as a less-than- wife. And some- 1ppeal at all for te support. One 1gh to keep see- on't have much
ongue in cheek, m, indeed." Al- is subject with a
~ absence, I was instead of in the her way of ex-
~en an opportu- > indulge in rash ,vife, she uttered · several months ·eating with the i I must decline mmissions with 1ble response to ,' She may have ts I prepared to I heartless to go ,ecially after an sed for flight, I
:lay'
web 11
.·suit:
by day"), can also for spinning its web
au koto no yo o shi hedatenu
naka naraba hirurna mo nani ka mabayukaramashi
The Broom Tree
If the two of us were of those couples who meet
each night without fail, what embarrassment would I feel if you were to come by day? 12
57
ft was a characteristically swift response," he concluded in a grave voice. The others burst into appalled laughter. "You made the whole thing up!" "Where would anyone find such a woman?" "I'd rather settle down with a witch. That's gruesome!" The speaker
napped his fingers. . "That can hardly be called a story," said someone in a disparaging voice.
'Tell us something a little more suitable." Shikibu-no-jo sat motionless. "What could be better than that?" he asked. "To me it seems pathetic that an inferior man or woman always wants to
.<show people every last bit of what little it is that he or she knows," said Uma-no-kami. "A woman will lack charm if she achieves full mastery of the three histories and five classics, the core of the Chinese curriculum. On the
0
other hand, *e can hardly say that the mere fact of her sex renders her utterly ignorant, utterly incapable of coping with what goes on in public and private. Even though she may not make a point of getting an education, her eyes and ears will naturally pick up quite a bit if she's at all bright. But if, having acquired the ability to dash off Chinese characters, she stuffs a letter to another woman more than half full of them instead of avoiding them altogether, as would be proper, then the recipient thinks, 'How dis- agreeable she is! Why couldn't she have chosen a more graceful style?' It doesn't occur to the writer that her calligraphy lacks grace, but to the reader, whose voice will inevitably produce stiff, harsh sounds, it seems as though she has been trying to show off. This kind of thing is by no means uncommon, even in the highest circles.
"Nothing is more annoying than the would-be poet, the slave to the art who constructs a composition around some clever historical allusion and sends it to a man who is in no mood for versification. If he doesn't answer, he's a boor; if he can't rise to the challenge, he feels humiliated. Let's say it's around the time of one of the court banquets-for instance, the morning of the fifth-month festival, when he's about to rush off to the imperial palace and can't possibly sit down for quiet reflection about sweet flags, yet she sends him a poem with a handsome root. Or he may be frantically trying to cobble together a Chinese poem on some difficult topic for the ninth-day banquet, yet she sends a reproachful missive, hinting that her tears resemble dewdrops on chrysanthemums. She's imposing a burden on him just when it's least appropriate, and she makes herself appear tactless, rather than in-
r,, Or: "if you were here when I smelled of garlic?"
58 The Tale of Genji.
genious as she had hoped, by dispatching her effort without stopping to think that he won't be able to pay any attention to it at such a time, even though he would undoubtedly have found it novel or touching if she had just held off and let him think about it later.
"On the whole, it's surely safer for a woman not to assume stylish airs or play the aesthete if she fails to understand which occasions. are the ones on which others will think, 'Why did she have to do that? Couldn't she have left well enough alone?' Any woman will be well advised not to show every- thing she knows, and not to speak her full mind when she has something to say."
Genji's mind had been on the Fujitsubo lady all along. To him she seemed a woman with none of those deficiencies or excesses, and his heart was full as he asked himself where her like was to be found.
The discussion trailed off inconclusively into disreputable anecdotes, and presently a new day dawned.
The weather had finally taken a turn for the better. Genji left to go to his father-in-law's house, moved to sympathy by thoughts of the minister's con- cern over his long stay at the palace. All was brightness, elegance, and order at the mansion and in his wife's apartments. He told himself that this lady was eminently trustworthy, just the sort of serious person his recent com- panions had said it would be impossible to desert, but her correct, prim manner made him feel stiff and self-conscious, and he turned in frustration to teasing Lady Chunagon, Nakatsukasa, and others among her pretty young attendants, meanwhile loosening his robes in the heat. The attentive ladies-in-waiting found his appearance delightful. 'The minister arrived, sat down beyond a curtain-stand in deference to his son-in-law's dishabille, and began to chat. Genji pulled a wry face. "It's too hot to talk," he said. The ladies giggled. "Sh! Be quiet!" Genji admonished, le'ahing on his armrest. He seemed very much at home.
[ Sumn Yugao:
It happer ' the vicini
his way I a sick ca.
Gazini 2 house ne 'half-shut
'c bays, am ·•·· attractiv, · carriage. that they
(> trigued, I ihad prot 'he ventu riot be r
.Just insic , a pole; : ,?Id poen ephemer:
As the
I. We I, logo) and 1
2 , Anor .zo I yado t< :Wi11 choose
out stopping to 1ch a time, even :hing if she had
1e stylish airs or are the ones on mldn't she have t to show every- ! has something
him she seemed is heart was full
, anecdotes, and
left to go to his e minister's con- :ance, and order ,If that this lady his recent com- :r correct, prim :d in frustration tong her pretty tt. The attentive .ster arrived, sat s dishabille, and <," he said. The on his armrest.
CHAPTER THREE
l 4 l
Yugao
[ Summer to tenth month of Genji's seventeenth year. Rokujo lady: 2.4; Yiigao: 19; Aoi: 2.r]
t happened af<:mnd the time when he was making secret visits to a lady in the vicinity ot Rokujo Avenue. Feeling in need of a brief rest as he was on his way to her house from the palace, he stopped on Gojo Avenue to pay "a sick call at the home of his former nurse, Daini, who had become a nun
tin search of relieffrom a grave illness. The carriage gate was bolted, and C he sent someone to call Koremitsu. 1
Gazing idly at the squalid avenue while he waited, he noticed that the house next door had a new wickerwork fence made of cypress wood. The
· half-shutters above it had all been raised for a distance of four or five bays, and from behind pale, cool-looking rattan blinds a large number of attractive feminine foreheads were visible as their owners peeped at his carriage. The women were apparently moving about, and it seemed to him that they must be very tall as he tried to visualize their lower bodies. In- trigued, he wondered who they were. He had chosen a plain carriage and had prohibited the warning shouts that usually cleared his way; and now he ventured to expose his face for a better look, certain that he would hot be recognized. The whole of the modest establishment was in view just inside the gate, which was only a shutter-like contrivance, raised on a pole; and its ramshackle appearance evoked poignant thoughts of the old poem, "What place might I single out." 2 Stately mansions are no less ephemeral.
As though proud that they were the only flowers in bloom, some blos-
r. We learn later that Koremitsu is the nun's son, and that Genji is his foster-brother (meno- togo) and patron.
>. Anonymous (KKS 987): yo no naka wa / izure ka sashite / wa ga naramu / yukitomaru o zo I yado to sadamuru ("In this world of men, what place might I single out to be my abode? I will choose to lay my head wherever my journey ends").
60 The Tale of Genji
soms had created exuberant splashes of white on a luxuriant green vine, which was rambling over a species of board fence.
"I would like to ask a question of the person in the distance," Genji murmured. 3
One of his escorts knelt.4 "Those vines, 'blooming with snow-white flowers,' are called evening faces [yiigao]. The name makes o_ne think of people worth noticing-but that's a wretched fence they're blooming on."
The tangled vines had crawled along the crumbling, weakened eaves of all the dwellings in what was indeed a shabby neighborhood of mostly small, humble houses.
"Poor blossoms! Theirs is an unhappy karma," Genji said. "Pick one for me." The man went inside the raised gate and picked a flower. Modest though the household was, a pretty little girl, dressed in a long pair of thin yellow silk trousers, came to a tasteful sliding door and beckoned to him. She held out a heavily scented white fan.
"Put it on this for the gentleman," she said. "Those flowers don't have nice stems."
Just then, someone opened the gate and Koremitsu emerged. The man handed him the fan to give to Genji.
"Please forgive me; the key got lost. Nobody in this neighborhood would recognize you, but I'm sorry you had to wait in such a grubby street," Koremitsu apologized.
They took the carriage inside, and Genji got out. Koremitsu's older brother, the holy teacher; 5 the nun's son-in-law, the governor of Mikawa Province; and Koremitsu's sister had all assembled, and all expressed their gratitude for the visit, which they considered the greatest of honors. The nun herself arose from her bed. "I don't mind giving up my old way of life: if I hesitated and agonized over renouncing the world, it Was only because I feared I could no longer appear in your presence like this and enjoy the honor of your gaze. But I saved my life by taking the tonsure, and now I can await Amida's glory with a pure heart, thanks to this gracious visit." She shed weak tears.
"I've kept worrying because you haven't got any better in all this time, and I feel very upset and depressed because you've become a nun. But you must live to see me rise at court. Then there won't be anything to keep you from being reborn in the highest of the nine grades. They say the mere hint of a lingering worldly concern counts against a person." Genji's voice was choked with tears.
3. Anonymous (KKS 1007): uchiwatasu I ochikatabito ni / mono mosu ware/ sono soko ni / shiroku sakeru wa / nani no hana zo mo ("I would ask a question of the person to be seen standing off in the distance: What flowers are those? I mean the ones over there, blooming with snow-white flowers").
4. Here and elsewhere in this book, "escort" translates zuijin, a name for a type of guard. See Glossary.
5. Ajari, a Buddhist title. See Glossary.
Even when will be fooli someone as r pride for the though perh, sidered herse dance on hin display of ur seem that sh,
Genji for I protectors wl ready to care that I'm grov morning and please, but I time. 'Howl wiped away motion of hi approval, th, it, Mother h themselves.
Genji issue ready to leav, at the neigh! robes of som was a poem,
k< sore
sh hikar yiiga,
Dashed of gested cultiv: mterest. "De West?" he as!
Koremitsu could not ve1
•. too busy wit! about the nei
"I know y,
6- Ariwara r chiyo mo to na; live a thousand
iant green vine )
listance," Genji
ith snow-white es one think of blooming on."
1kened eaves of 100d of mostly
i. "Pick one for flower. Modest Jng pair of thin ckoned to him.
,vers don't have
,rged. The man
neighborhood such a grubby
remitsu's older nor of Mikawa expressed their of honors. The o Id way of life, 1s only because , and enjoy the ure, and now I gracious visit."
in all this time, a nun. But you ing to keep you y the mere hint enji's voice was
are / sono soko ni / person to be seen
ere, blooming with
:or a type of guard.
Yiigao 61
'" ven when a child falls below the average, a biased observer like a nurse fl be foolish enough to reg~rd him as perfect. The connection with > eone as remarkable as Genjl had naturally been a source of enormous 3e for the nun, and she continued to weep without apparent reason, as ugh perhaps regretting her loss of the importance and dignity she con- ered herself to have acquired during her years of close personal atten- nce on him. Her children exchanged pained glances and nudges. Such a play of unprovoked tears in front of His Lordship could only make it ¢lll that she was chngmg to the world she had forsaken. Genji for his part felt deep emotion. "After death claimed my natural otectors while I was a small child, there seemed to be a great many people
'ady to care for me, but you were the only one I felt really close to. Now at I'm grown up, there are constraints that make it impossible to see you orning and evening, or even to call and ask about your health whenever I ease, but I always begin to feel unhappy when we're separated for a long me. 'How I wish that in this world there were no final partings!"' 6 He iped away tears as he spoke, his voice quiet and confidential, and the otion of his, sleeve filled the room with fragrance. Forgetting their dis-
',pproval, the "n'un's children wept in sympathy. "When you think about t, Mother has been blessed with an extraordinary karma," they said to themselves. · Genji issued instructions for more performances of rituals. When he was "ready to leave, he told Koremitsu to bring over a torch so that he could look at the neighbor's fan. It carried an intriguing scent of perfume, from the
, obes of someone who seemed to have made regular use of it, and on it there was a poem, written in elegant cursive script:
kokoroate ni sore ka to zo miru
shiratsuyu no hikari soetaru yiigao no hana
Just at a hazard, might it perchance be his-
the face in the twilight, a yugao enhanced by the radiance of the dew?
Dashed off with a deliberate lack of individuality, the calligraphy sug- .. ested cultivation and taste. Genji was conscious of an unexpected stir of 'interest. "Do you happen to have found out who lives in the house to the \vest?" he asked Koremitsu.
Koremitsu wished Genji would curb his troublesome instincts, but he could not very well say so. "For the five or six days I've been here, I've been
rtoo busy with Mother, worrying and taking care of her, to find out anything ' about the neighbors," he answered in a snappish voice.
"I know you think I shouldn't have asked," Genji said, "but there's some-
6, Ariwara no Narihira (KKS 901): yo no naka ni / saranu wakare no I naku mo ga na / ,c_h_iyo mo to nageku / hito no ko no tame ("For sorrowing sons who would have their parents live a thousand long years-how I wish that in this world there were no final partings").
The Tale of Genji
thing about this fan that seems to need looking into. Call someone who's likely to know; ask him."
Koremitsu went inside, summoned the caretaker, and questioned him. "The house belongs to an honorary vice-governor," he reported. "The care- taker said, 'The husband is away in the provinces. The wife is young and fond of elegant pursuits, and she has a sister, a lady-in-waiting, who pays. her frequent visits.' Considering that he's only a flunky, I don;t imagine he knows anything more."
The poem would have come from the lady-in-waiting, Genji thought, not- ing its rather confident, familiar tone. He wondered if she might prove a severe disappointment. It was probably because of his usual susceptibility that he felt unable to ignore the overture, coming as it did from someone who had penetrated his incognito and reacted in what was, after all, a not displeasing manner. In a carefully disguised hand, he wrote a poem on a folded sheet of paper.
yorite koso sore ka to mo mime
tasogare ni honobono mitsuru hana no yiigao
Were it to be seen closer at hand, you might know
the evening face of which you caught a glimpse as twilight shadows gathered.
He dispatched it by the same escort. Although the lady had never met Genji, she had yielded to the temptation
to let him know that she had glimpsed his unmistakable profile. Awkwardly · enough, considerable time had elapsed without any acknowledgment on his part, but now the household was elated at having elicited a response, and the escort perceived that its members appeared to be debating a reply. That was too much, he thought. He went back to his master. , ,:
Genji set out very quietly by the dim light of his way-clearers' torches. The half-shutters had been lowered next door, and lonely rays of lamplight straggled through the cracks, fainter than a firefly's glow.
At his destination, everything bespoke a degree of comfort and elegance not to be found in the common run of dwellings-the groves of great trees, the shrubs and grasses in the gardens. The mistress was an exceptionally dignified, correct woman, and Genji probably had little leisure to remember the fence where the evening faces bloomed. He overslept the next morning. · The sun was rising when he took his leave, and to those who beheld him in · the early morning light, it seemed only natural that people should always be · singing his praises.
On that day, also, he passed in front of the shutters. He had undoubtedly done so on earlier occasions, but the trifling incident of the fan had left an impression, and thereafter he looked at the house whenever he went by, wondering about its occupants.
Koremitsu put in an appearance several days later. "I've been taking care
of my mothe "After receiv knew about him, a certai since the fiftl not even the boundary fe1 young worn, trains drapec say, as thoug the setting s1 sitting down trying to hid 1
Genji smili "A good n
thought. "Be and praise h, a gallant. Af those lesser 1 Genji he sai< house, thinki reply came b
· presentable y "Approad
who she is." the lowest oi Were to discc
Autumn a1 '. Jhings that c:
of constant b The Rokuj
tible diminut Others wond
· him before s along that tr the affair le .crowded intc • One foggJ
Jleated urgin ,\ers in one o .er mistress ut. It was a
.eluctance ti · Orridor, La
nd questioned hirti :eported. "The care c wife is young an t-waiting, who pay , I don't imagine h
Genji thought, not she might prove
usual susceptibili did from someon
,vas, after all, a no vrote a poem on a
1ight know
a glimpse ;athered.
I to the temptation · >rofile. Awkwardly, >wledgment on his··· :d a response, and Hing a reply. That
-clearers' torches. · rays of lamplight
fort and elegance ,ves of great trees, an exceptionally
sure to remember ·he next morning. •ho beheld him in should always be
had undoubtedly te fan had left an ever he went by,
been taking care
Yugao
" rnother, who still seems frail," he said. Drawing nearer, he added, J receiving your instructions, I had someone question a person who
l\bout the house next door, but he didn't tell us much. According to a certain lady has apparently been living there in strict secrecy ever the fifth month or thereabouts, but nobody has been told who she is, ven the members of the household. I've looked through cracks in the
:dary fence a few times, and it's true you can make out the figures of ng women behind the blinds. They wear what look like abbreviated
··ns draped around their hips-a gesture in the direction of formality, I'd ) as though they were waiting on somebody. Yesterday, when the rays of 'setting sun were streaming into the house, I saw a beautiful woman ing down to write a letter. She looked unhappy, and her attendants were jng to hide tears. I saw it all quite clearly."
enji smiled. It would be interesting to learn more. •••A good reputation is important for someone in his position," Koremitsu
ught. "But actually, when you think about it-his youth, the deference d praise he receives-he'd seem tasteless and dreary if he weren't a bit of allant. After all, the right woman will captivate any man, even one of se lesser rrldrtals to whom society denies the privilege of infidelity." To nji he said, "I manufactured a little pretext for sending a letter to the use, thinking that it might be a way to get a look at her, and a prompt
ply came back, written in a practiced hand. She seems to have some fairly resentable young attendants." •.:. "Approach her again," said Genji. "I won't be satisfied until I find out ho she is." The house fell into the category dismissed by Uma-no-kami as
he lowest of the low, but the lady seemed out of the ordinary. What if he ere to discover an undreamt-of gem in those surroundings?
.. Autumn arrived. Through nobody's fault but his own, there were certaia '1iings that caused Genji overwhelming grief, and his wife existed in a state f constant bitterness because he visited her father's mansion so seldom. The Rokujo lady was also much to be pitied, for there had been a percep-
'foible diminution in his ardor since he had overcome her stubborn resistance. "Others wondered why his present feelings lacked the passion that had driven 'him before she was his. Morbidly sensitive by nature, she had feared all a.long that the disparity between their ages would cause gossip if word of
Jhe affair leaked out; and now, more than ever, despairing thoughts .. crowded into her mind when she awoke during the painful nights alone.
One foggy morning, Genji left the Rokujo Mansion in response to re- peated urging, sleepy-faced and sighing. Chujo-no-menoto raised the shut- ters in one of the bays and moved the curtain-stand aside, as though inviting her mistress to watch his departure, and the lady raised her head to look out. It was as people always said: he was incomparable, lingering in seeming reluctance to pass the riot of bloom in the garden. When he approached the corridor, Lady Chujo went to accompany him, a graceful, elegant figure in
The Tale of Genji
a gossamer train that stood out with pleasing clarity against robes dyed in the seasonal aster combination. He looked back and drew her down to sit by the corner balustrade. Her correct posture and flowing hair seemed to him strikingly beautiful.7 [His poem:]
saku hana ni utsuru ch6 na wa
tsutsumedomo oracle sugiuki kesa no asagao
I would not have it said that my heart has turned toward
a flower in bloom- yet how hard it is to pass without plucking a "morning face"! 8
"What shall I do?" he asked, taking her hand. No stranger to elegant badinage, she responded at once with a poem in which she pretended to mistake "a flower in bloom" for a reference to her mistress:
asagm no harema mo matanu
keshiki nite hana ni kokoro o tomenu to zo miru
The one who starts for home without even awaiting
a break in the fog would seem to care but little about a flower in bloom.
Genji's modish page boy had been dispatched to the garden. A pretty child whose appearance might have been designed for the occasion, he now brought back a morning-face blossom, his bloused trousers wet with dew. It would have been pleasant to paint the scene.
Everyone felt drawn to Genji, even strangers who barely caught a glimpse of him. (After all, even a coarse mountain peasant seeks out a flowering tree when he needs a rest.) 9 Of those who beheld his radiant countenance, not one well-born father but longed to send him his precious daughter, not one humble man with a presentable sister but hoped to h<\vt;; her serve him, in whatever menial capacity. And it was indeed unlike.> th'at he should have been an object of indifference to any discerning person who had been ex- posed to his charm at first hand, even through the receipt of a poem on a suitable occasion. It is easy to imagine that Chiijii and the other ladies-in- waiting were more than a little disturbed b, ,.is failure to treat the Rokujii Mansion as home.
7. Genji has been walking along the veranda outside the Rokuj6 lady's bedchamber. He is now approaching a corridor leading to another building, and ultimately to the street. Lady Chiijo (Chiij6-no-menoto), shown by her sobriquet to be an upper-rank lady-in-waiting, is seeing him off. The aster combination, which was worn at the beginning of autumn, is variously said to have been light purple with a green lining, purple with a brown lining, or brown with a yellowish-green lining. "Correct posture" probably means with head modestly bowed.
8. The "morning face" (asagao) has been tentatively identified as the bellflower (now called kikyi5), one of the traditional "seven plants of autumn."
9. The two Kokinshu prefaces (kana and Chinese) describe Otomo no Kuronushi's poems as "crude ... like a mountain peasant resting under a flowering tree with a load of firewood on his back."
But to g punctiliow she is," he ladies-in-v,, building, t they hear : their mistr see of her, clearing th
'servant cal Tii-no-chii
, her to bes it's His Le There's as
:i her haste, > almost fell --huff. She s,
"'His L, <with him. l :c carriage it
"I do wi /nun's neig
about-th, find out!
Koremit one of the them pull
. _certain ym all ladies-i hiding the ,~n honorif ,my attentic 0 nly peopl
"You'll I said. Judg though it OWest clas
'gotice. But a quarter?
Reluctar easoned p ~ough a !Stress's l
: robes dyed in 1er down to sit hair seemed to
d toward
1ing face"! 8
1ger to elegant e pretended to
r home
ttle
.. A pretty child asion, he now wet with dew.
mght a glimpse 1 flowering tree untenance, not llghter, not one ,r serve him, in he should have o had been ex- )f a poem on a other ladies-in- ·eat the Rokujo
bedchamber. He is to the street. Lady lady-in-waiting, is
utumn, is variously ing, or brown with lestly bowed. [flower (now called
Kuronushi's poems a load of firewood
Yugao
t to go back to the house of the evening faces. Koremitsu had been utilious in his surveillance through the fence. "I simply can't learn who -~ " he reported. "She seems bent on concealment. But I think her young
ff e;-in-waiting are rather bored. Sometimes they cross to the long south •~ding, the one with the half-shutters, and peep through its blinds when
~\ hear a carriage; and it's my impression that the one who seems to be eir mistress will occasionally slip out to join them. From the little I can : of her, she is delightful. One day a carriage came along with attendants
•··· aring the way. Some of the household were watching, and a child maid- rvant called out, all excited, 'Lady Ukon! Come and see right away! Lord o-no-chiijo is going by!' An older lady-in-waiting appeared and signed to er to be silent. 'The idea! Hold your tongue!' she said. 'How do you know 's His Lordship? Let me see.' She started across to the long building. here's a sort of plank bridge they use when they go back and forth; and in
her haste, she caught the skirt of her robe on something, stumbled, and iii[most fell off. 'I declare, this bridge is an absolute menace!' she said in a
,huff, She seemed to lose interest in the carriage. ···. "'His Lord.ship was wearing an informal cloak, and he had his escorts
iw-ith him. I sa\\,'So-and-so and Thus-and-so,' the child said. She knew whose } c(lrriage it was-you could tell from the way she reeled off the names of the "-escorts and pages."
"I do wish I could have seen that," Genji said. It occurred to him that the nun's neighbor might be the very woman To-no-chiijo had told them about-the one his friend still remembered with affection. If only he could find out!
Koremitsu took note of his expression. "I've made it my business to court one of the girls; now I know every corner of their house. When I visit, I let them pull the wool over my eyes-I mean, I pretend not to notice that a certain young woman is careful to address the others as though they were all ladies-in-waiting together. They think they're being very clever about hiding the truth. There are children around, and whenever one of them uses an honorific by mistake, the grown-ups go to ridiculous lengths to distract my attention, trying to preserve the fiction that the ladies-in-waiting are the only people in the house." He laughed.
"You'll have to help me see them the next time I visit your mother,'' Genji said. Judging from the nature of the lady's dwelling, temporary shelter though it might be, he could only conclude that she must belong to the lowest class-the one that had been dismissed on the rainy night as beneath notice. But what if one were to be surprised by something of interest in such a quarter?
Reluctant to disappoint his master in the slightest way, and himself a seasoned philanderer, Koremitsu tried one scheme after another, and finally, through a high-handed tactic, he succeeded in introducing Genji into the mistress's bedchamber. I shall omit the tedious tale of his campaign.
66 The Tale of Genji
Genji had not pressed the question of the lady's identity, nor had he told her his name. He set out for her house in excessively coarse attire, traveling on foot, rather than by carriage as usual. Concluding that he must really be smitten, Korechika gave him his own horse and trotted alongside. "I'll be in trouble if my lady-in-waiting sees her lover walking like a scruffy com- moner," he grumbled. But Genji was determined not to be found out. His only other attendants were the escort who had picked the evening face and a page whom nobody could recognize.10 Lest someone put two and two together, he even refrained from stopping to rest at his nurse's house. ·
The lady found Genji's reticence odd and disturbing. In an effort to learn where he lived, she sent people to escort his messengers home, and dis- patched others to see where he went when he left at dawn, but all of them were deliberately led astray. At the same time, Genji had fallen deeply in love; the thought of not meeting her was unbearable. He castigated himself for his behavior, which he recognized as wrong and foolish, but his visits were frequent indeed. Although love has been known to cloud the judgment of the most serious, he had always avoided blameworthy conduct with ads' mirable discretion. Now he suffered from a strange malaise, fretting in the morning because a whole day must elapse before his next visit. He would. try his utmost to take a dispassionate view of the matter, to convince himself that he was irrational, that there was no reason to be carried away. In spite of her astonishingly gentle, candid nature-her lack of prudence and grav- ity, her childlike behavior-he was not the first man she had known. Nor was it likely that she could claim a distinguished ,lineage. He kept asking himself why he should feel so drawn to her. ·
The lady could not help finding it eerie and unsettling-quite like the behavior of a supernatural being in an old tale-that he should make a point of disguising himself in a shabby hunting robe, ~liield his face so that she never caught a glimpse of it, and postpone his visits until late at night, when everyone was asleep. On the other hand, she could tell merely from touching him that he yvas someone of high birth. Who could he be? Her suspicions fastened on Koremitsu. "I'm sure the roue next door arranged the whole thing," she thought. But Koremitsu maintained a facade of bland innocence. Assiduous as usual in his visits, he flirted and joked as though: unaware of what was going on. It was quite beyond comprehension, and she worried in an oddly unconventional way. 11
Genji's own mind was troubled. If he were to grow careless, lulled by he apparent openness, and if she were to disappear quietly, he would have n more notion than To-no-chiijo of where to search. With her present domi; cile apparently a mere temporary hiding place, who knew when she might move on to some mysterious destination? If this were a casual liaison, h
10. Murasaki Shikibu does not explain why the household would have failed to recogniz the escort.
11. The usual source of a woman's concern was a man's loss of interest.
. could shrug .. go at that. l • sion, that h, elsewhere f out-but if
'What kind
"How w, ase-whe1
"Everyth ause you c ulgent smi ewitch ym ive, willin~
He wast, gly unort
ams strea triguing, tting on t 'akening ,>"It's turn --'-'B , ,. usmes1 "N g, o use ing to do "H ey, on
,.'4s they t . tic OCCUJ o lived ted if st
~-ana perso1
ore ap 1
e bega1
, nor had he told e attire, traveling he must really be ngside. ''I'll be in ~ a scruffy com- e found out. His ·· evening face and .· mt two and two ·se's house. an effort to learn ; home, and dis- 1, but all of them l fallen deeply in :astigated himself ish, but his visits )ud the judgment conduct with ad- se, fretting in the t visit. He would convince himself
ied away. In spite > udence and grav- had known. Nor . He kept asking
g-quite like the e should make a Id his face so that mtil late at night, I tell merely from :ould he be? Her xt door arranged a facade of bland I joked as though nprehension, and
:less, lulled by her · ae would have no her present domi- . v when she might casual liaison, he
ave failed to recognize
~st.
Yiigao
Id shrug off his failure to find her, but he was far from willing to let it ; t that. In desperation, he thought of smuggling her into his Nijo Man- :.a that he might spare himself the intolerable anguish of spending a night n~here for reasons of secrecy. It would be awkward if people found ~-but if they did, it would probably be because karma had ordained it. hat kind of bond could have aroused a passion such as he had felt for no er woman? 'How would you like to go to a place where you could feel perfectly at
se-where the two of us would have plenty of time to talk?" he asked her. ''Everything just seems so odd! No matter what you say, I'm scared be- use you don't act like other people." The childish speech brought an in-
µlgent smile to his. li~s. "You're ri~ht, one of us is probably a fox. Let 1'.1e 'tiwitch you," he said m a tender v01ce. She then became extremely subm1s- ive, willing to accept whatever he might do.
· ·.·. He was touched by her docility, her readiness to assent even to so shock- gly unorthodox a proposal. To-no-chiijo's description of his lost lady me to mind at once, and he wondered again if he had stumbled on the i!d pink, bµt he refrained from pressing her, telling himself that she must ave reasons 'for concealing her identity. She was not one to run away sud- enly into hiding just to make a dramatic gesture; she would act only if a
;fuan's visits dropped off. It even occurred to him to picture how pathetic she !:Would be if his heart happened to stray a bit, although of course he had no intention of looking elsewhere.
It was the fifteenth of the eighth month, a brilliant moonlit night. Moon- beams streamed in through countless cracks in the board roof, affording an intriguing view of the kind of dwelling Genji seldom saw. It seemed to be getting on toward dawn; he could hear the rough voices of working people awakening next door.
"It's turned mighty cold!" "Business is rotten this year."
. "No use looking to peddle in the provinces, either. I don't know what I'm z'going to do."
"Hey, on the north! Can you hear me?" As they hurriedly emerged from their sleeping quarters to begin their pa-
thetic occupations, their gabble was a source of embarrassment for the lady ... who lived so close. A snobbish, affected woman would probably have
fainted if she had found herself in such an environment. But this lady was a calm person, not so deeply affected by painful, worrisome, or embarrassing things as to lose her refined, equable demeanor; and she seemed to regard the neighbors' ill-mannered hubbub merely as something incomprehen- sible.-an attitude that served better than red-faced apologies to excuse her frompersonal responsibility in Genji's eyes.
More appalling than thunderclaps, the crashing thumps of a mechanical pestle began to reverberate next to their pillow, worked against a mortar by
68 The Tale of Genji
someone's foot. Unlike the earlier voices, the sounds seemed intolerably noisy. With no inkling of their cause, Genji could only marvel at their strangeness and their incredible volume. It did seem to be an annoying! inconvenient neighborhood.
They could hear the constant indistinct blows of fulling hammers on mulberry-cloth robes drifting in from near places and far, and also the cries of wild geese flying overhead-poignant reminders of autumn's sadness. 12• Genji opened the sliding door of the room, which was at the front of the house, and the two looked out together. There was an elegant clump of black bamboo in the tiny garden, and the dew on the plants in this humble place sparkled quite as brightly as at his own mansion. Insect voices shrilled in unison. Even the crickets in the walls seemed within touching distance to someone whose ears were used to hearing them from afar, but Genji found their proximity an amusing novelty-a reaction we must doubtless attribute to the passion that made him overlook every shortcoming.
The lady was a sweet, touching figure in her subdued attire-a lavender robe, no longer new, over a lined white underrobe. No particular aspect of her appearance could have been called superior, but she was delicate and. frail, and something in the manner of her speech evoked affectionate com- passion. Watching her, Genji thought that a little less passivity would not come amiss, but he also felt a strong desire to be with her under more re- laxed circumstances.
"Let's spend the rest of the night in peace somewhere nearby. It's really too much to stay on here like this," he said. ,
"Why should we go someplace else? This is a very sudden idea," she objected in a placid voice.
He then swore that their union would endure beyond this life, and she readily agreed to do as he wished. What an unusual woi:rlan she was, and how little she seemed to know of men! No longer concerned about what others might think, he summoned Ukon, told her to call his escort, and ordered his carriage brought to the veranda. There were things the people in the house would have liked to know, but they trusted him, understanding from his behavior how much he loved their lady.
It was almost dawn. No cocks were crowing, but they could hear an aged voice praying as its owner prostrated himself, getting up and down with great apparent difficulty. Touched, Genji thought of the brevity of all human life, of its likeness to ephemeral morning dew, and he wondered what an old man might still find to ask for. The petitioner seemed to be purifying himself . for a pilgrimage to the sacred peaks. He was intoning, "Hail to Maitreya, the Buddha of the future!"
"Listen to him," Genji said in a compassionate voice. "His thoughts aren't bent on this life alone." [He recited a poem:]
I 2. It was a literary convention that cloth was fulled on autumn evenings by grieving women whose husbands were far away.
u~
okon sh
kon J chigi1
Mindful oJ e, he had ti! MaitreJ (Her respo
S8
chigi m
yuku tano
example, rnji set hi eked behi: k the emb
. e carriage They arri,
.ker. 14 It w ilapidated renched, m 'I' , ve never c
11
kak1 n
wa ! shin
Her answ
y kok
i
1 3, Accordi ",Emperor Xuan 'with joined bn
14. Old co, grandeur built Emperor Uda
"'-_known it was 1
med intolerably marvel at their : an annoyingly
1g hammers on nd also the cries 1mn's sadness. 12 the front of the egant clump of s in this humble :t voices shrilled bing distance to Jut Genji found abtless attribute
ire-a lavender :icular aspect of ras delicate and fectionate com- ivity would not under more re-
:arby. It's really
!den idea," she
1is life, and she .n she was, and 1ed about what his escort, and ings the people , understanding
Id hear an aged md down with ity of all human red what an old 1rifying himself 1il to Maitreya,
thoughts aren't
enings by grieving
ubasoku ga okonau michi o
shirube nite kon yo mo fukaki chigiri tagau na
Yiigao
Revere as a guide the faith inspiring the prayers
of that pious man: be true to vows that will bind us in the coming world as in this.
Mindful of the_ inauspici?us occurrences _associated with the Hall of Long " he had avoided mention of shared wmgs, pledgmg mstead to be true fu Maitreya's coming-a notably exaggerated commitment. 13 [Her response:]
saki no yo no chigiri shiraruru
mi no usa ni yukusue kanete tanomigatasa yo
was a sad little answer.
I cannot foresee a future full of promise-
not when my sorrows show me what has been fated from an earlier life.
The moon lingered above the horizon, and the lady, as though seduced by ts example,hesitated about embarking on so unexpected an excursion.
@enji set himself to overcoming her misgivings. Meanwhile, the moon ducked behind a cloud, and a beautiful dawn began to break. Unwilling to
.Hsk the embarrassment of being seen in broad daylight, he whisked her into · the carriage and made his usual swift departure. Ukon rode wiili them.
They arrived at a certain mansion in the vicinity. Genji sent for the care- taker.14 It was very dark under the trees as they waited outside the gate, a
• dilapidated structure overgrown with tiny ferns; and Genji's sleeves were •· drenched, merely from raising the carriage blind in the heavy, damp mist.
"I've never done anything like this before," he said. "I didn't expect to feel so nervous." [He recited:]
inishie mo , kaku ya wa hito no
madoiken wa ga mada shiranu shinonome no michi
Her answering poem was shy:
yama no ha no kokoro mo shirade
yuku tsuki wa
Even in the past, was ever heart as perplexed
as is mine today, following at dawn a path I have never known before?
Its bright rays, I fear, may vanish in mid-heaven-
the moon journeying on,
13. According to "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow," it was in the Hall of Long Life that Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Gueifei pledged to be "as two birds sharing a wing, as two trees with joined branches." On Maitreya, see Glossary.
14. Old commentaries identify the mansion as the Kawara-no-in, a residence of legendary grandeur built by a son of Emperor Saga, Minamoto no Toru (822-95). Presented to Retired Emperor Uda in 895, it later fell into ruin. Murasaki Shikibu's contemporaries would have known it was nearby, and probably would have thought of it.
uwa no sora nite kage ya taenan
The Tale of Genji
powerless to probe the heart of the rim of the hills.
"I feel so uneasy." She seemed to find the place frightening and eerie- probably, Genji thought in amusement, because she had grown accustomed to living in that crowded neighborhood. He had his men take the carriage inside the grounds, and there they waited, with the shafts resting on a balustrade, while the caretaker prepared a sitting room in the west wing. Ukon's spirits rose as she silently recalled certain incidents in the past. Genji's identity had become clear to her from the zeal with which the care- taker had gone about his work.
They left the carriage just as the surroundings were becoming faintly vis- ible. Makeshift though the arrangements were, the caretaker had managed to furnish a room in attractive style. The man was shocked by Genji's lack of attendants. He had served him for some time as a junior steward, and was also one of the staff at the minister of the left's mansion; and he now came up and offered through Ukon to send for some suitable people. But Genji bound him to secrecy. "I have purposely sought out a secluded, de- serted house. Don't mention this to anybody," he said.
The caretaker hastened to produce some rice and other food, but there were too few people to serve it in proper style. In this travel lodging, alien to all of Genji's previous experience, there was nothing to do but pledge that their union would rival the one in the poem about Long Breath River. 15
When the sun was high, Genji got up and raised the shutters with his own hands. Gazing out across the ravaged, deserted garden, he could see groves of immense antiquity, looming like baleful presences. There was nothing of particular interest in the trees and bushes close at hand, which looked as though they were growing in a wild autumn field, and theJake was smoth-
. _, ~- ered by aquatic plants. It was an estate that had come to'be more than a· little intimidating. People were apparently occupying some rooms in one of the lesser buildings, but they were a considerable distance away.
"This has turned into an eerie place," Genji said, "but I'm sure its demon will excuse me." He had continued to hide his face, but now he reconsid- ered, noting that the lady showed signs of resenting his caution. To be sure, he thought, secrecy was inappropriate in the present state of their relations. He recited a poem:
yiitsuyu ni himo toku hana wa
tamaboko no tayori ni mieshi e ni koso arikere
Lay it to a tie formed when someone chanced to see
a mere passerby- the flowering of the bud, its bonds loosed by evening dew.
15. Uma no Kunihito (MYS 4482): niotori no/ okinagagawa wa / taenu tomo I kimi ni ka- taramu / koto tsukime ya mo ("Even if the Okinagagawa [River of Long Breath], named for the deep-diving grebes, were to cease to flow, never would there be an end to the words I would speak to you").
,<How do you .. With a sid(
consider ar
hi! mishi
U\I
tasog: sorarr
gspiciously 1 u kept me;
ou are. For '.;ivacy, very , " h an . .. , s "Oh, very'
ore convers fruit and < ck Genji d on confro
tuation had \at the lady .me feeling nd aside, i sful courts
Genji was: perience. l ss inside th
gt by her si, /! setting sr tnow she J ~-She had gly childish
e closed:
,16· His quest ;the bud burst: H7. Anonym, t:eba / yado m nding my life
duces mari1 _n 11from me .iko (KKs 80 - uramiji ("~
l)lp dwelling
eart
ing and eerie- wn accustomed ,ke the carriage ts resting on a the west wing.
tts in the past. which the care-
1ing faintly vis- r had managed by Genji's lack ,r steward, and •n; and he now ble people. But a secluded, de-
food, but there l lodging, alien but pledge that 1th River. 15
rs with his own ould see groves was nothing of hich looked as tke was smoth- >e more than a ooms in one of vay. sure its demon w he reconsid- on. To be sure, their relations.
,anced to see
1g dew.
tomo I kimi ni ka- \reath], named for the words I would
Yiigao 7I
do you like 'the radiance of the dew'?" '.6 • 'h a sidelong gla~ce, she murmured a famt response, wh1eh he chose 11 sider amusmgly mgemous:
hikari ari to mishi yugao no
uwatsuyu wa tasogaredoki no sorame narikeri
It was a mistake, caused by dusk's uncertain light,
that led me to see radiance in dewdrops on yiigao flowers.
enji's beauty was indeed incomparable as he sat at his ease, and the rast with the surroundings made him look still handsomer, almost in- iciously so. "I wouldn't let you see my face because I resented the way kept me at a distance," he said. "Now, though, you have to tell me who are. For all I know, you could be a fox." But the lady clung to her
acy, very much the bashful child. "I am but the daughter of a fisher- •· " she said.17 -n .. . '
;,Oh, very well. I suppose it's my own fault." His reproaches gave way to timate conversation, which was succeeded in turn by more reproaches and 6re convers,ition, and at length the day drew to a close. Fruit and other dainties arrived from Koremitsu, who had managed to ;ck Genji down. Koremitsu himself felt obliged to keep his distance, lest kon confront him with awkward accusations. Amused that Genji's in- tuation had impelled him to become a vagabond, he could not but surmise
· at the lady must merit the devotion she inspired-nor could he suppress "'cime feeling of disgust with the magnanimity that had prompted him to 'land aside, instead of attempting what would probably have been a suc- ~ssful courtship of his own. Genji was gazing at the evening sky, a scene quieter than anything in his
~xperience. Upon observing that the lady seemed intimidated by the dark- ess inside the room, he raised the blinds next to the veranda and stretched ut by her side. They looked at each other, their faces bright in the rays of
.,he setting sun. She had considered the whole affair unbelievably strange, l but now she forgot her qualms and relaxed in a delightfully appealing man- . ner. She had dung to him all day long with a timidity that he found touch-
ingly childish. He closed the shutters early and called for the lamp to be lit. "You seem
16. His question is a reference to her first poem, "Just at a hazard" {p. 61). There is a pun on the bud bursting its coat and the untying of a mask, which Genji is here found to be wearing.
17. Anonymous (SKKS 1703): shiranami no/ yosuru nagisa ni I yo o tsukusu / ama no ko nareba / yad_o mo sadamezu ("I have no abode, for I am but the daughter of a fisherman, spending my life on the shore where white waves roll in"). In the speech that follows, Genji introduces marine imagery from another poem by using the expression warekara, which can mean "from me" (i.e., "my fault") and is also the name of a small crustacean. Fujiwara no Naoiko (KKS 807): ama no karu I mo ni sumu mushi no/ warekara to I ne o koso nakame I yo 0 ba uramiji ("Without blaming him, I mourn the faults that bring thoughts of the 'from me' shrimp dwelling on strands of seaweed harvested by fisherfolk").
The Tale of Genji
perfectly comfortable now. I don't understand why you persist in keeping secrets," he complained.
It occurred to him that his father was probably trying to find out what had become of him. Where would the emperor's people be searching? But his chief concern was for someone he pitied. "I don't know what's got into me," he thought. "The lady at Rokujo must be terribly upset." It would be awkward if she resented his behavior-but what else could he expect? Moved by the artlessness of his present companion, he could not help com- paring the two. If only he could rid the other of her excessive sensitivity, of the touchiness that made a visitor so uncomfortable!
About halfway through the first part of the night, as he lay asleep, he dreamed that a beautiful woman seated herself near his pillow. "I consider you the most splendid of men," she said, "but you can't be bothered to visit me. Instead, you bring this common creature here to bask in your atten- tions. It's too mortifying!" She seized his companion to pull her up. Starting awake as though from a nightmare, he saw that the lamp had gone out. The atmosphere of the room seemed ominous; he drew his sword and put it next to the pillow.18 Then he awakened Ukon, and she came to his side with a frightened look.
"Rouse one of the men on duty in the gallery. Tell him to bring a lighted . torch," he said.
"How am I supposed to get there? It's dark." He laughed. "You sound like a child." He clapped his hands, and a
ghostly echo answered. The summons had not been lqud enough to arouse anyone. To the lady, trembling with fear, their situation seemed desperate. She broke out in perspiration and fell into a faint.
"She gets these absurd fears," Ukon said. "Think how she must feel ' ,,
now!" 1 '.: "She's so very frail," Genji thought. "Even during the daytime she just
kept looking off into space.19 Poor child!" He drew Ukon closer. "I'll wake• somebody up. It makes a disagreeable echo when I clap. You stay with her awhile." He pushed open the double-leafed door on the west. The light in· the gallery had also gone out.
A faint breeze had sprung up, and his few attendants had fallen asleep. There were only three of them-a young personal servant, the son of the mansion's caretaker; a single page; and the escort who had plucked the yiigao blossom. The servant arose in answer to his call.
"Light a torch and bring it here," Genji said. "Tell the escort to twang his bowstring and keep shouting. 20 Do you think it's a good idea to drop off to
r 8. To ward off malignant spirits. r 9. The editors of one modern Genji edition take this to be a sign of weak nerves. An early
commentator saw it as a portent of death. See Abe et al., Genji monogatari, 1: 239, n. 16. 20. Murasaki Shikibu's mention of the sudden breeze may be intended to suggest the advent·
of a malignant spirit. The purpose of the bow-twanging and shouting was to warn off spirits by threatening them with military action, and with the names of Genji and his armed guard.
·sleep in an isc .. become of hin · "Master Kc given me any . l ' " p easure.
The servant l1ow with exp iis he went off the imperial p ·•· robably twa1 ,;ery late.
He went b. rostrate, wit!
Ukon. "You a bing in this c 'm here." He
"I'm terrifo must be petri/
"So it woul e touched ht eemed uncor
. .. alignant infl , The servant Genji pulled c he said.
Disconcert< 'the normal c, . hreshold of t
"Come alo1 When the li
face was that ·gone. He rem Jt Was strange in turmoil he u,v, ' i wake up!" l to breathe. W
im. A monk _Although l istress was
''Come back. as cold, sta· Ukon wep1 Genji took
2.1. He is go
,ersist in keeping
to find out what ,e searching? But N what's got into set." It would be :ould he expect? tld not help com- ;ive sensitivity, of
he lay asleep, he llow. "I consider bothered to visit
,k in your atten- 1 her up. Starting ad gone out. The :d and put it next o his side with a
:o bring a lighted
tis hands, and a :nough to arouse eemed desperate.
w she must feel
daytime she just closer. "I'll wake (ou stay with her vest. The light in
tad fallen asleep. tt, the son of the had plucked the
cort to twang his lea to drop off to
veak nerves. An early iri, I: 239, n, 16, to suggest the advent as to warn off spirits ,d his armed guard.
Yiigao 73
'faep in an isolated place like this? I thought Koremitsu was here. What's ecome of him?" "Master Koremitsu was here, but he went home. He said, 'He hasn't
\ven me any instructions. Tell him I'll come just before dawn to await his , " Ieasure. .
The servant, a member of the palace guards, could be heard twanging his ow with expert skill and shouting warnings against carelessness with fire
.Jis he went off toward the caretaker's room.21 The sound reminded Genji of the imperial palace. The roll call would be over by now; the guardsmen were
,probably twanging their bows and proclaiming their names. It was still not :~ery late. · He went back inside and groped his way to the lady. As before, she lay prnstrate, with Ukon face down besid; her. "What's the matter?" he said to Ukon. "You act scared to death. You re probably afraid of a fox or some-
:thing in this deserted place, but there's nothing to worry about as long as I'm here." He pulled her to her feet.
"I'm terrified! I was lying on my stomach because I felt sick. My lady 'must be petri~ed," Ukon said.
"So it woul'd'seem." To the lady, he said, "Why are you so afraid?" When he touched her, there was no sign of life. He shook her. She was limp and seemed unconscious. She was such a child, he thought in despair. Had a malignant influenae stolen her spirit?
The servant arrived with a torch. Since Ukon seemed incapable of motion, Genji pulled over the curtain-stand to shield the lady. "Bring the light up," he said.
Disconcerted by the command, which would never have been issued in (the normal course of events, the servant hesitated to venture beyond the · threshold of the eave-chamber.
"Corne along with it! This is no place for ceremony," Genji said. When the light illumined the lady, he saw beside the pillow a figure whose
face was that of the woman in his dream-a vision no sooner glimpsed than : gone. He remembered an old tale in which just such a thing had happened. :Jt was strange and uncanny, but his first thought was for the lady. His mind : in turmoil, he lay close and tried to rouse her, indifferent to his own danger.
"Wake up!" he urged. But her body was icy, for she had long since ceased to breathe. Words were of no avail, nor was there any reliable person to help him. A monk might have filled the need, had one been present.
Although he had made a show of courage earlier, the sight of his dead mistress was too much for his young heart. He clasped her tight in his arms. "Come back, my darling! Don't make me suffer this agony!" But the body was cold, starting to look unpleasant.
Ukon wept in a paroxysm of grief, her previous terror forgotten. Genji took hold of himself, encouraged by the memory of what had hap-
21. He is going to get fire for the torch.
74 The Tale of Genji
pened in the past, when a demon menaced a minister of state in the Shi- shinden. 22 "No matter how things look, she's not going to die. It sounds frightful to hear someone wailing like that in the middle of the night. Don't . make so much noise," he told her. But the suddenness of it all had been stunning.
He called the caretaker's son. "It's very strange ... someone. here is suf- fering from a spirit possession. Send word at once for Master Koremitsu to come as fast as he can. If his brother, the holy teacher, is there, ask him quietly to come too. Be discreet when you deliver the message; don't let the nun hear you. She tends to be trying about things like this." His demeanor was calm, but there was a painful tightness in his chest. It was agonizing to think that he was responsible for the lady's death-and as though that were not enough, the eeriness of the surroundings was beyond description.
Was it because the night was more than half spent that the wind had risen to a veritable gale? The soughing in the pines made it seem as though they were deep in the forest, and a strange bird uttered hollow cries. He won- dered if it might be an owl.23 Reflecting on the mansion's isolation and its unearthly atmosphere-exacerbated now by the complete absence of hu- man voices-he regretted in vain the inexplicable impulse that had made him seek lodging in so dismal a place. Ukon clung to him in a daze, trem- · bling like a dying woman. Was she to go too? Half-unconsciously, he held her fast. With no second rational person to consult, he felt at his wits' end. The lamplight was a mere dim flicker, and the darkqess seemed impene- trable in some parts of the room, such as the area above the folding screens at the entrance to the inner chamber. He thought he heard footsteps ap- proaching from the rear, the plank floor creaking as they advanced. If only Koremitsu would hurry! But Koremitsu was not one to sp~rtd every night in · the same house, and the messenger searched place after place. The hours until dawn seemed as long as a thousand nights.
As a distant cock finally began to crow, Genji pondered his situation. What karmic bond had enmeshed him in an affair that might have cost him · his life? True, he had started it himself, but what a sensation it would cause! It must be his punishment for harboring a reprehensible passion. "Once a · thing has happened, it's bound to get out, no matter how hard you try to keep it a secret. His Majesty will know, people at court will talk, the street· riffraff will get hold of it. I'll be a laughingstock," he thought.
Master Koremitsu arrived. Genji was annoyed. Here was the faithful at- tendant who stood ever ready to do his bidding-midnight or dawn, it made no difference-and he had absented himself on this of all nights.
22. According to an old story, Fujiwara no Tadahira (880-949) was accosted by a demon when passing through the deserted Shishinden on his way to execute an imperial decree. I-le chased it off by invoking the authority of the throne and drawing his sword. See McCullough, Okagami, p. 106.
2 3. Considered a bird of ill omen. The chicks were said to eat their parents.
Moreover, he but what hew
When Ukon turned to her 1
continued . with Koremits up. For a time,
,, When he ha, i pened here: to 'hearing that si sent for the he
"He went Uj ing! Could she
"I'm sure sh ?.handsome face
Koremitsu h 'rienced in the crisis. The two
"We can't le t.rusted becaus
ho'll let it 01 •from this man:
"But no pla, "That's true
§hip's house. ere'd be all
J eighborhood. that's it! Peopl ny attention.' ormer lady-in Y father's nu
bus, but her c, ey might m< affic. Since Genji
.. rapped her i ,athetic rathe1 er up like a r elpless tears. .ut Koremitsi reets get era ess, gave his tout on th, ed to the cc
f state in the Shi- to die. It sounds
,£ the night. Don't Jf it all had been
oeone here is suf- 11aster Koremitsu her, is there, ask te message; don't gs like this." His his chest. It was
's death-and as lings was beyond
1e wind had risen · n as though they N cries. He won- isolation and its
e absence of hu- · e that had made , in a daze, trem- . tsciously, he held : at his wits' end. seemed impene-
,e folding screens trd footsteps ap- tdvanced. If only nd every night in Jlace. The hours
ed his situation. ;ht have cost him a it would cause! )assion. "Once a hard you try to
II talk, the street ;ht. .s the faithful at- ight or dawn, it 1is of all nights.
1ccosted by a demon imperial decree. He
rd. See McCullough,
rents.
Yiigao 75
t\er he had even reported late when summoned. He called him in, ~at he wanted to say was too distressing; the w?rds refused to come. en Ukon realized who had arrived, the whole history of the affair re-
'd to her mind, and she burst into tears. Genji was also overcome. He e ontinued to embrace Ukon in his role of stalwart protector, but now, I(oremitsu's arrival, he breathed a sigh of relief, and his grief welled or a time, he gave way to irrepressible tears. hen he had pulled himself together, he said, "Something weird has hap- Jd here: to call it astounding would be an understatement. I remember ting that sutras need to be recited after a sudden event like this, and I ·· for the holy teacher so I could commission readings and prayers, but asn't come. Do you know why?"
!•He went up to Mount Hiei yesterday," Koremitsu said. "This is amaz- ! Could she have been ill before she came?''
,f'l'm sure she wasn't," Genji said in tears. The pathetic expression on his dsome face wrung Koremitsu's heart, and he too began to sob.
:J(oremitsu had come, to be sure, but it is the man of mature years, expe- nced in th~ vicissitudes of life, who serves as a source of strength in a :sis. The two bf them were only boys, with no idea what to do. ''We can't let the caretaker know," Koremitsu said. "He himself could be
µsted because of his ties to you, but he'.11 have relatives around, people ho'll let it out without meaning to. The first thing is for you to get away
iom this mansion." · "But no place is more deserted than this," Genji said. • "That's true." Koremitsu thought about it. "We can't go to Her Lady- ~hip's house. Her attendants would start wailing and carrying on, and
:;.there'd be all kinds of questions among the commoners in that crowded · Eeighborhood. The truth would be bound to get out. A mountain temple- that's it! People are always being buried in such places; we wouldn't attract any attention." He thought some more. "An old acquaintance of mine, a .former lady-in-waiting, has gone to live in the eastern hills as a nun. She's <my father's nurse, exceedingly ancient now. The district seems fairly popu-
,lous, but her cell is quiet and secluded." He had the carriage brought so that Jthey might merge unnoticed into the homeward stream of early-morning ·•··· traffic.
Since Genji appeared to be incapable of carrying the lady, Koremitsu wrapped her in a quilt and put her in the carriage. The tiny body seemed pathetic rather than repellent. He had been unable to bring himself to truss her up like a parcel, and her flowing hair was enough to blind any eye with helpless tears. Overcome by grief, Genji wanted to stay with her to the end, but Koremitsu demurred. "Take the horse and go home to Nijo before the streets get crowded," he said. He put Ukon into the carriage with her mis- tress, gave his horse to Genji, and tied up his trousers for walking. Then he set out on the strange, unforeseen journey to the nunnery, his pride sacri- ficed to the compassion he felt as he looked at Genji's stricken face.
The Tale of Genji
Genji reached home in a daze. "Where have you been? You don't seem well," the ladies-in-waiting said. Inside the curtain-dais, he abandoned himself to thought, his hands
pressed to his breast. The situation was unbearable. "Why didn't I go with her?" he asked himself. "How would she feel if she came back to life? Wouldn't she think it was horrible of me to run off and leave her?" Insinu- ating itself into a mind already distraught with grief, the suggestion evoked a sensation akin to nausea. His head ached, his body felt feverish, he was ill · and confused. With symptoms like these, he thought, he was probably going to die too. Even after the sun rose high, he stayed in bed, too sick and depressed to respond when his puzzled attendants urged him to eat. Mean- while, messengers arrived from the imperial palace bearing word that the emperor was troubled because his people had been unable to find Genji on the preceding day. It was the sons of the minister of the left who came.
Genji announced that he could receive only T6-no-chiij6. "Come in, but don't sit down," he told his friend from behind the blinds. "My nurse fell gravely ill around the fifth month. She managed to rally-possibly because she cut her hair, received the commandments, and so forth-but there was a flare-up a while ago, and now she's very weak. She asked me to come to see her one last time, so I did. I thought it would seem heartless not to pay a deathbed visit to someone I'd been so close to ever since I was little. There was a sick servant in the house, and he died suddenly before he could move anywhere else. Not wanting to inconvenience me, they left him there until nightfall, but I found out about it later; and now I cqn't go to the palace because of the problems it would cause, what with ail the rituals coming up.24 Furthermore, I think I've caught cold; my head has been aching since before dawn, and I feel terrible. So please excuse the way I've receivegyou."
"I'll report this to His Majesty. His men looked for' you everywhere last night before the concert. He seemed displeased." T6-no-chiij6 started away. Then he turned back. "How did you really get defiled? I can't believe all that."
Genji's heart skipped a beat. "Please just tell His Majesty that I've suf- fered an unexpected defilement; don't go into the details. I much regret my inability to wait on him." He spoke with an air of indifference, but his thoughts were on the tragic event no words could undo, and he felt too ill to meet anyone face to face. Nevertheless, he summoned Kurodo-no-ben and entrusted him with the same message for the emperor, speaking very seriously. 25 He also sent a letter to the minister's house, telling of his defile- ment and his inability to call there.
24. Defilement from contact with a corpse lasted 30 days and could be transmitted if a guest came inside and sat down. It was particularly important for a defiled person to absent himself from Shinto rituals.
25. Genji apparently has doubts about T6-no-chuj6's reliability. Kurodo-no-ben is To-no- chlljO's brother.
Koremitsu a1 pad all departe deserted. Gen j i · "Tell me wh
wept with his s Koremitsu al
t~hould be pro!, ;rangements for
"What abou "I doubt thi
won't let her m leap into a cha ~ged to put he. .'Think things c · Genji's heart he said.
"Why brooc '.fhis needs to b ;, "You're righ ip.evitable criti .my own want, Iioned. 26 "And about these aff
"I won't. I' .. reassured.
The ladies-ii ·odd; what car ·palace because .nd sighing." . Genji's thou i;,.icely," he sai,
"Oh, that's 1 ;~tood up to go
Genji was o Jove, but I'm
·" don't see her ii. Koremitsu s
0 right away; Genji prepa
. n assortment xcursions. M 0 m of going ented heart ·
•6· Probably!
-in-waiting said. ught, his hands didn't I go with
ne back to life? 1ve her?" lnsinu- 1ggestion evoked
i verish, he was ill s probably going :d, too sick and m to eat. Mean- 1g word that the to find Genji on who came.
,. "Come in, but . "My nurse fell possibly because -but there was d me to come to rtless not to pay was little. There ·e he could move t him there until go to the palace e rituals coming een aching since re receiveg you." you everywhere no-chiijo started d? I can't believe
,ty that I've suf- much regret my
fference, but his nd he felt too ill Kurodo-no-ben
,r, speaking very ling of his defile-
I be transmitted if a led person to absent
ido-no-ben is T 6-no-
Yiigao 77
remitsu appeared at dusk. The usual visitors, told of Genji's defilement, • 0 atl departed without seating themselves, and the mansion was almost
;erted. Genji called him in. •Tell rne what happened. Did you make sure there was no hope?" He .t with his sleeve pressed to his face.
. orernitsu also shed tears. "I'm afraid she's gone. I didn't think the vigil uld be prolonged, and tomorrow is an auspicious day, so I've made ar- gements for the funeral with a saintly old monk I know," he said.
"What about the attendant who was with her?" .. I doubt that she'll survive, either. Her mind is confused. She says she n't iet her mistress go without her, and this morning she seemed ready to
ap into a chasm. She wants to tell the people back at Gojo, but I've man- 'ed to put her off. 'Take a little time to pull yourself together,' I told her.
h' fi , " "hink t mgs over rst. . Genji's heart was full. "I feel terribly ill. I wonder if I'm going to die too," ~ said .
. "Why brood about it? After all, it's karma that determines everything. his needs to be kept quiet; I'll handle all the details myself," Koremitsu said. ''You're rights' I do try to see it that way. But I can't bear to think of the evitable criticism-the accusations that I've sacrificed a human life for
,tnY own wanton pleasure. Don't let Shosho-no-myobu find out," he cau- tioned. 26 "And especially not your mother. She's always getting after me bout these affairs;' I simply couldn't face her." ·· "I won't. I've even lied to the monks," Koremitsu said. Genji. was
reassured. The ladies-in-waiting overheard snatches of the conversation. "It's very
odd; what can be happening?" they wondered. "He won't even go to the ''palace because he says he's been defiled, and now there's all this whispering ;ind sighing."
Genji's thoughts turned to the funeral rites. "Be sure to manage things >nicely," he said.
"Oh, that's nothing. There won't be much of anything to do." Koremitsu stood up to go. · Genji was overwhelmed by a sudden new access of grief. "You won't ap- <prove, but I'm going to the temple on horseback. I'll always be miserable if ,'l don't see her one last time," he said.
Koremitsu swallowed his misgivings. "If you've decided, so be it. Please go right away; you need to get back early in the night."
Genji prepared for the journey by changing into a hunting robe, one of an assortment with which he had provided himself for his recent incognito excursions. Mindful of the previous night's horrors, he pondered the wis- dom of going through with the bizarre expedition to which his bleak, tor- inented heart was driving him, but it was impossible to assuage his misery
26. Probably Koremitsu's sister.
The Tale of Genji
in any other way. "If I don't see her now," he thought, "when in another world shall I find her looking as she did in this?" He mastered his fears and started out, accompanied by his usual attendants, Koremitsu and the escort. The ride seemed interminable.
The moon of the seventeenth night had risen, and Toribeno loomed in the distance when the party reached the riverbed, their way-clearer's torch a mere dim glow.27 It was an eerie scene, but Genji let it pass unobserved, lost in agitated thought.
They arrived at their destination. In that area of unearthly loneliness, the nun's dwelling was a moving sight, a rude board-roofed cell with an adjoin- ing chapel. Light from a sacred lamp shone faintly through the chapel blinds. Inside the cell, the only sound was a woman's sobbing; outside the· blinds, two or three monks talked and recited the sacred name in low tones ... Vespers had ended at the temples, and all was still. Off toward Kiyomizu, the glitter of many lights pointed to the presence of throngs of people. 28 The nun's son, a monk of great virtue, was intoning a sutra in a holy voice. Genji felt he must weep until his store of tears was exhausted. ·
Upon entering the room, Genji saw that the lamp had been turned toward the wall. Ukon was lying down, separated from her mistress by a folding screen. He could imagine her misery. To his mind, there was nothing fright- · ening about the lady's appearance: she was as charming as ever, quite un- changed. He took her hand. "Let me at least hear your voice one last time! What kind of karmic bond could it have been? During that brief interlude, . I loved you with all my heart, and yet you went away and left me to suffer this anguish, this devastating grief." He broke down in convulsive sobs. The monks knew nothing about the two, but they also shed tears, astonished by the extravagance of his grief.
"Ukon, come home with me to Nijo," Genji said. , ;,. "In all the years since I was a child, I served her without once leaving her
side. How could I suddenly abandon her and go off somewhere else? Be- sides, I have to tell the others what's happened. Her death is sorrow enough; I really don't think I can bear it if they blame me." She began to cry. "All I want is to follow her, to be part of the smoke from her pyre," she said.
Genji tried to comfort her. "It's natural for you to feel that way, but such . is life in this world. There's no parting that isn't sad. And no matter how a · person may die, die he will, for every life must end. Resign yourself to it and leave everything to me." He continued, "Even though I talk this way, I feel that I can't live much longer." It was not a reassuring remark.
"Dawn seems to be approaching. I think you should start back right· away," said Koremitsu.
2 7. The dry bed of the Kamo River was used as a thoroughfare. 28. The crowds had perhaps assembled in anticipation of the following day. The 18th of
each month was considered an especially good time for the worship of Kannon, the principal divinity at the Kiyomizudera.
Genji left th, ayside foliagt
he seemed to h ~here. As he r, same as ever tc red singlet, wh have been the , teady in the s,
kamo River, i horse's back. " &ee how I can ~ . Koremitsu w n an excurs10 ismay, he clea pr he could th e offered silei elp, he manag The ladies-ir
'1,.id kept their 1 'estless lately- . orld would h
.. Genji took t< gays, he was al Qf continuous · , ddressed to t Could not poss ppinion that hi ,'1,at he was no
Desperate th l'l'ijo Mansion, ;imong his lad breed himself er duties, aw, enji felt a littl
Ild she was s< ,.eauty in her c .. erson.
"It looks as ined by the b e how £orion long, and I
ed. Unfortur · I voice, shed
For the mon
when in another :red his fears and. ;u and the escort, '
no loomed in the -clearer's torch a unobserved, lost
ly loneliness, the I with an adjoin- ough the chapel Jing; outside the 1me in low tones. >ward Kiyomizu, : of people.28 The holy voice. Genji
:n turned toward :ess by a folding 1s nothing fright- .s ever, quite un- .ce one last time! t brief interlude, left me to suffer
vulsive sobs. The rs, astonished by
once leaving her ewhere else? Be- . sorrow enough; ;an to cry. "All I e," she said. .at way, but such no matter how a 1ourse!f to it and k this way, I feel rk. start back right
ng day. The 18th of annon, the principal
Yiigao 79
enii left the cell with deep emotion and many back':ard glances. The 'ide foliage was heavy with dew, the mornmg fog so impenetrable that :emed to himself a forlorn wanderer, setting off on a journey into no- re. As he rode, he thought of how the lady had looked lymg there, the e as ever to all appearances, clad by force of circumstance in his own singlet, which was one of the robes they had used as cover. What might e been the origin of such a karmic bond? Noticing that he seemed un-
;dy in the saddle, Koremitsu helped him along, but near the bank of the mo River, in great apparent distress, he slid to the ground from the heis. back. "I wonder if it's my destiny to die by the roadside. I just don't how I can get all the way home," he said.
Koremitsu was nonplused. "If I'd had any sense, I'd never have taken him ' an e:xcursion like this, whether he wanted to go or not," he thought. In
Tsmay, he cleansed his hands in the river and prayed to Kiyomizu Kannan, •~ he could think of nothing else to do. Genji forced himself to take heart. e offered silent prayers to the buddhas, and finally, thanks to Koremitsu's
~Ip, he managed to reach the Nijo Mansion. The ladies-in-waiting sighed to one another over the strange errand that d kept their>rnaster out so late. "It really won't do! He's been so unusually stless lately-all those clandestine outings-and now this! Why in the
.~odd. would he ramble off that way when he looked deathly ill yesterday?" Genii took to his. bed, genuinely and miserably ill, and within two or three
days, he was alarmingly enfeebled. The emperor was devastated. A hubbub 'of continuous prayer arose at temples and shrines in every quarter: rituals · addressed to the gods, yin-yang purifications, Buddhist esoteric rites-I could not possibly list them all. The general public held to the vociferous
,9pinion that his incomparable beauty was to blame; it was an ominous sign t:hat he was not long for this world.
Desperate though he felt his illness to be, Genji summoned Ukon to the .Nijo Mansion, assigned her a room near his own quarters, and enrolled her . among his ladies-in-waiting. Koremitsu was frantic with worry, but he /forced himself to seem calm and did what he could to help Ukon perform her duties, aware that there was nobody else for her to turn to. Whenever Genji felt a little better, he summoned her, sent her on errands, and so forth; and she was soon at ease with the other attendants. Although she was no beauty in her deep black mourning, she was a prepossessing enough young person.
"It looks as though I must die too-as though my fate has been deter- mined by the bond forged during that strange, fleeting interlude. I can imag- ine how forlorn you must feel after losing the mistress you depended on for so long, and I had meant to try to comfort you by looking after you if I lived. Unfortunately, I'll probably follow her soon." He spoke in a confiden- tial voice, shedding weak tears.
For the moment, Ukon put aside thoughts of the one whom grief could
So The Tale of Genji
not bring back. What a terrible waste it would be if such a life as this were extinguished! ·
The people in the mansion were beside themselves with worry, and mes~ sengers from the emperor came thicker than raindrops. Genji made a valiant effort to rally his spirits, awed by reports of his father's dismay.
The minister of the left bustled about on his son-in-law's behalf, paid daily calls, and made sure that the Nijo household arranged for various kinds of prayers and rites. Whether or not it was due to his efforts, Genji started on the road to recovery, with no apparent lingering effects, after. more than twenty days of critical illness. The return of his health coincided with the end of the ritual seclusion imposed by his defilement, and he felt obliged to put in an appearance at the Kiritsubo pavilion on the same night, · mindful of the need to show proper appreciation for the emperor's solid-. tude. The minister called for him there and took him in his carriage to his own house, where he went to officious lengths to ensure his observation of the ritual seclusion and other precautions required after an illness. For a time, Genji's sense of disorientation was so strong that he felt as though he' had been born into another world.
It was around the twentieth of the ninth month when he recovered. His extreme emaciation served only to refine his beauty. He often sat gazing into space and sobbing, and there were those among his mystified attendants who concluded that he must be possessed by an evil spirit.
One quiet evening, he summoned Ukon for a talk. "It still seems so strange," he said. "Why wouldn't she let me know who, she was? She always kept that barrier between us, as though she didn't realize I'd have loved her even if she really had been a fisherman's daughter. It was hard to bear."
"It wasn't at all that she was determined to hide who she was. There just was no opportunity to mention so insignificant a name.' Ftom the outset, she considered it strange and incomprehensible that you should be in love with her-like a dream. She felt hurt by your reticence about your own identity. 'I've guessed who he is, but he won't tell me because he doesn't take, me seriously,' she said." ·
"Both of us were stubborn fools. I didn't want to be evasive, but I'm not used to doing things people disapprove of. I have to be very circumspect in· my position-first of all, so His Majesty won't have occasion to reprimand me, but also because even a little joke addressed to a woman will cause' gossip. It's an annoying situation. When I think of how strangely your mis'. tress fascinated me after the trifling incident that night-of how I insisted on being with her-I can't help believing that her karma ordained that she should meet such an end. I pity her with all my heart, and yet I feel ill-used, too. Why did I have to love her so much if our union wasn't going to last?
"Tell me more about her. You shouldn't hold anything back now. When I commission sacred paintings to be offered during the seventh-day services,< whom shall I tell myself they're for?"
!I don't want idn't think I h of her pa1 drank. He I nating, and
.. ugh some Ii chiijo, who
'. three years eats came fr< 'Jy timid per
old nurse, unhappy rt
.avorable thi
.t was just a: teased as tht ~e heard To
'Yes, it was · said. 'Where is sh nderful to h r." He went
r, but he wm nge a thing.
ring her. M: H bring her h 'I'd be very 1 Western sec1 rust her to a he quiet ev< , the wither dening map ,mbled into s sment that sl he throaty , e call had f
.cl a vision of
',9. In yin-yang , s. If it Was esse
Which he or sl
1 life as this were
worry, and mes- 1ji made a valiant may. tw's behalf, paid nged for various his efforts, Genji ·ing effects, after health coincided · nent, and he felt n the same night, emperor's solici- is carriage to his is observation of an illness. For a felt as though he
te recovered. His ·. :n sat gazing into ,tified attendants
It still seems so was? She always 'd have loved her ard to bear." ~ was. There just From the outset, hould be in love about your own ,e he doesn't take
sive, but I'm not y circumspect in on to reprimand oman will cause angely your mis-
. Jf how I insisted ,rdained that she ret I feel ill-used, n't going to last? 1ck now. When I nth-day services,
Yugao 8I
don't want to keep anything from you; it was only that, after her death, n't think I ought to blurt out something she had treated as a secret. of her parents died prematurely. Her father was a middle captain of
' rank. He loved her dearly, but he seemed to worry that his career was ~ating, and in the end he couldn't even maintain his hold on life. Later, ugh some little happenstance, she began to receive visits from Lord T6- hiij6, who was still a lesser captain then. He kept up the relationship three years and seemed to be very much in love, but some horrible ats came from the minister of the right's house last fall. Being an exces- ly timid person, my lady was terrified, and she stole away to the house n old nurse, in the western sector of the city. It was a squalid place. She unhappy there, and wanted to move to the hills, but that direction was vorable this year, so she took up residence in the shabby dwelling you
ow about, merely to avoid the taboo. 29 It was a sorrow to her that you 'nd her there. She was far more diffident than most people; it embar- ed h~r to reveal her worries, and she always put on a placid front when
h " were toget er. It was just ~s he had thought, Genji said to himself. His love and pity reased as th'e 'fragments of the lady's story came together in his mind. "I ce heard T6-no-chiij6 lament the loss of a child. Did she have one?"
·.· said. "Yes, it was born year before last, in the spring-a sweet little girl," e said. "Where is she? Give her to me without letting people know. It would be
onderful to have her as a keepsake of the lady whose loss is so hard to ar." He went on in a confidential voice, "I ought to tell To-no-chiijo about r, but he would be sure to overwhelm me with reproaches that wouldn't ange a thing. In any case, I don't see what objection there could be to my
earing her. Make some excuse to the nurse, or whoever else is with her, lid bring her here." '''I'd be very happy if you took her. It's sad to think of her growing up in ;e western sector, which is where she is now. There was nobody reliable to iitrust her to at Gojo." · The quiet evening scene was like a painting-the poignant charm of the ky, the withering plants in the front garden, the feeble insect voices, the eddening maple trees. Looking out at it all, Ukon marveled that she had
,tumbled into such a splendid situation, and it was with a flush of embar- assment that she recalled the house at Gojo . The throaty coo of a pigeon in the bamboo reminded Genji of how the
Jmme call had frightened the lady while they were at the ruined mansion, and a vision of her pathetic face rose before him. "How old was she?" he
,-) __ 29. In yin-yang cosmology, certain directions were unfavorable for an individual at certain }!Imes. If it was essential to reach a place, a person could spend one or more nights in a house ·. from which he or she could travel in another direction.
82 The Tale of Genji
asked. "It must have been because she was doomed to an early death that she seemed so strangely, so extraordinarily fragile."
"She would have been nineteen. After the death of my mother, who was one of her nurses, her father took pity on me and raised me with her. How can I keep on living when I remember that act of mercy? And yet I feel like the poet who regretted an intimacy he had once savored-during all those years, I relied on someone who was a rather helpless person." 30
"It's precisely lack of strength that makes a woman appealing. Clever,· unsubmissive women don't attract men. I myself am not a brisk, forceful type, and I like someone who is gentle, susceptible perhaps to masculine · deception when off guard, but nevertheless basically prudent and discreet, and submissive to her husband's wishes. If a man finds such a woman, cor- rects her flaws to suit his taste, and makes her his wife, she'll become very dear to him," Genji said.
"When I think of how my lady was exactly what you wanted, it seems J such a pity!" Ukon began to weep.
The sky had clouded over, and a cold wind was blowing. Genji stared· gloomily into space. Half under his breath, he recited a poem:
mishi hito no keburi o kumo to
nagamureba yube no sora mo mutsumashiki ka na
The evening sky itself becomes something to cherish
when I gaze at it, seeing in one of the clouds the smoke from her funeral pyre.
Ukon was unable to respond. "If only she could be here with him!" The, thought made her heart ache. As for Genji, even the memory of the noisy, cloth fullers evoked nostalgic feelings, and he murmured, "The nights are long," as he composed himself for sleep.31 , ;-.
To mark the forty-ninth day after the death, Genji made discreet arrange- ments for sutra recitations at the Lotus Concentration Chapel on Mount Hiei, including unstinting, meticulous provision for costumes and other ap- propriate offerings. Even the sutra scrolls and the decorations for the images received careful attention. Koremitsu's brother, the holy teacher, conducted the rites with impeccable dignity. To review the petition he composed, Genji called in his Chinese teacher, a professor of literature with whom he was oil_ close terms. With a pitiful mien, he wrote that someone dear to him, not named, had breathed her last, and that he now commended her to Amida; Buddha. "That will do as it is; nothing needs to be added," the professor said. He saw that Genji seemed sunk in misery, his eyes overflowing with irrepressible tears. "Who might the lady have been?" he wondered. "Sh
30. The poem has not survived. 31. The quotation is part of a line from "On Hearing Cloth-fulling Mallets in the Night,'
a poem by Bo Juyi about wives fulling cloth while grieving for husbands absent on military. duty.
ust have had a outsiders, and y,
Genji picked t ;a.d tailored. [H
naku1 kyo wa,
shital izure no tokete m
e recited heart 0
een wandering ·· ted path. For no good -chujo. He we red for, but h
'proaches. Back at the C
earance, but th r attendants 1 ck! Admitted) d pointed to (
;Koremitsu, w g at all, and , heasingly dre lute son of a I
countryside . use was one c .ctor. Ukon's p ~rs, thought ti r standoffish ould become · . d she also kn 'inquire abou
te of stunned {Genji mournt
night after ; )s~inct figure side in the r
.. ing that son rson, and tha1
as a chilling
mother, who Wa 1e with her. Bo \nd yet I feel lik -during all thos •n." Jo
ppealing. Clever a brisk, forceful
aps to masculine lent and discreet,, :h a woman, cor-· 1e'll become very
ing. Genj i stared em:
If cherish
uds teral pyre.
! with him!" The 10ry of the noisy "The nights are
discreet arrange- hapel on Mount 1es and other ap- ns for the images 1cher, conducted composed, Genji whom he was on dear to him, not ed her to Amida :l," the professor )Verflowing with wondered. "She
lallets in the Night," ls absent on military
Yiigao
ave had a splendid karma to have remained completely unknown to rs and yet to have excited such remarkable grief."
)i ~icked up a pair of trousers from one of the costumes he had quietly ilored. [His poem:]
nakunaku mo ky6 wa wa ga yuu
shitahimo o izure no yo ni ka wkete mirubeki
In what other world shall we meet with hearts at ease-
in what world untie the strings I fasten today, weeping, ever weeping?
recited heartfelt buddha-invocations with his mind on the lady. She had :. wandering up to this point; now she must be setting out on a desig-
¢d path. .or no good reason, his heart beat faster whenever he encountered T6- ~hiij6. He would have liked to let him know that the wild pink was being d for, but he held his peace, unable to face the thought of his friend's
roaches. ack at the Gojo house, everyone was greatly upset by the lady's disap-
·rance, but there was nothing to go on, no way to find her. It was so odd, attendants lamented, so strange that not even Ukon should have come
ck! Admittedly, there was no proof, but they whispered that appearances d pointed to Genji as their mistress's lover. They brought their complaints Koremitsu, who professed bewilderment, talked as though he knew noth- g at all, and continued to visit and flirt as before. The episode seemed creasingly dreamlike. Perhaps, they speculated, the man had been the dis- lute son of a provincial governor-someone who had carried her off into
countryside because he was afraid of To-no-chiijo. The mistress of the use was one of three children whose mother was the nurse in the western
ctor. Ukon's parentage was different, and the mistress, shedding nostalgic jrs, thought that she must be withholding news of the lady's whereabouts ;f standoffish reasons of her own. Ukon for her part thought that she ;ould become the center of a tremendous furor if she revealed the truth; hd she also knew that Genji remained set on secrecy. She felt unable even Cl inquire about the little girl, and the lady's people continued in the same $fate of stunned surprise and ignorance.
/'. Genji mourned on. If only he might at least dream about her! Instead, on :t!ie night after the forty-ninth-day services, his dreams were visited by an <indistinct figure, the exact image of the woman who had appeared at the
<>bedside in the mansion. Looking back on the event, he could not help be- :;lieving that some creature at the ruined mansion had lodged itself in his ·person, and that the lady had died because she happened to be present also. It was a chilling thought.
CHAPTER FOUR
( s l
Young Murasaki
[ Third to tenth months of Genji's eighteenth year. Murasaki: about 10; Fujitsubo lady: 2.3; Genji's wife, Aoi: 2.2.]
Genji had begun to suffer from chills and fever. He ordered prayers for divine assistance, mystic invocations, and other rites, but nothing seemed to be able to keep the symptoms from recurring.
"There is a wonder-working monk at such-and-such a temple in the northern hills," somebody told him. "When this same sickness was going around last summer, he made many immediate cures .,in cases where otherf had produced no results with their intercessions. It would be troublesome' if the others didn't succeed; I would suggest that you try him soon." H~ sent off a messenger, but the monk answered that age and infirmity had· made it impossible for him to leave his cell. ' ':
"It can't be helped, then; I'll have to pay him a quiet visit," he said. Hee set out before dawn, taking only four or five trusted attendants. The cell was rather far back in the hills. In the waning days of the third month, all the cherry blossoms in the capital had passed their prime, but the trees i the mountains were still in full bloom, and there was a delightful haze ii) the sky. Unaccustomed to such freedom, he savored the scenery and the novelty of the journey.
The appearance of the temple inspired the utmost awe and reverence. H. climbed to the sage's cell, a deep cavern on the side of a high peak. H. refrained from mentioning his name, and his clothes were very shabby, bu it was apparent from his bearing that he was of noble lineage. Surprise the sage addressed him with a smile. "This is a great honor! Might you b. the gentleman who summoned me the other day? But how do you hap pen to have come? I no longer think about this world; I've stopped pef forming rituals to secure worldly benefits," he said. He was indeed a mos holy man.
• The monk r ~d chanted n ·. Stepping ou
int afforded e. winding r hce, similar
.• t, and with ·ere?" he ask · .. That's wh, · ars," said 01
"The bisho1 was a mista
· esn't find 01 .A group of .ew offertory t'There mus .•!'But surely •. other.
''.'Who can s One of ther utiful littl, ,, h , e repot
.Noting the
.ei:ed if the di 'fog somethi e capital fro ,e distance, i .st like a pict ish for nothi "This scene
.res if you sa · places like Someone eh ,the bays arn thing can C< here isn't at
Ieffect of th< searing a da, usidering t} ought to hi resigned a r yernor at hi .se he failec he capital
i: about rn;
dered prayers fo t nothing seemed
a temple in th ckness was goin ases where others d be troublesom y him soon." He md infirmity had
risit," he said. He endants. The cell e third month, all e, but the trees in delightful haze in : scenery and the
md reverence. He a high peak. He
: very shabby, but .neage. Surprised, or! Might you be 10w do you hap-• I've stopped per- ras indeed a most
Young Murasaki
onk prepared appropriate charms, gave them to Genji to swallow, nted mystic invocations. Meanwhile, the sun rose high.
\ 1g outside for a moment, Genji looked around. The high vantage pfforded a clear view of all the scattered cells lower down. Just below , ding path to the cave, there was a residence with a brushwood J;i!llilar to the residences of the other monks but more neatly laid 'tid with trim buildings and galleries and a pleasant grove. "Who lives \, he asked. ' at's where Bishop So-and-so has been in retreat for the last two •,, said one of his attendants. he bishop is a man with whom one has to be on one's best behavior. s a mistake to go to such absurd lengths with this disguise. I hope he · 't find out I'm here." group .of neat, pretty little girls appeared, also clearly visible as they .. offertory water and cut flowers.
:fhere must be a woman about the place," an attendant said. ]3ut surely the bishop would never install a woman there," said ther. .
o can s'he be?" ne of them went down and peered through the fence. "You can see a
utiful little girl, some young ladies-in-waiting, and some page girls, '' he reported. ·.
'oting the advance of the sun as he performed his rituals, Genji won- fed if the disease might be getting ready to flare up. Someone suggested jng something to take his mind off it, and he went out to look toward e capital from the mountain behind the cave. The haze extended far into ·e distance, softening the outlines of the trees in all directions. "It looks •st like a picture," he said. "Someone who lived in a place like this could )sh for nothing better." ;l'ffhis scenery is nothing special. You would paint some remarkable pie- res if you saw the ocean and mountains in other provinces. I'm thinking
·(places like Mount Fuji and Such-and-such Peak," one of his men said. ·• Someone else tried to amuse him with a lengthy discourse on the virtues f the bays and coasts to the west. "When it comes to places nearer at hand, 9thing can compare with Akashi Bay in Harima Province," this man said. There isn't any single feature of particular interest; it's the strangely peace-
> I effect of the sea view that sets it apart. A former governor of the province S rearing a daughter there-a man who's just recently taken Buddhist vows. onsidering that he was either the son or the grandson of a minister of state, e ought to have had a successful career, but he was an eccentric sort, and
.. e resigned a middle captaincy rather than take part in court life. He became governor at his own request, but his tenure was something of a fiasco be-
i,cause he failed to win the respect of the local people. The idea of returning · tb the capital as a failure didn't appeal to him, so he shaved his head after
86 The Tale of Genji
his term expired. Then he went to the coast and settled there instead of going to live in the mountains. It seems a perverse choice, and it's true that the province abounds in more suitable sites for religious retirement. But a remote mountain dwelling would have been too isolated and eerie for his young wife and child; and he himself also finds it diverting to live by the sea.
"When I visited Harima recently, I took the opportunity to call and see how he was getting along. He may not have been able to carve a niche for himself in the capital, but there in Harima he owns a magnificent residence on a huge estate. Whether he was respected or not, he did wield the power of office, and he was bent on acquiring enough resources to make him rich for the rest of his life. He's also diligent in his prayers for the life to come, so he's actually a better monk than he was a layman."
"What about the daughter?" Genji asked. "Not bad, I hear, either in looks or in personality. It seems that one gov-
ernor after another has come forward with a formal request for her hand, and other people too, but he's turned them all away. Apparently, he's always lecturing her like a man on his deathbed. 'It's bad enough that I've sunk into obscurity like this. You're my only child, and I have special plans for you. If I die before anything comes of them-if the future I have in mind doesn't· materialize-then it's up to you to throw yourself into the sea,' he says."
"A most interesting tale," said Genji. "So precious a daughter would make a fit consort for a dragon king in
the sea," someone suggested. "The father's aspirations do seem to be inconveniently lofty," laughed the
narrator, Yoshikiyo. He was the present governor's son,' a chamberlain who. had been promoted to fifth rank that year.
"We know what a rake you are, Yoshikiyo. You've probably already made up your mind to ruin the father's plans," someone said. · ' ·~: ·
"I imagine he's haunting the premises," said someone else. "Oh, come on! Whatever the father thinks, she's probably just a coun-
try girl." "Besides, what can you expect of someone who's spent her whole life in.
the wilds, catering to the whims of an old-fashioned parent?" "I hear they've used their connections to assemble attractive young atten-
dants and pages from the best families in the city. Apparently, the way they look after her is quite amazing," Yoshikiyo said.
"That's all very well, but what if an unpleasant character takes over as provincial governor? The father may have a hard time holding onto her."
"Why do the father's thoughts plumb the ocean depths? The seaweed there would be rather messy, I should think," Genji said. 1 He was more than a little interested. Aware of his penchant for the bizarre, his attendants sur0
mised that he would remember the story, trivial though it was.
r. He puns on mirume {a kind of seaweed; "seeing eyes"), suggesting that people woul criticize the father if they learned of his telling the girl to drown herself.
"It's getting I ''should start ho · The sage de1 nant spirits set
"home tomorro· The attenda1
. ovel prospect e said.
.. For want of spring day, Gei ·.· azy twilight tc .. xcept Koremi ,foom directly i one who provt .apparently bei
aning against om a sutra I
. oman in her {aced, with at inodern than iJ · ith her, and :
nning in, dre 'rlcomparably : f developing i he moved, anc · The nun loo ne of the girls the child wa; "Inu let my I e child said v
._ .. This really id girl needs a etting cute, to he Was a pres . at she was c .ok care of th "C ome, don ind that I mi, Hing you it's' Jl? Come he e lustrous e
,. lnu is a chilc c:kerwork baske
nse.
l there instead 0 and it's true tha
retirement. But and eerie for his to live by the sea ty to call and seJ carve a niche for nificent residenc · 1 wield the power to make him ric]j the life to come ,.
:ms that one gov- 1est for her hand
' ·ently, he's always hat I've sunk into 1 p !ans for you. If : in mind doesn't sea,' he says."
a dragon king in
ity," laughed the chamberlain who
,bly already made
se. ably just a coun-
her whole life in .t ?'' :tive young atten- 1tly, the way they
:ter takes over as :ling onto her." hs? The seaweed · -le was more than is attendants sur- · was.
1g that people would
Young Murasaki
?s getting late, and Your Lordship seems to have escaped an attack. You d start home as soon as possible,'' someone said. e sage demurred. "It isn't merely a matter of the disease; some malig- spirits seem to be present, too. Spend tonight in quiet prayer and go
e tomorrow," he said. e attendants fell in with the suggestion, and Genji was attracted by the
j:l prospect of a night spent as a traveler. "All right, I'll leave at dawn,"
~id. · r want of other diversions to help him through the rest of the long ing day, Genj i went down to the bishop's brushwood fence, trusting the y twilight to shield him from observation. He sent back all his attendants
\pt Koremitsu and peered inside. There was a ~rivate icon in the west j:n directly m front of him, and devot10ns were bemg performed by some- who proved to be a nun. The blinds were slightly raised; flowers were arently being offered. The nun, who seemed to be of high birth, was
ning against a pillar in the middle of the room, reciting in an infirm voice rn a sutra placed on an armrest. Genji found her a moving sight-a man in her forties, with an aristocrat's white skin, emaciated but full-
'ed, with a'\:t'ractive shoulder-length hair that seemed more pleasingly dern than if it had been left long. There were two neatly attired women
'th her, and small girls came and went at play. A girl of about ten came nning in, dressed in a white chemise and a limp globeflower-yellow robe. comparably superior to all the others in appearance, she showed promise
f developing into a remarkable woman. Her hair fanned out, swaying, as e moved, and her tearful face had been rubbed red. The nun looked up. "What's the matter? Have you been quarreling with
11e of the girls?" she asked. Noticing a slight resemblance, Genji wondered <the child was hers . . "Inu let my baby sparrow get away. I had him under the incense basket," e child said with a woebegone look. 2 "This really won't do!" said one of the two ladies-in-waiting. "That stu-
.d girl needs another scolding. Where could the bird have gone? It was just tting cute, too. I hope a crow doesn't find it." She stood up and went out .
he was a presentable woman with a long, flowing head of hair. It seemed >at she was called Shonagon-no-menoto, and that she was the one who ook care of the child.
"Come, don't be a baby. You're a hopeless infant. It never crosses your : ind that I might die any day now; all you think of is that sparrow. I keep ellmg you it's sinful to shut it up in a cage. What am I going to do with
· ,ou? Come here," the nun said. The child knelt near her. The sweet face, .he lustrous eyebrows, the forehead from which a childish hand had
•••• 2 • Inu is a child servant. Heian women warmed and perfumed robes by draping them over lllckerwork baskets called fusego, which were inverted above braziers containing burning "Incense.
88 The Tale of Genji
brushed locks of hair, the hair itself-all were immensely appealing. Her growth to adulthood would be worth watching, Genji thought, observing her with an intent gaze. But the true source of his interest, he realized with a start, was her striking resemblance to the lady he loved so dearly, so ex0 ' travagantly, that the mere thought of her brought tears to his eyes.
The nun stroked the child's head. "You hate having it combed, but it's nice hair. I worry about you, you're such an innocent. Some girls of your age are so much more grown up. My young lady already had an excellent understanding of what it meant when she lost His Lordship, her father, at the age of twelve. How in the world will you get along if I leave you now?" Tears streamed from her eyes, and Genji could not help feeling sad as he watched. Child though she was, the girl looked the nun full in the face; then she lowered her gaze and hung her head, her hair tumbling forward in beau- tiful shining strands. The nun:
oitatamu arika mo shiranu
wakakusa o okurasu tsuyu zo kiemu sora naki
Weeping, the other woman agreed:
hatsukusa no oiyuku sue mo
shiranu ma ni ika de ka tsuyu no kiemu to suran
It is hard for the dew to pass from existence,
leaving the young herb to meet an unknown future when it grows to maturity.
The dew must not think of passing from existence
while still unawa,;e of what full growth will mean for the newly sprouted herb.
As she spoke, the bishop arrived from another part of the ,n,,sidence. "Isn't·· this room a bit exposed? It's a pity you chose today, of all days, to sit so close to the outdoors. I've just heard that the Genji middle captain has come to the sage's cell up above to get spells for his chills and fever. He's made a point of keeping it quiet, so I didn't know about it; I haven't gone to pay my respects, even though I've been here right along."
"Oh, dear," said the nun. "We're certainly far from presentable. What if somebody has seen us?" They lowered the blinds.
"Genji the shining one-the name on everybody's lips. What do you saf to taking this opportunity to see him? Beauty like his can make a person forget his cares and live a longer life-even someone in holy orders who doesn't care about worldly things. I think I'll just drop him a note." There was an audible rustle as the bishop took his leave.
Genji started back up the hill. "What a sweet child! Considering that those philandering companions of mine are always going off on private ex:· cursions like this, they must make all kinds of unexpected discoveries. Look at what I've stumbled across, as seldom as I get out," he thought, much
intrigued. "She . love to have he that other one.'
He was lying see Koremitsu. ' cell. "Someone 1 ought to wait your visit a sec1 would also have .here. I am most
Genji replied of the month. 1 old me about t came in strict ealer if he fai onk. I shall 61 The bishop ,
reat personal is own casual eriod of retre: erely a simplf
. how you the i · ool," he said.
Genji decide< .. eighing the et ant comments The garden 1
amiliar enougl: iilce it was th, ·.·· d lanterns ha n elegant fra~ cense hung ir ased wheneve . at faster. !he bishop t, 1ngs, discours cted on the ft possible drea
orld-and ho- "retire to a dVI eet child he r
:ly appealing. l-I hought, observj t, he realized Wit :I so dearly, so his eyes.
t combed, but it1 ,ome girls of You , had an excelle hip, her father
' I leave you now?" feeling sad as h
11 in the face; the ~ forward in beau
., 1erb uture 1rity.
think t1ce
ill mean I herb.
.e residence. "Isn't all days, to sit so captain has come
ever. He's made a t't gone to pay my.
:sentable. What if
What do you say m make a person holy orders who
ma note." There
Considering that off on private ex- discoveries. Look 1e thought, much
Young Murasaki
C"She's a perfect dear," he thought again. "Who can she be? I'd ;e her with me day and night as a consolation-a substitute for one," It was an idea that struck deep roots.
[ lying down when one of the bishop's disciples came and asked to · 6
itsu. The message carried to his ears in the narrow confines of the :meone has just informed me of your presence in our neighborhood. await upon you immediately, but it troubles me that you have kept it a secret, knowing as you do that I am in retreat at this temple. It !so have been natural to furnish you with a lodging in the hermitage
am most disappointed." t replied, "I began to suffer from chills and fever around the middle "month. The constant attacks became unbearable, and when someone e. about this place, I decided on the spur of the moment to come here. in strict secrecy because I felt it would be awkward for so famous a
.I'. if he failed to cure me-more embarrassing than for an ordinary . I shall be happy to visit you at once." bishop was prompt to present himself. Monk though he was, his
personl!cl dignity and high renown made Genji self-conscious about wn casu'tlf appearance. After talking of things having to do with his d of retreat, the bishop urged Genji to visit him. "The hermitage is
rely a simple brush-thatched hut like all the others, but I should like to 'w you the stream flowing from the spring, which is rather pleasantly ·•1 "he said ' . enji decided to go, his desire to learn more of the appealing child out-
ghing the embarrassment with which he recalled the bishop's extrava- 11t comments to the ladies who had yet to see him. ·
he garden was all that the bishop had promised, its trees and shrubs · iliar enough in kind but meticulously arranged to create tasteful effects. • ce it was the dark of the moon, basket-fires burned beside the stream, d lanterns had also been lit. The south apartment was tidily furnished. 3 h elegant fragrance drifted in from somewhere, and the scent of sacred _tense hung in the air. The remarkable perfume from Genji's robes, re-
~ased whenever he moved, seemed to make the hearts of the ladies inside eat faster. ·· The bishop told edifying stories illustrating the ephemerality of worldly ings, discoursed instructively on the life to come, and so forth. Genji re-
. ected on the frightening nature of his own sin. By setting his heart on that jmpossible dream, he was condemning himself to a lifetime of misery in this · .. orld-and how much greater would be his torment in the next! He longed Jo retire to a dwelling like his host's-but then there was his concern for the _sweet child he had seen before nightfall.
3- The south room in the main hall of an aristocratic residence was used for the reception of guests.
The Tale of Genji
"May I ask who might be staying with you? I had a dream about wanting to visit someone, and now I see what it meant," he said. ·
The bishop replied with a faint smile. "A dream out of the blue, one might say. I'm afraid the visit would be a disappointment. You may not have heard, of the late inspector-major counselor, who died a long time ago, but my younger sister was his principal wife. She took religious vows after his death, and recently she has been in poor health. As you see, I don't go to the capital. She felt that this would be the best place for her, and she has joined me in retreat."
Genji thought he knew who the child was. "I have heard that the major counselor had a daughter. What became of her? I'm not asking with any · romantic notion in mind; it's just a plain question."
"Yes, there was one daughter. It must have been more than ten years ago that she died. Her father took great pains with her upbringing because he wanted to present her as an imperial consort, but he died before he could · manage it. The nun was left with the responsibility, and somehow Prince Hyobukyo began to visit her in secret-I don't know who the intermediary could have been. The prince's main wife, a woman of the highest social standing, made life miserable for her in all sorts of ways, and the constant worry killed her. I saw close at hand how true it is that worry does cause illness."
Genji realized that the little girl must be the daughter's child. Was it be- cause Prince Hyobukyo's blood ran in her veins that she resembled the lady? 4 The thought strengthened his desire to take her µnder his wing. She was refined, beautiful, and unspoiled; why not bring her to live with him, educate and rear her according to his own standards, and make her his wife?
"A sad story. Did she leave no offspring as mementos?" he asked in the hope of verifying the child's identity. ' ;,,
"She had one child, born close to the time of her death. It was a girl, too. Now that my sister has entered her declining years, she tends to complain that the child's a problem."
It was as he had thought. "It will sound strange, but may I ask that you advise your sister to let me assume responsibility for the child? I do have something in mind. There is a lady with whom I am connected and whom I visit, but I live quite alone-possibly, I suppose, because the two of us don't get along very well. I'd be humiliated if you dismissed me as just another libertine-if you simply said, 'She's too young.'"
"Your proposal would be most welcome if she were not still a complete infant; even in jest, you couldn't treat her as a wife. Nor am I as a monk in a position to reach a decision, since it is said that the husband's behavior is what brings the wife to true maturity. I'll consult the child's grandmother and let her give you an answer."
4, Prince Hy6buky6 and the Fujitsubo lady were full siblings.
. Overcome wi · d formal mar ' "It's time for · rformed the , ape!. Genji was fe< ld mountain hose volume 1
ched his ean 'rroundings w enji, his mind ough the bish
irts, suggestiv e women we1 ter wall for ghtly ajar, a1 'med startled
µe of them inc ange! Perhap "But they sa1 's aristocratic n speech mu h to go? I de
"This must s ~y I just troul
hatst wakaba
mitS\ tabine n tsuyu zc
"I believe yot nd such a m< ''Please tell 1 said
j. Genji's rappir .d ought to shan parison of his ,
; ering from darl Pture, p. 133 _
n about wantin g
: blue, one might y not have heard .me ago, but tny ; vows after his ee, I don't go to ner, and she has
d that the major asking with any
an ten years ago . tging because he before he could
somehow Prince the intermediary te highest social md the constant •· rorry does cause
~hild. Was it be- e resembled the ler his wing .. She o live with him, ake her his wife? he asked in the
t was a girl, too. 11ds to comp lain
y I ask that you ~hild? I do have :ted and whom I : two of us don't · as just another
still a complete n I as a monk in md's behavior is :l's grandmother
Young Murasaki
corne with youthful embarrassment by the bishop's brusque speech ~:rnal rnanner: Genji could think of no further ~ay to plead his cause.
tirne for a ntual m the Am1da chapel," the bishop said. "I haven't rued the vesper service yet; I'll return after I finish." He set out for the
I. . nji was feeling wretchedly ill. A shower brought rain pelting down, a rnountain wind sprang up, and he could hear the roar of a waterfall se volume had suddenly increased. The chilling sound of a sutra reading ed his ears from time to time, chanted in a slightly drowsy voice. The
•oundings were enough to move the most unreflective of men, and for ji his mind teeming with problems, there was no question of sleep. Al- ~h the bishop had said that he was merely leaving to perform the vesper
~ice, it was now very late. i: was clear that the people inside the hermitage were also still awake. pite their efforts at quiet, Genji heard the faint noise of rosary beads shing against an armrest, and there was a hearteningly familiar rustle of rts, suggestive of elegance and refinement. The hermitage was small, and
·· women were nearby. A row of folding screens had been erected as an ter wall fot their room. He went over to it, pushed the middle screen ghtly ajar, and rapped his fan against his hand. The ladies-in-waiting med startled, but they could scarcely pretend not to notice, and he heard e of them inch forward on her knees. Then she moved back a bit. "How
·range! Perhaps I've made a mistake," she said in an uncertain voice. ··· "But they say the Buddha never errs as a guide, not even in the dark." 5
.. is aristocratic young voice made her shrink from the thought of how her "wn speech must sound in comparison, but she said, "Where is it that you <ish to go? I don't quite understand." • "This must seem very sudden; it's natural that you should wonder. But ay I just trouble you to pass along a poem?"
hatsukusa no wakaba no ue o
mitsuru yori tabine no sode mo tsuyu zo kawakanu
Ever since that glimpse of the young leaf on the herb
so newly sprouted, never has it been free of dew~· the sleeve of the travel robe.
"I believe you must be aware that there is nobody here who might under- . tand such a message. To whom could I take it?" she said.
t ... "Please tell yourself that I must have a reason for giving it to you," he said.
}/ 5. Genji's rapping was a request for help. He implies here that someone in a religious house- hold ought to share the Buddha's attributes. The second half of his sentence is a lighthearted comparison of his own situation to that of the ignorant beings the Lotus Sutra describes as :"entering from darkness into darkness without ever hearing the Buddha's name." See Hurvitz,
< Scripture, p. 133 .
92 The Tale of Genji
She went inside to inform her mistress. "A typical modern gallant!" the .. nun said. "He must think the child is of marriageable age. But how did he find out about the 'young herb'?" There was much that struck her as strange and puzzling, but it would seem discourteous to let too much time elapse. She sent back an answering poem and a comment, "Our sleeves are the ones that are hard to dry."
makura yuu koyoi bakari no
tsuyukesa o miyama no koke ni kurabezaranan
Please do not compare the dews of a single night
spent away from home with the mossy robes of those who dwell far back in the hills. 6
"I don't understand at all why you communicate with me through a third person; it's not what I am used to. Forgive me, but I need to take this op, portunity to have a serious talk with you," Genji answered.
"I thought he must have been misinformed," the nun said to her women. "I really feel at a loss to reply to so fine a gentleman."
"But won't you embarrass him if you don't see him?" "You're right. I wouldn't like to speak to him if I were a young woman,
but as it is ... Besides, I can hardly ignore the honor of his saying he has something important to discuss with me." She moved forward on her. knees.
"I'm sure you must consider me brash and thoughtless, but the buddhas know there is no frivolity in my heart," Genji said.
The nun sat in silence, a hint of constraint in her maimer, and he felt too awkward to proceed immediately.
"Most assuredly, it is no insignificant karmic bond that brings us to con, verse like this on an occasion I could never have foreseen,') she said.
"I wanted to speak to you about the little girl of whose plight I have hear · so affecting an account. Won't you please bring yourself to accept me as substitute for her dead mother? When I was a mere infant, I lost the on who should have been closest to me, and I have led a strangely unsettled aimless life. It's because your granddaughter's situation is exactly the same as mine that I want with all my heart to ask you to let her be my companion{ That's why I have taken this unique opportunity to address you, rude though it may seem."
"Your proposal would be welcome under different circumstances, but fear you have been misinformed. Although there is someone here of who I am the sole frail support, she is still a naive little girl, not a person yo might take as a wife despite her shortcomings. I cannot accept your graciou. offer."
"I've heard everything there is to know about her, so please don't stan
6. "Moss robes" (kokegoromo) was a term used of the clothing of monks, nuns, an recluses.
n ceremony; p ·· dinary man," But the nun r esn't understc The bishop w st, I feel bettc
<It was getting uncled very he • m the Lotus em:]
fukirr miyama,
yume namida 1 taki no c
The bishop:]
sashil sode nur
yama sumeru I sawagi y
his shows, no he sky grad1
jve haze, raii .ving with fo PY-colored b hes-a sight ifficult thou op's hermit:
Jting the dha sing teeth,• number of r
offered co the empen
l sending all ji some wirn
'fear, but I ca n to see you
Y heart wi
The poem, a Pflate to the c' "'Sound of th~ Genji has beer.
ern gallant!" th . But how did he at struck her as :t too much time "Our sleeves are
tre ht me f those he hills.6
e through a third l to take this op-
,d to her women.
a young woman, of his saying he l forward on her.
but the buddhas
r, and he felt too
brings us to con- she said.
ight I have heard o accept me as a 1t, I lost the one angely unsettled, exactly the same ~ my compamon. [dress you, rude
umstances, but I ne here of whom tot a person you :pt your gracious
lease don't stand
)f monks, nuns, and
Young Murasaki 93
rnony; please just recognize that my intentions are not those of an ·<; " h .d y man, e sa1 . ·{he nun refused to give him the answer he wanted. "He apparently 'r understand that she's far too young for marriage," she thought. bishop was coming. "All right," Genji said, replacing the screen. "At
I feel better for having brought the subject up." as getting on toward dawn, and the voices chanting repentance rites ed very holy as they mingled with the sound of the waterfall, carried the Lotus Concentration Hall by the mountain wind. [Genji recited a
:)
fukimayou rniyarnaoroshi ni
yurne sarnete narnida moyosu taki no oto ka na
sashikurni ni sode n'itrashikeru
yamarnizu ni sumeru kokoro wa sawagi ya wa suru
My dreams were dispelled by voices borne on the gale
gusting frorn the hills; rny eyes overflow with tears at the sound of the cascade.7
The purified heart of one who makes this his dwelling
remains unperturbed by the mountain stream that has evoked a visitor's sudden tears.
.his shows, no doubt, that I have grown accustomed to the sound." ;fhe sky gradually lightened, and the mountain birds, invisible in the per- 'sive haze, raised a chorus of song that seemed to come out of nowhere. oving with frequent pauses, a deer made its way through a brocade of hy-colored blossoms, scattered in drifts from unidentifiable trees and shes-a sight so novel that Genji forgot about his ailment.
ifficult though it was for the sage to move, he managed to reach the tshop's hermitage, and to perform a protective ritual on Genji's behalf, c;:iting the dharani with immense authority in a hoarse voice blurred by
'lssing teeth. 8
A number of people arrived to act as Genji's escorts for the return journey. ,hey offered congratulations on his recovery. There was also a message om the emperor. The bishop did everything possible to welcome the visi- rs, sending all the way to the valley for unusual fruits and nuts. He offered enji some wine. "I have sworn a solemn vow to stay here until the end of
. e year, but I can't help regretting it now, because it prevents me from going own to see you on your way," he said. "My heart will stay with your hills and streams, but His Majesty is anx-
7• The poem, a polite expression of thanks for a night's hospitality, contains overtones ,, -_ppropriate to the circumstances: "My dreams were dispelled" can mean, "I awoke from illu-
ft\sion." "Sound of the Waterfall" was a chant used for repentance rites. 8. Genji has been cured; the purpose of this ritual is to keep him healthy.
94 The Tale of Genji
ious to see me, and I must show proper respect. I'll be back very soon-· before these blossoms have passed their peak," Genji said. [His poem:]
miyabito ni yukite kataramu
yamazakura kaze yori saki ni kite mo mirubeku
I shall go and say to those who serve His Majesty:
"You must come to see the mountain cherry blossoms before the wind precedes you."
The splendor of his appearance and the beauty of his voice were sufficient· in themselves to dazzle the bishop:
udonge no hana machietaru
kokochi shite miyamazakura ni me koso utsurane
Savoring the feeling that at long last I have seen
the udonge blossom, I have no will to turn my gaze toward the mountain cherry tree. 9
Genji smiled. "But a flower that 'opens once when the time is ripe' would seem to be rare indeed."
Upon receiving the wine bowl from Genji, the sage looked at him with brimming eyes:
okuyama no matsu no toboso o
mare ni akete mada minu hana no kao o miru ka na
When I set ajar the seldom opened pine door
deep in the mountains, I behold a face resembling a flower hitherto unseeh.
He gave him a vajra as a talisman. 10 The bishop then presented a gauz silken bag, attached to a pine branch, which held a jeweled diamond seed rosary obtained from Kudara by Prince Shotoku, · still' i\:i the origi, nal Chinese-style box; also some medicines in dark blue jars, attached t · branches of wisteria and cherry blossoms; and various other gifts appropri, ate to the circumstances." Genji had sent home for things to be offered t the sage and the lesser sutra recitants, as well as for other articles require. in connection with his departure. He now made suitable gifts to everyone including the neighboring peasants, presented his pious donations, and pre, pared to leave.
9, Vdonge is Japanese for the udumbara, a small deciduous tree native to South Asia th produces clusters of small, figlike fruit. Because the flowers are well hidden, legend had it th they bloomed only once in 3,000 years. Genii's remark below is a quotation from the Lot!I Sutra, which compares the rare flowering of the tree to the rarity of preaching about the tr doctrine. See Hurvitz, Scripture, p. 29.
, ro. The vajra (toko), a clublike metal implement, symbolized the ability of the enlighten< mmd to smash all kinds of defilements.
Ir. "Diamond seed" (kongoji) probably means the hard, black fruit of the goldenrai (Koelreuteria paniculata; ]. mokugenju), a small, deciduous East Asian tree. The stones we often used in rosaries.
The bishop wen osed. "I can't sa· nswer in another :onvinced that sh, If with a mere r iscouraging. ·· Genji sent the m
yumagm honoka ni I
iro o mi1 kesa wa ka, tachi zo wa
The nun wrote nning hand:
makoto hana no ata
tachiuki kasumuru s keshiki om
As Genji was en ·s brothers-in-law 1bed because he
0chiijo, Sachiibe o had come in :
an excursion lik Y complained. S
.• lingering awhil They seated then drink. The spot
scending stream. 6-no-chiijo dre
ster; Ben beat ti , pie!" 12 The tw I it was impossil .uty of Genji's ar party from the
re Was also a g ught a servant t he bishop came
t 0 ne piece " he d ,, ' s.
2. From a folksong
back very soon , [His poem:]
; Majesty: , see lossoms les you,"
ice were sufficien
seen 1,
ny gaze :herry tree. 9
e door ins, ling ,n.
,resented a gauzy ~weled diamond- still in the origi- j ars, attached to
,er gifts appropri- s to be offered to : articles required gifts to everyone, ,nations, and pre-
ive to South Asia that \en, legend had it that ation from the Lotus · aching about the true
lity of the enlightened
uit of the goldenrain tree. The stones were
Young Murasaki 95
(bishop went inside and told his sister exactly what Genji had pro- .. "l can't say anything one way or the other now. I'll give him an r in another four or five years if he's still interested," the nun said. _r ced that she would not change her mind, the bishop contented him- 1~h a mere repetition of her words, an attitude Genji found deeply
raging. nji sent the nun a note by a small page, one of the bishop's attendants:
yiimagure honoka ni hana no
iro o mite kesa wa kasumi no tachi zo wazurau
In the uncertain dusk, I saw but dimly the hue
. of the blossom; this morning I go forth with vision obscured by haze,
he nun wrote back in elegant, aristocratic script, set down in an easy ·· ing hand:
makoto ni ya hana no atari wa
ta~hiuki to kasmtluru sora no keshiki o mo mimu
I shall wait to see if it be true-this hint
from hazy skies of regret to leave the place where the blossom has come forth.
J\s Genji was entering the carriage, a large party of gentlemen, including brothers-in-law, arrived from the minister's mansion to escort him, dis-
bed because he had left without telling people where he was going. To- . -chiijo, Sachiiben, and others of the minister's sons were among those ho had come in search of him. "We are always eager to accompany you 0, an excursion like this. The last thing we expected was to be left behind," 'jey complained. Someone added, "It would be a shame to start back with-
t lingering awhile in the shade of these gorgeous cherry blossoms." .They seated themselves in rows on the moss, near some rocks, and began drink. The spot was below the waterfall, with a delightful view of the
scending stream. To-no~chiijo drew a flute from his breast and played with the skill of a aster; Ben beat time lightly with his fan, singing, "Ah! It's west of Toyora
emple!" 12 The two were much superior to the ordinary run of courtiers, put it was impossible to look away from the peerless-indeed, uncanny- ~eauty of Genji's appearance as he leaned languidly against a rock. As usual,. .. e party from the mansion included an escort who played the oboe, and
.there was also a gentleman, an enthusiastic amateur musician, who had !lirought a servant to carry his panpipes. , The bishop came out, personally carrying a seven-stringed koto. "Do play
/Just one piece," he urged Genji. "It would be a treat even for our mountain birds."
12. From a folksong (saibara), "Kazuragi."
The Tale of Genji
"I really don't feel at all well," Genji said. He played a little, and then they all set out. The most insignificant of the monks and pages shed tears of regret; and, of course, it was worse for the aged nuns and others inside the hermitage, who had never before seen Genji's like. One could scarcely be- lieve that he belonged in this world, they said.
The bishop himself was affected. "What karma could have decreed the. birth of such a man in this inconsequential land of the rising sun during the latter days of the Law? I find it very moving," he said, wiping his eyes.
The little girl was lost in naive admiration. "He's handsomer than His Highness, isn't he?" she said.
"If you think so, you'd better be his child," said one of the ladies-in- waiting.
She bobbed her head in vigorous assent, charmed by the idea. Whenever she played with her dolls or drew pictures, she made Lord Genji, decked him out in fine robes, and took great care of him.
Genj i went first to the imperial palace, where he described his recent ac- tivities. The emperor considered him ominously thin. He asked about the sage's spiritual powers, and Genji reported in detail. "It sounds as though he merits appointment to the office of holy teacher. I wonder why I've never heard of a man who has performed so many exploits in the practice of his religion," His Majesty said in a respectful voice.
The minister of the left joined them. "I wanted to go to meet you for the return journey, but thought it best not to, in view of the private nature ofC your visit. Please stay with us for a day or two of quidt rest," he said to· Genji. "Shall I escort you now?"
Little as Genji cared for the proposal, he felt obliged to go. The minister put him into his own carriage and got in tohe rear. He could 1nbt help feeling a twinge of conscience in the face of so much genuine solicitude. ·
The minister had made preparations at home in anticipation of the visit. During Genji's long absence, no pains had been spared to make the mansion even more perfect than before, a veritable gem of a stately dwelling.
As usual, Genji's wife seemed disinclined to emerge from the inner roo .• in which she had secreted herself, and it was only after repeated paternal messages that she made a reluctant appearance. Like a princess in a picture, she sat where her attendants had placed her, motionless and correct. Genji thought he could love her if only she would make it worthwhile to talk to. her-if only he could elicit an interesting reply by hinting at some of the things on his mind or describing his trip to the mountains. But she was so· very reserved, so constrained and distant; and the formality of her manne had merely increased with the years. It was too much, too annoying. "I wis you could be more like other wives once in a while. You haven't even both~ ered to inquire about my health when I've been desperately ill. That's noth-; ing new, but I do take it somewhat amiss," he said.
"Is neglect so er face intimida "You almost n
• hardly the wo ings. But then ing I can to tr ell, while there e was slow to
1 ight call her in fetended to be · flections on hii Much as hew; e nun should , hard to argue. me, so that sh wondered he self was arist
uld it be bee Hd's kinship t,
self that he v The next day,
occasion to d .u seemed unv empt a full ex
is letter-this l my feeling." 1
omok mi o mo
yama; kokoro r tomete k
Worry about t Needless to s, ter, with its c
J-3· "Neglect" pa Jhe verb tau ("inc
to inquire?'' or, .4• Intended for
_e notes twisted i bumi), such as 1 velopes bent ar
/Y blossoms, het 5, Prince MotoJ no I ushiromet~
fol lesr the wind
1 little, and then .ges shed tears of others inside the rnld scarcely be-
1ave decreed the isi_ng sun . during said, w1ptng his
Isomer than His
of the ladies-in-
idea. Whenever ·d Genji, decked
ed his recent ac- asked about the )Unds as though :r why I've never .e practice of his •
neet you for the ,rivate nature of rest," he said to
5o. The minister not help feeling ·
tude. tion of the visit. ake the mansion !welling. 1 the inner room :peated paternal ~ess in a picture, ,d correct. Genji 1while to talk to ; at some of the . But she was so y of her manner 1noying. "I wish ven't even both- ill. That's noth-
Young Murasaki 97
neglect so painful?" She answered haltingly, with a sidelong glance, ce intimidatingly elegant and beautiful. 13
:u almost never talk to me-and now I must confess to surprise. 'Visit' rdly the word for people in our situation; it's a harsh way of putting . But then you always make me feel small. Even though I do every- I can to try to change your mind, you just seem to dislike me more.
I while there's life there's hope, I suppose." He entered the curtain-dais. ~as slow to follow, and he stretched out with a sigh, uncertain how he ht call her in. It may have been a further sign of embarrassment that he
tended to be falling asleep, meanwhile indulging in a series of gloomy 'ections on his relations with women. "nch as he wanted to see the young herb mature, it was only natural that
nun should consider the child unready for marriage. The point would hard to argue. But why not try to find some means of simply bringing her ·. e, so that she might always be present to help him forget his troubles? wondered how she could look so much like her aunt. Prince Hy6buky6 self was aristocratic and elegant enough, but not particularly handsome.
uld it be l;,ecause the Fujitsubo lady was the prince's full sister? The \Id's kinship i:o the lady made her seem very precious, and he swore to 1mself that he would find a way to get her. •iThe next day, he sent courtesy letters to the hermitage. He probably took e occasion to drop a hint to the bishop. To the nun, he said in part, "When
bu seemed unwilling to consider my proposal, I felt too embarrassed to \tempt a full explanation of what was in my mind. I would be so happy if bis letter-this persistence-could convince you of the extraordinary depth fmy feeling." There was an enclosure, a small knotted letter: 14
omokagewa mi o mo hanarezu
yamazakura kokoro no kagiri tomete koshikado
All my heart I left with the mountain cherry tree.
Why, then, should its image never absent itself from what remains of me?
\''I worry about the wind in the night, too." 15
Needless to say, his calligraphy was exquisite; and the very style of the '.letter, with its casual wrapping, seemed superb to the dazzled eyes of the
13. "Neglect" paraphrases the lady's reply, which puts Genji on the defensive by punning <dn the verb tou ("inquire"; "visit"). Her question can mean either, "Is it painful when someone
,\'fails to inquire?" or, "Is it painful when someone fails to visit?" 14. Intended for the child Murasaki. As the name implies, knotted letters (musubibumi)
,-Were notes twisted into knots. They were used for love let~ers. More formal communications { '{tatebumi), Such as Genji's letter to the nun, were written on flat pieces of paper and enclosed :'.:,in envelopes bent and twisted at the ends. Genii's poem initiates Murasaki's association with , cherry blossoms, her symbol throughout the book.
15, Prince Motoyoshi (sis 29): asa madaki / okite zo mitsuru / ume no hana / yo uo ma no ·. k_aze no / ushirometasa ni ("Blossoms of the plum! I arose to inspect them in dawn's early light,
fearful lest the wind in the night might have carried them away").
The Tale of Genji
old women. It was with difficulty that the nun framed her answer; the situa- tion was so delicate that she scarcely knew what to say.
"I had attached no weight to what you mentioned when you stopped by, and I find it hard to reply now that you make a point of it. The child cannot as yet even write the 'Naniwazu' poem in proper cursive form; your kind letter has been wasted." 16
arashi fuku onoe no sakura
chiranu ma o kokoro tomekeru hodo no hakanasa
"I worry even more."
One cannot rely on a heart that tarries
just for the brief span before the cherries scatter on the peak where the harsh wind blows.
To Genji's chagrin, the bishop replied in the same vein. Two or three days later, Genji sent Koremitsu to the hermitage. "A·•
woman called Shonagon-no-menoto ought to be there. See her and go over the matter thoroughly," he told him. ·
"There's no possibility he won't explore," Koremitsu said to himself.· "She's only a baby." He smiled as he recalled his glimpse of the child through the fence.
The bishop expressed his appreciation of the honor of another letter. Ko- remitsu asked to see Shonagon, met with her, and spoke at length of Genji's sentiments and general situation. Glib as ever, he made it all sound very reasonable as he rambled on, but everyone at the hermitage considered the suggestion preposterous. What could Genji have in mind for a girl who was so obviously not of marriageable age?
Genji's letter to the nun was also written in language of the utmost sin-. cerity. As before, he had included a note for the child. "IF ,YifOuld give me great pleasure to see those block characters." [His poem:] ·
asakayama asaku mo hito o
omowanu ni nado yama no i no kakehanaruran
The nun replied:
The love I bear you is not shallow like the name
of Shallow Mountain; why should you stay as remote as a rockbound mountain spring?
16. KKS, kana preface: ''The Naniwazu poem was composed at the beginning of an imperial reign; the Asakayama poem is a playful poem composed by a palace attendant. Those two are, as it were, the father and mother of poetry, the first lines we learn in calligraphy practice." The Naniwazu poem appears later in the preface: naniwazu ni / saku ya ko no hana / fuyugomori I ima wa harube to/ saku ya ko no hana ("Flowers on the trees in bloom at Naniwazu say, 'No,p, the winter yields its place to springtime!' Flowers blooming on the trees!"). The Asakayama [Shallow Mountain] poem (MYS 3829), to which Genji alludes in his next note: asakayama./ kage sae miyuru / yama no i no / asaki kokoro o / wa ga omowanaku ni ("The love I bear you is not like the shallow pool, mountain spring water, holding the mirrored image of Shallow Mountain itself").
kun kuyash
yarr asaki n kage o
Koremitsu's agon said, "If nd then movi our master af The Fujitsu!:
. osition. Genj e also reflect< ental turmoil
e was at com \me; and afte1 .iy how Myol: .ble manner. E hat it was ont Ihing earlier e rm resolve to d upset; and ther small, 1,
,ery qualities t J mediocrity. r even to exh e would havi
ain ], but the r .hat it would l
mite au yo rr
yum yagate 1 wa ga n
she spoke, he ,.er poem:]
r7. An allusion his sleeves sco
7): kuyashiku zo ret my attempt
,~llow, and I have {/ 8· Kurabu[no]
Petual night mii Yama (in Sakyii-
nswer; the situa.
you st_opped by, The child cannot· form; your kind'
n :er ,arsh wind blows.
: hermitage. "A her and go over
said to himself. pse of the child
,other letter. Ko- length of Genji's t all sound very e considered the r a girl who was
: the utmost sin- : would give me
ame t; remote in spring?
nning of an imperial lant. Those two are, aphy practice." The hana / fuyugomori / IJaniwazu say, 'Now "). The Asakayama t note: asakayama / 'The love I bear you d image of Shallow
kumisomete kuyashi to kikishi
yama no i no asaki nagara ya kage o misubeki
Young Murasaki
How can I show her to one whose shallowness must bring
regrets resembling those of the traveler who sought to scoop water from a shallow spring? 17
99
oremitsu's report was much the same. To Genji's disappointment, Sho- 'on said, "If my mistress's health improves, she'll stay here awhile longer
then move to her house in the city. I imagine she'll be in touch with ',t master after that." '[he Fujitsubo lady had withdrawn from the palace because of an indis- sition. Genji felt very sorry for the worried, woebegone emperor, but also reflected that now, if ever, was his opportunity. So great was his ntal turmoil that his visits to other quarters stopped altogether. Whether was at court or at home, he gazed _absently into space during the day- e· and after nightfall he harassed O-no-myobu with entreaties. I can't ' how Myobu managed it, but he did meet the lady in a quite inexcus-
·1e manner. Even while he was with her, he was tormented by the feeling ~t it was O!)ly; a dream. For her, the mere recollection of a certain aston-
hing earlier ~vent had been a source of infinite grief, and she had made a tm resolve to prevent a repetition. Now she seemed extremely depressed rtd upset; and the reserve and discretion of her demeanor made him feel ather small, lovable and sweet though she was. He almost resented the ery qualities that set her apart from other women, the lack of any taint
of mediocrity. It was hopeless to try to express all that was in his mind, or even to exhaust one of the innumerable subjects he wanted to broach. He would have liked to be staying on Kurabu-no-yama [Darkness Moun-
in], but the night was cruelly short, and he could only think, in despair, hat it would have been better if the meeting had not taken place. 18 (His oem:]
mite mo mata au yo mare naru
yume no uchi ni yagate magiruru wa ga mi to mo ga na
I would become one with this most precious of dreams,
for though I see you now, there may never be a night when we two meet again.
As he spoke, he choked with sobs. She could not help feeling sorry for him. (Her poem:]
17. An allusion to a composition, also based on the Asakayama poem, in which the speaker wets his sleeves scooping water, which turns out to be too muddy to drink. Anonymous (KKRJ 987): kuyashiku zo / kumisometekeru I asakereba / sode nomi nururu / yama no i no mizu ("I
· regret my attempt to scoop a drink of water from the mountain spring: the pool has proved shallow, and I have merely drenched my sleeves").
r8. Kurabu[no]yama appears frequently in classical Japanese literature as a place where perpetual night might be expected. It has been variously identified as an old name for Kura- mayama (in Sakyo-ku, Kyoto) and as a mountain in 0mi Province (Shiga Prefecture).
IOO
yogatari ni hito ya tsutaen
tagui naku ukimi o samenu yume ui nashite mo
The Tale of Genji
Though I were to plunge into an eternal dream
this self whose misery knows no peer, would not my name endure in shameful legend?
Her distress seemed to him both natural and awesome. Lady Myobu brought his cloak and the other articles of dress she had
assembled. He returned home, stretched out with tears in his eyes, and spent' the day in bed. As usual, the only response to his letter was a message from 0-no-myobu, announcing that her mistress had not read it. He had ex) pected nothing more, but it was hard to bear, and he spent a listless two or,. three days in seclusion, without even visiting the imperial palace. It was a torment to feel that the emperor must be worrying lest he had contracted some new illness.
The despairing Fujitsubo lady had concluded that some deed in a former' life must have doomed her to misery in this one, and her mental turmoil worsened her illness. The emperor sent a stream of messengers urging her to return to the palace soon, but she could not decide to go. It occurred to her that her symptoms were those of a pregnancy, and she lapsed into misery'., and frantic anxiety about the future. During the hot weather, she arose from her bed even less often than before. After three months, her condition grew evident, and the surprise of her attendants sharpened the pain of her aston/ ishing karma. Unaware of the facts, the ladies-in-waiting marveled that she had waited so long to inform the emperor. But there :was something tha only she herself knew beyond a doubt. Every detail of her appearance wa familiar to her nurse's daughter Ben and to 0-no-myobu, the personal at, tendants who waited on her in the bath and elsewhere; and the two had wondered, but the matter was not one they felt free to disctisS. Myobu coul · only suppose, in shocked surprise, that her mistress bore the burden of an ineluctable karma. ,
The lady must have told the emperor that the malignant spirit responsibl · for her original ailment had masked the symptoms. Everyone else assume that such was the case. The emperor showered her with solicitous inquiriesi his boundless love even deeper than before. The messengers aroused a hosf of vague forebodings, and she existed in a state of unrelieved gloom.
Meanwhile, Genji had a dream so bizarre that he called in an expert fo an explanation. The divination indicated a future that seemed utterly unat. tainable and unthinkable. "But there is also an unfavorable element," th man added, "something requiring circumspection on your part." It had turned out to be a delicate situation, Genji thought. "It wasn't my ow · dream," he said. "It was somebody else's. Don't mention this to anyon until the prophecy is fulfilled." He was still puzzling over it when he hear the news about the Fujitsubo lady. Was this how the dream would com true? More eager than ever to see her, he besieged 0-no-myobu with pleas
t Myobu £el ore complica
'ecret meeting. ' hich the lady
It was not u1 · e imperial pa Ilce and move, efore. Somew: woman of ir artments. Wi
pg, he also ker ,oto, the flute, 'screet manne ndon such oc ings she wou: The bishop's
earned where i ally enough, ti "ubo lady wa
ought of notl , Toward the , ight when the · a place wher gun to fall, F e intersectior ng distance fi ' noticed a ne "That house initsu, who Vii ·· e day, and a xiety about t
'"Poor lady! : d tell them I'
;Koremitsu se s made a spe
;'fhe ladies-in nji's arrival.
Cline during · But it w01 south eave-,
'Things are j Your visit, a
of prepara Was indeec
,lunge
:ry not my name
:end?
of dress she had tis eyes, and spent ts a message fro d it. He had ex 1t a listless two 0 I palace. It was a. 1e had contracted
deed in a former: :r mental turmoil :ngers urging her' ;o. It occurred to apsed into misery :r, she arose from !r condition grew ,ain of her aston- narveled that she s something that · appearance was the personal at-
and the two had tss. Myobu could the burden of an .
spirit responsible me else assumed icitous inquiries, .·s aroused a host :d gloom. in an expert for
ned utterly unat- •le element," the ur part." It had wasn't my own · t this to anyone t when he heard am would come yobu with pleas,
Young Murasaki IOI
yobu felt extremely nervous; in her opinion, things were now even , complicated than before, and there was no way at all to contrive a i::t rneeting. He no longer received even the trifling one-line replies with ,f h the lady had occasionally acknovv!edged his messages. ~c was not until the seventh month that the Fujitsubo lady went back to \i'rnperial palace. The emperor was charmed by the novelty of her pres-
and moved by her frail appearance, and he loved her even better than ore. Somewhat full of figure, with a face thin from worry, she remained ' ornan of incomparable beauty. As usual, he spent all his time in her rtrnents. With the season at hand during which music was most interest-
g he also kept Genji at his side, calling on him to play the seven-stringed /o, the flute, or some other instrument. Genji did his best to behave in a creet manner, but there were times when he failed to hide his passion; d on such occasions the lady could not help letting her thoughts dwell on ings she would sooner have forgotten. The bishop's sister had left the hermitage, her health improved. Genji arned where she was living in the city and sent an occasional letter. Natu· Uy enough,, tJ:ie answer was always the same, but his longing for the Fuji- ubo lady \'las more desperate than ever during those months, and he ought of nothing else. Toward the end of autumn, he felt unbearably sad and depressed. One
ight when the moon was especially beautiful, his thoughts turned belatedly 0 a place where he had been accustomed to pay secret visits. Raindrops had
. egun to fall, perhaps the beginning of a shower. His destination was near he intersection of Rokujo and Kyogoku avenues, which seemed rather a
' ng distance from his point of departure, the imperial palace. On the way, e noticed a neglected dwelling shaded by ancient trees. "That house belonged to the late inspector-major counselor," said Ko-
emitsu, who was attending him as usual. "I stopped by there for something i:>ne day, and a lady-in-waiting told me they were beside themselves with :irtxiety about the nun. She's apparently sunk very low." . "Poor lady! I ought to have called. Why didn't you let me know? Go in and tell them I'm here to inquire about her," Genji said. · Koremitsu sent someone inside with the message. "Tell them His Lordship has made a special trip," he said.
The ladies-in-waiting were taken aback when the messenger announced Genji's arrival. "This is awkward. Her Ladyship has gone into a shocking decline during the last few days; she can't possibly receive anyone," they
· said. But it would have been disrespectful to turn him away, so they tidied the south eave-chamber and ushered him in.
"Things are in a sad state of disarray here, but we did want to thank you for your visit, at least," said one of the nun's attendants. "Please forgive our lack of preparation and the remote location of this room."
It was indeed a novelty to be received in such a place, Genji thought. He
102 The Tale of Genji
said aloud, "I've been wanting to call, but your opposition to my proposal has made me feel diffident about coming. Nobody told me you were so ill; it's most alarming."
The nun replied through an intermediary. "The malady is nothing new, but now it has entered the final stage. I only wish I could thank you directly' for the honor of your visit. If you should happen to remain of the same mind about the matter you mentioned, please do take notice of the girl after• she matures. The thought of leaving her in such a precarious position hin- ders me from setting out on the path I long to follow."
She was just in the next room, and he caught an occasional word as she addressed someone in a feeble voice. "What a great honor! I wish the child·· were old enough to thank him for me." Touched, he said, "I wouldn't have risked letting myself look like a lecher if I hadn't been serious. The moment I saw her, the attraction was so strong-so strangely compelling-that I am sure we must have been together in a previous existence." To the lady-in°· waiting he added, "I feel as though this visit has accomplished nothing. Might I not hear a word or two from the little girl?"
"That is impossible, I fear. She went to sleep without knowing you were here."
Just then, footsteps approached from an inner room. "Grandmother, they're saying Lord Genji is here, the gentleman who came to the temple. Why aren't you looking at him?" 19
The disconcerted ladies-in-waiting tried to hush her. "But didn't you say· the very sight of him made you feel better?" she objected, pleased by the. excellence of her advice.
Amused, but feigning deafness to save the attendants from embar- rassment, Genji took his leave with polite expressions of sympathy. "It's true that she's a complete innocent," he thought, "but I ,c;ould train her· beautifully." · · ·
On the following day, he sent a courteous message of inquiry. As usual, there was a tiny note for the child:
iwake naki tazu no hitokoe
kikishi yori ashima ni nazumu fune zo enaranu
"The same person ... "20
Ever since the time when the young crane's cry was heard,
unutterable the plight of the hapless boat seeking passage through the reeds.
Written in a deliberately childish hand, the characters were so tastefu that the ladies told the child she must use them as models.
19. If the nun had received Genji, she could have peeped at him through the panels of he portable curtain-stand.
20. Anonymous (KKS 73 2): horie kogu / tananashiobune / kogikaeri / onaji hito ni ya / koF watarinamu ("Am I to love on, going back to that same person, as a tiny boat makes its waf through the canal and comes rowing home again?").
, It was Shona tire to the ten •she fails to tl eply moved. ,Autumn ever ely on the la ased his irra ated to her. : ut the dew's
te ni itsu shi I
mura ne ni ka· nobe no
twas decide nth. Everyo1 e-sons of e al professior .m princes an
ealizing that nun at the t,
ger. The on!) twentieth of e read the
tldly things .. must miss h dolence, mo
)' were. Shon e learned th end of the rr e night to c,
· The murasak eadows throu 1
s hairy-leaved s1 'dye, Here it fu . the purple wis, mes the child's . lnpany a gift of ,toki wa / me m urasakfs purpl
::_he distance") . deep h· · · :;__ , 1s affecti ,een her and the,
t to my proposa[ : you were so ill, ,.
is nothing new ank you direct[? ,ain of the same e of the girl after ,us position hin-
,nal word as she I wish the child
'I wouldn't have us. The moment :lling-that I am ' To the lady-in- olished nothing,
tt knowing you .
"Grandmother, e to the temple.
tt didn't you say , pleased by the
:s from embar- sympathy. "It's could train her
quiry. As usual,
cry was heard,
boat the reeds.
.vere so tasteful
~h the panels of her
naji hito ni ya / koi- boat makes its way
Young Murasaki
s Shonagon who replied. "The person you asked about is going to :a the temple in the hills; it seems that any day now may be her last. fails to thank you in this world, she will do so in the next." He was
y rr10ved. . . . tumn evenmgs were the times when his thoughts dwelt most obses- . on the lady for whom he pined, and the season must also have in- ed his irrational desire to secure possession of the little girl who was ed to her. Recalling the night when the nun had composed the poem t the dew's reluctance to vanish, he yearned for the child. And yet there a twinge of apprehension. What if she proved less than he anticipated?
composed a poem:]
te ni tsumite itsu shi ka mo mimu
murasaki no ne ni kayoikeru nobe no wakakusa
May I soon pluck it and make it mine-the young herb
growing on the plain, its roots akin to those of the purple murasaki.21
:fr was decided that the emperor would visit the Suzakuin in the tenth /.inth. Everyone qualified to perform as a dancer was pressed into ser- : e-sons of exalted houses, senior nobles, and courtiers, as well as the 'ual professionals-and all were fully occupied with refining their skills, om princes and ministers on down. · Realizing that he had let considerable time elapse without inquiring about e nun at the temple in the hills, Genji made a point of sending off a mes- nger. The only response came from the bishop. "She finally succumbed on e twentieth of last month. Such is the way of the world, but I grieve for her." He read the letter with a poignant awareness of the ephemerality of orldly things. And what of the child the nun had fretted over? At her age,
he must miss her grandmother dreadfully. He dispatched a warm letter of \:mdolence, moved by memories of his own mother's death, dim though hey were. Shonagon returned an appropriate answer. " He learned that the household had returned to the mansion in the city at ;he end of the mourning period, and a few days later he took advantage of
'~ free night to call in person. The atmosphere at the neglected estate seemed
u. The murasaki (Lithospermum officinale var. erythrorhizon) is a gromwell common in ,1ry meadows throughout Japan. About two feet high, it bears small, white, five-petaled flowers pn its hairy-leaved stalk in summer, and its thick, purple roots yield a pigment that was prized
·as a dye. Here it functions as a metaphor for the Fujitsubo lady, who derives her sobriquet from the purple wisteria (fuii) in the courtyard (tsubo) of her residence at the palace; later, it becomes the child's name. Genji's poem alludes to a poem Ariwara no Narihira composed to accompany·a gift of a cloak to the husband of his wife's sister (KKS 868): murasaki no/ iro
c koki toki wa / me mo haru ni / no naru kusaki zo / wakarezarikeru ("When deep color stains the murasaki's purple roots, we cannot but prize each grass and shrub on the plain stretching into the distance"). Narihira's poem says, in effect, "When a man's love for his wife is strong and deep, his affection extends to all who are associated with her; he makes no distinction between her and them."
104 The Tale of Genji
eerie, and it was easy to imagine how frightened a child might feel with so. few attendants. He was shown into the same room as before, and Shonagon spoke of the nun's last moments and other things, weeping as she rambled on. Genji's own sleeve was soaked with sympathetic tears.
"It seems that her father proposes to take her in, but my mistress always worried about that. 'She's at an awkward age-neither an infant nor yet old enough to see through the behavior of others-and I fear her life would be miserable if she joined all the prince's other daughters in a house presided over by a woman whom my own daughter found to be heartless and cruel,' she used to say. There have been plenty of incidents to justify her misgivings, and so we do rejoice that you are kind enough to extend her this courtesy now, regardless of how you may feel in the future. We're just troubled·C because she's not ready for marriage-and young for her age, at that," Shonagon said.
"Why is it that you hold back after I've explained my feelings so many times? I've realized that a special tie from another life is what makes me find her innocence so sweet and endearing. Wouldn't it be possible for me to speak to her without an intermediary?" [His poem:]
ashiwaka no ura ni mirume wa
kataku tomo ko wa tachinagara kaeru nami ka wa
"That would really be too much."
Though seaweed be scant where young reeds grow in the bay
at Waka-no-ura, the wave will not go back to sea before it reaches the shore.22
"Indeed, you pay us a great honor. But ... :
yoru nami no kokoro mo shirade
waka-no-ura ni tamamo nabikan hodo zo ukitaru
"I am quite at a loss," she said.
The gemweed growing in Waka-no-ura Bay · ' i
would be indiscreet were it to yield to the wave, ignorant of its intent.
The practiced skill with which she phrased her refusal tempered Genji' annoyance. "I shall surely cross ... ," he recited in a voice whose beau thrilled the young ladies-in-waiting." .
The child was in bed, weeping for her grandmother, when some of he( playmates entered. "A gentleman in an informal cloak is here. It's probably. the prince," they said.
22, Wordplays yield a second meaning: "Although it may be hard to meet her, 1 won't lea¥_ until I do."
23, Genji announces his determination to persevere by paraphrasing a poem by Fujiwa no Koremasa ( GSS 73 r): hito shirenu / mi wa isogedomo / toshi o hete I nado koegataki / osak no seki ("My suit unaccepted, the impatience is mine alone, but though it may take years, shall cross the barrier at the Hill of Meeting").
She got up an here is the ger "It's not the I
enji said. Child though
ho had visitec e wrong thini
• "Why must : Joser," Genji s, '· "This is wha1 /:r charge tow enji put his h: e soft robe, a arkably lovelJ Disconcerted
µlied away am Genji slipped
_ow on. Don't I · "This is unne
her will be a "She's only a
ant you to un, A violent hail he must be c bearable, he
rs," he told tb ay close by." I The ladies-in- ignant, but : ne.
The terrified though chill,
;shocked by h gs that he 1 re there are friendly, gei asy to sleep.
. he storm ra, 'I I ' t Would ha
she isn't of ther. The ar fter the win
a tryst. "]' ven less ab]
might feel with >re, and Shonago 11g as she ramb[ •
ty mistress alwa infant nor yet o[
· her life would a house preside
:artless and cruet ify her misgivings , her this courtes e're just trouble 1er age, at that ,
' feelings so man
1at makes me fin ossible for me t
: scant ,win the bay
ack to sea wre.22
mg
ivave,
tempered Genji's ice whose beauty
rhen some of her ,ere. It's probably.
neet her, I won't leave
a poem by Fujiwara ,do koegataki / iisaka 1 it may take years, I
Young Murasaki 105
> t up and approached the room, asking in a sweet voice, "Shonagon, pthe gentleman? Has Father arrived?"
not the prince, but you mustn't treat me like a stranger. Come here,"
iid. though she was, she recognized the voice of the splendid gentleman
· d visited the temple. She went up to her nurse, afraid of having said 'ong thing. "Let's go, Shonagon. I'm sleepy."
, y mu~_t Y?U hide from me now? Sleep on my knees. Come a little '" GenJl said. \s is what I meant. She's still at the innocent age." The nurse pushed · ,irge toward him, and the child sat down with an unconcerned air.
tput his hand inside the curtain. Her hair hung in silky strands above oft robe, and the abundance of the ends suggested that it must be re- ably lovely. He took her hand.
isconcerted and frightened by the approach of someone unfamiliar, she 'd away and retreated inside. "I said I wanted to go to bed." enji slipped in after her. "I'm the one who's going to care for you from on. Don't be unfriendly."
this is unfie'rving, sir. You're going much too far. Whatever you may say er will be a waste of time," the nurse said in distress.
!she's only a child; there's no question of my doing anything. I merely ht you to understand that mine is no ordinary love," Genj i said.
violent hailstorm made the night seem eerie. Tears came to Genji's eyes. e must be dreadfully lonely with so few people around." It would be
bearable, he thought, to go off and leave her like this. "Close the shut- s," he told them. "It's a terrible night out. I'll be on duty; the rest of you y close by." He entered the curtain-dais with a matter-of-fact air. The ladies-in-waiting were aghast. Shonagon felt especially dismayed and )gnant, but she merely sighed. There was nothing to gain by making a ne. he terrified child trembled with apprehension, her fair skin roughening
though chilled. Moved to pity, Genji wrapped her in her singlet. Not hocked by his own behavior, he began to talk in affectionate tones about
)ngs that he thought might please her. "How about coming to a place here there are lots of interesting pictures and dolls to play with?" he asked. Is friendly, gentle speech calmed her fears, but she tossed and turned, too
'neasy to sleep. The storm raged throughout the night.
• "It would have been truly lonely if His Lordship hadn't stayed. What a ity she isn't of marriageable age!" the ladies-in-waiting whispered to one nother. The anxious nurse stayed as close as possible to the curtain-dais. After the wind had died down a bit, Genji emerged in the dark, as though
fom a tryst. "Now that I've seen what a pitiful situation this is for her, I'll e even less able to keep from worrying. I want to move her to the place
106 The Tale of Genji
where I lead my lonely life. She simply can't stay on like this forever; it's a wonder she hasn't been frightened to death," he said.
"The prince seems to have told her he'll be coming for her, but I imagine he'll wait until after the forty-nine days expire," Shonagon said.
"He would be a natural source of support. Still, he's always lived apart from her; she must consider him as much a stranger as I am. This is only the first time I've been with her, but I'm sure I love her better than he does," said Genji, stroking the child's hair. He set out with many backward glances.
Mist veiled the vast expanse of the sky in a delightfully unusual manner, and pure white frost covered the ground. If he had been returning from a real tryst, he would have savored the scene; as it was, he felt a vague dissatisfaction.
He realized that his route was taking him past the house of a lady he had been visiting in strict secrecy, but there was no response when he ordered someone to rap on the gate. There seemed no choice but to have an atten- · dant with a good voice recite a poem:
asaborake kiri tatsu sora no
mayoi ni mo yukisugigataki imo ga moo ka na
Even when I wander lost under mist-shrouded skies
at break of day, I cannot pass beyond the gate of my beloved.
After the man had chanted the lines twice, the lady sent out a maidser- vant, cultivated in appearance, who chanted a reply and returned inside:
tachitomari kiri no magaki no
sugiuku wa kusa no tozashi ni sawari shimo seji
If you have halted, loath to pass the rustic fence
enshrouded in mist, ' '' the closed door of a grass-thatched hut should prove no obstacle.
Nobody else appeared. Dull as it seemed to go on home, Genji went back to Nijo rather than risk detection in the increasing daylight. He lay down, smiling to himself in affectionate recollection of the child's sweet face. The sun was high when he rose. He wanted to send a letter, but the message could not very well assume the usual form, and he sat racking his brains, · his brush idle. In the end, he dispatched some amusing pictures.
The prince called at the house on that same day. The premises were far more rundown than in the nun's lifetime, and the sprawling old mansion· seemed even more deserted and lonely than before. "You can't stay in a t place like this, not even for a little while," he said, looking around. "I'm going to take you to my house. Everything will be fine. Your nurse will have a room all to herself, and there are children to play with. You'll be very happy." He called the child closer. Her clothing was saturated with the rich scent from Genji's garments-a tasteful perfume, he thought, but it was sad
hat she must\\ ·••· ith the ailing
e people at n eemed hesitan ese circumsta . "But there's
tay here awhi oesn't move 1 er." She adde hild's face wa:
d appealing. "You should inking about
·· a close as he . e child wept es. "You mu:
No worries re of her gra
· 'th never a m r grief brou1 .ild though sl •e daytime, 61 .e nurse wept
: Genji sent I< me myself, b ep concern f<
· "Th' · •• IS IS no' 1 marriage,"
. "The prince but it," said "B . every car, rence to Lo child was d honagon tc
· 1 make her l dy for marr
.,d your mas1 , 'Take car,
'lity.' It's all
:;4· A man em, o nights foll,
his forever; it's a
er, but I imagine said. ways lived apart am. This is only r better than he many backward
unusual manner .·eturning from ~ he felt a vague
of a lady he had 'lhen he ordered o have an atten-
d skies
t out a maidser- :urned inside:
:ence
ss-thatched hut e.
Genji went back ,t. He lay down, sweet face. The
but the message :king his brains, ures. :emises were far ng old mansion 1 can't stay in a 1g around. "I'm • r nurse will have . You'll be very :ed with the rich 1t, but it was sad
Young Murasaki 107
e must wear robes limp with age. "Over the years while she was living 'he ailing old lady, I used to urge her to come and make friends with ople at my house, but she was strangely reluctant, and my wife also
ed hesitant about stepping forward. I'm sorry she has to move under e "h 'd circumstances, e sa1 .
e ut there's no need for her to go right away," Shonagon said. "She can chere awhile longer, lonely though it is. I'm sure it will be best if she · n't move until she's old enough to understand what goes on around , She added, "She never stops grieving; she won't eat a thing." The 's face was indeed very thin, but it made her look all the more refined
appealing. . . , , !)'ou shouldn't carry on so," the prmce told his daughter. 'Theres no use Jing about the dead now. I'm here; everything's all right." The day drew dose as he talked on in the same vein, and he prepared to take his leave.
· child wept to see him go, her unhappiness drawing tears from his own s. "You mustn't take things so hard. I'll move you to my house in a day · .. o," he said. He set out after many repetitions of this and other soothing ·arks.The house seemed empty after his departure, and the little girl shed rs of loneliriess.
0 worries about the future crossed the child's mind; all her thoughts e of her grandmother, the person to whom she had been close for years,
h never a moment's separation, and who was now dead. The intensity of r. grief brought a lump to her throat and kept her from her usual play, tld though she was. There were a certain number of distractions during ~ daytime, but she lapsed into gloom after dark. Unable to comfort her, •~ nurse wept with her. "How can you go on like this?" she said. tGenji sent Koremitsu to help the household for the night. "I ought to me myself, but His Majesty has summoned me," his message said. "I feel p concern for the child after having seen her in those sad circumstances."
.'This is no way to act at the beginning of a relationship, even if it isn't a .1 marriage," Shonagon said.24 ''The prince will be sure to scold us for neglecting our duty if he hears out it," said someone else. /'Be very careful," Shonagon told her charge. "Don't make some childish Jerence to Lord Genji when you happen to be talking to your father." But
••>•e child was dismayingly inattentive. ···· ·Shonagon told Koremitsu of her concerns. "Perhaps an ineluctable fate .ill make her his wife at some future time. But in my opinion, she's far from ady for marriage now. I worry because I don't understand the motive be-
Jnd your master's odd advances. Furthermore, her father called today and ~id, 'Take care of her so I don't have to worry; don't neglect your respon- lbility.' It's all terribly upsetting. Your master's gallantry is more worrisome
--:---24, A man entering into a serious relationship was expected to visit the woman on each of e two nights following their initial night together.
108 The Tale of Genji
now than if things were going along as usual." She tried to keep from sound, ing too distressed, afraid that Koremitsu might think Genji had seduced th··· girl. Koremitsu had no idea what she was talking about.
Genji could not suppress deep sympathy when Koremitsu returned wit his report, but the thought of visiting the child made him feel uneasy and hesitant. If people heard about it, might they not consider him indiscreef and perverted? It would be far better to bring her to his Nijo Mansion.
He sent off a great number of letters. At nightfall, he dispatched Kore . mitsu with a message: "There are things that prevent me from coming. Wil you think I don't really care about you?"
Shonagon greeted Koremitsu with a few hurried words. "I have all sort of things to do. The prince has suddenly announced that he'll be coming for. us tomorrow. It's a wrench to leave the old familiar place, rundown as it is, all of milady's attendants are upset," she said. Since it was clear that the were busy with sewing and other preparations for the move, Koremits went back to Genji.
Genji was at his father-in-law's house, where, as usual, his wife ha . shown herself in no hurry to receive him. Vaguely irritated, he was strum ming on a six-stringed koto, singing "I Till a Field in Hitachi" to himself i an elegant voice.25 When Koremitsu arrived, he called him close to ques tion him.
The news was a blow. "Once she goes to the prince's house, I'll look lik a pervert if I ask for her. And if I just go off with her, people will say l'v kidnapped a child. I'll have to swear her women to temporary secrecy an take her to Nijo before the prince comes for her," he thoiight. To Koremits he said, "I'll go there just before dawn. The carriage is all right as it is; jus issue orders for one or two escorts to stand by." Koremitsu bowed an withdrew. , ,,,
Genji could not quite make up his mind. "What shall I really do about this? They'll call me a lecher if word gets out. If only she were matur enough for people to assume we were in love, the affair would seem com, monplace. Her father will probably learn where she is, and I won't be ab! to look him in the face." But he left the minister's house in the dead of nigh unable to bear the thought of letting the child escape his grasp. His wife ha been her usual indifferent, aloof self. He concealed his plans from the ladies in-waiting by announcing that he had just remembered some pressing busi ness at home; he would take care of it and come directly back. After puttin on an informal cloak in his own apartments, he set out for the late nun, house, with Koremitsu as his only mounted attendant. ·
An unsuspecting servant opened the gate in response to the raps of GenjV man, and Genji had the carriage drawn inside quietly. When Koremits
25. Genji is waiting in his wife's apartments. She is probably intended to hear the song, fuzokuuta (folksong) in which the singer declares himself guiltless of infidelity.
j:,ped on a corn ·e came out. ''His Lordship ''The child is , ed, thinking t assignation. "I heard a whi e something t
Shonagon laug tr," To her cor . xing here," sl '.Your mistresi w could anyo1 the interior, , Jest. he child was ,ned her eyes. · 'i smoothed 1
led and frigh . won't do. I', ied her out.
,What are you 'l told her I " Ut not being , earn that she' worse; I cou] e I mentionec 'foday is the ,
me? The tw< sudden! Mil
.Jion. ery well, th
. the carriagi le to decide · l:iappening. : d up the ro] garments fo1 e new day r
Was close I .ut with tht ted. "I still id.
keep from soun ii had seduced t
tsu returned Wi • t1 feel uneasy an ler him indiscre ·•. ·•· e IJ6 Mansion. dispatched Kore rom coming. Wi
. "I have all son e'll be coming fo rundown as it is as clear that th move, Koremits ·
ta!, his wife ha d, he was strum, :hi" to himself i m close to ques
,use, I'll look like ople will say I've ,rary secrecy and ht. To Koremitsu right as it is; just 1itsu bowed and
I really do about· ,he were mature muld seem com- :! I won't be able he dead of night, tsp. His wife had ; from the ladies- · ne pressing busi- ck. After putting or the late nun's
1e raps of Genji's !(Then Koremitsu
I to hear the song, a elity.
Young Murasaki 109
i 0 n a corner door, clearing his throat, Shonagon recognized his voice. e out. Lordship has arrived," Koremitsu said. child is asleep. How is it that you've come so late at night?" she
~thinking to herself that Genji was probably on his way home from
!gnation. ; eard a while ago that she was about to move to the prince's house. I · omething to say to her before she goes," Genji said. nagon laughed. "What can it be? She won't produce much of an an- ' To her consternation, Genji entered the room. "Some older ladies are ng here," she said. "They're quite unpresentable." ur mistress probably isn't awake yet," Genji said. "I'll get her up.
could anyone sleep through this enchanting morning mist?" He moved e interior, where the women were too stunned to utter a word of
st. e child was fast asleep. He picked her up and awakened her, and she
'ed her eyes. "Father has come for me," she thought, still half asleep. i smoothed her tangled hair. "Let's go. The prince has sent me for you." led and frightened, she realized that he was not her father. "Now, now,
'won't do. I'm just the same as your father, you know," he said. He ied her out.
?What are you doing?" said Tayii and Shonagon. ••r told her I wanted to take her to a nice place because I was anxious ut not being able to come here whenever I pleased. Now I am dismayed
learn that she's supposed to move elsewhere, which would make things 1 worse; I couldn't even send her a letter. So I'm going to take her to the
·· ce I mentioned. One of you ladies come with us," Genji said. )'Today is the worst possible time. What would we tell the prince when · i;ame? The two of you will marry some day if that's your destiny. But this o sudden! Milady's attendants are all at a loss," said Shonagon in great 'tation. 'Very well, the attendants can come later." Genji ordered his men to
JJ:J.g the carriage up. The astonished women gathered in a worried cluster, able to decide what to do. The child wept, aware that something straJ:J.ge
as happeJ:J.iJ:J.g. RealiziJ:J.g that there was J:J.O way to keep her, ShonagoJ:J. eked up the robes they had sewed for her the J:J.ight before, changed her
WJ:J. garments for more suitable attire, aJ:J.d got into the carriage. > The new day had yet to dawn wheJ:J. they arrived at the Nijo MansioJ:J., hich was close by. The men took the carriage to the west wing, and Genji
ot out with the child in his arms, holding her very gently. Shonagon esitated. "I still feel as though I'm dreaming; I don't know what to do," he said. , «Do as you please. The child is here now. If you want to go back, I'll have them take you," Genji said.
IIO The Tale of Genji
There seemed no alternative to getting out. It was all so dismayingly su den, so agitating. What would the prince say? And what would become the child in the end? However things turned out, it was a sad misfortune t lose those on whom she ought to have been able to rely. The nurse's ey filled with tears, but she did her best to restrain them, recognizing that the
. . . were mausp1c10us.
There was no curtain-dais in the room, which was not the one Genji wa accustomed to using. Genji summoned Koremitsu and had him see to th installation of folding screens and a curtain-dais. There was not much mor · in the way of furniture-merely a curtain-stand and some cushions. He sen someone to the east wing for his night things and lay down. The terrifie child was trembling with apprehension, but she spoke without giving wa to tears. "I want to sleep with Shonagon." Her voice sounded very young
"Now that you're a big girl, you aren't supposed to sleep with you nurse," Genji told her. She lay disconsolate, with tears in her eyes. The nur' sat dazed, incapable of sleep.
As day gradually dawned, Shonagon looked around. The mansion and it furnishings were of course magnificent beyond anything in her experience even the sand in the courtyard seemed to sparkle like jewels. She fe abashed in the face of so much splendor, but at least there were no fin: ladies-in-waiting on duty in this wing, which was used only for the receptio of guests with whom Genji was not on close terms. Nobody was aroun except for some menservants, waiting outside the blinds.
There were whispers among those who had caught a hint of a woman' arrival. "Who do you suppose she is? It can't be an ordinary affair."
Genji performed his ablutions and breakfasted in the west wing. The su was high when he arose. "I'm afraid it will be inconvenient for you with n. ladies-in-waiting. Why don't you call in some suitable ones>.from the othe house this evening?" he said to Shonagon. He sent for some page girls fro, the east wing-small ones only-and four pretty children arrived. The chi!' was in bed, enveloped in one of his robes. He urged her to get up, admini tering her first lesson. "You'll hurt my feelings if you keep lying ther. Would I treat you like this if I didn't care about you? Girls should have goo dispositions." She was even prettier than she had seemed from a distanc Chatting cozily, he sent for interesting pictures, toys, and other things wit which to amuse her. When she finally arose, she was charming in her Jim deep-gray mourning robes, an innocent smile on her face. The sight broug an involuntary smile to Genji's own lips.
After Genji had crossed over to the east wing, the child went to the thres old and peeped through the blinds at the trees and lake in the garden. T frost-nipped plants were delightful, quite like a picture, and the figures gentlemen of fourth and fifth rank, new to her experience, moved back a forth in ceaseless procession, their cloaks a medley of black and red. Ge
d been right; tl 0
0 n distracted b enji went no
ial palace, so 1 haps with the s things with l d so forth. He · cimen bore tv
picked it up ,
newa aware to
musas tsuyu wal kusa no y
'Come, you tr I don't write · e smiled at
stn't refuse to . Even to hir he childish VI rite.
I made a mis tured it and 1,
kakot, yue o shi,
obotsi ika naru yukari na
hildish thou gs in the fut1
She should Ji thought. E found the p e ladies-in-, the prince
obody fort .ent word ti
Anonymous I Wa I murasaki ·
Y should tha; this poem, tr dy.
o dismayingly su : would become . sad misfortune r. The nurse's ey :ognizing that th
the one Genji w iad him see to t · ras not much 111.o : cushions. He se own. The terrifi 1ithout giving w uncled very youn ::i sleep with yo 1er eyes. The nur
ne mansion and i in her experien :e jewels. She fe :here were no fin ly for the recepti >body was aroun
hint of a woman ary affair." vest wing. The su. nt for you with n 1es from the othe me page girls fro . arrived. The chi! :o get up, admini keep lying there
, should have goo d from a distance I other things wit rming in her limp The sight brough
went to the thresh in the garden. Th and the figures
:, moved back an 1ck and red. Genj
Young Murasaki III
,(ight; this was an entertaining place. In her naive fashion, she was acted by the interesting pictures on the folding screens.
,tent nowhere for the next two or three days, not even to the im- lace, so that he might converse with the child and win her affection.
'with the thought of letting them serve as models, he produced vari- 'gs with his brush for her inspection-practice characters, pictures, orth. He assembled them beautifully. One especially fine calligraphic fl bore two lines of poetry: "I sigh at the mention of Musashino." 26 edit up and saw a verse, written in tiny characters:
ne wa minedo aware to zo omou
musashino no tsuyu wakewaburu kusa no yukari o
I have not seen its roots, but it is very dear to me-
the kin of the plant hard to approach through the dews of Musashino Plain.
me, you must write something too," Genji said. on't write very well yet." smiled at the artless charm with which she raised her eyes. "You 't refuse\tp write just because you can't do it well. I'll teach you," he ven to himself, it seemed strange that he should be utterly beguiled childish way in which she grasped the brush when she turned aside
·re. ade a mistake," she said in a shy voice, trying to hide the paper. He
red it and looked at it:
kakotsubeki yue o shiraneba
obotsuka na ika naru kusa no yukari naruran
I feel uneasy because I don't understand
why you have to sigh. What kind of plant can it be to which I am akin?
ildish though the calligraphy looked, its amplitude promised good s in the future. The resemblance to the late nun's hand was unmistak-
.She should do very well if she studied examples of a fashionable style, 'ji thought. He played dolls with her, assembling a whole row of houses, found the pastime an excellent way to take his mind off his troubles.
·he ladies-in-waiting who had stayed behind scarcely knew what to say ¢n the prince arrived and questioned them. Genji had instructed them to !nobody for the time being; and Shonagon, who was of the same mind,
sent word that they must maintain absolute silence. Thus they merely
·· 6, Anorwmous (KKRJ 3507): shiranedomo / musashino to ieba / kakotarenu / yoshi ya sa wa I murasaki no yue ("Though I have not seen it, I sigh at the mention of Musashino.
why should that be, you ask? The murasaki is to blame"). Genji puts his own interpreta- . on this poem, treating Musashino and murasaki as metaphors for the child and the Fuji- . a lady.
II2 The Tale of Genji
said, "Shonagon took her off somewhere and hid her; we don't kno where."
The prince could think of nothing useful to say. "Her grandmother w bitterly opposed to her coming to my house; I suppose the nurse, in a fit officiousness, decided on her own to cast the child adrift, instead of co fronting me with her objections." He set out in tears, flustering the ladi by telling them to let him know if they heard anything. ·
The prince also questioned the bishop to no avail. The memory of h daughter's sweet face evoked sad, nostalgic thoughts. No longer hostile t ward the mother, his wife had looked forward to educating the child to he own liking, and she was distressed that it was not to be.
Ladies-in-waiting gradually assembled. Murasaki was exceptionall quick-witted and amusing, and her playmates, a group of page girls an page boys, felt delighted to participate in her games. She wept for the nu on lonely evenings when Genji was away, but thoughts of the prince seldo crossed her mind. She had always lived apart from him, and her new pare was now the one to whom she clung, and whom she loved with all her hear Whenever Genji returned from an excursion, she was the first to welcom him home, chattering happily and entering his embrace without the lea reluctance or shyness. He found her behavior immensely appealing. Whe a mature woman's suspiciousness and jealousy cause difficulties, the ma may begin to wonder about the constancy of his own affection. He no long feels comfortable; she for her part nurses a permanent grievance, and t unthinkable occurs without their willing it. But there were no such worri with Genji's delightful playmate. If she were his daught~r, she would be to old for perfect freedom; he could never be so familiar as to lie down and ge up with her. This was someone very special, very precious.
A Cele.
· usual imperi ,ctacle. The er itsubo lady v, rsal in the co
· ... enji danced ~ extraordinat untain tree al ·. interest, the g sun; and G< Im of existen inese lines, it
emperor wiJ ces wept. hen Genji s;
',sicians resum re radiant th ea notion to leased by th, red the rem,
· The Suzakuin ter, "A [Longe, r a former so\.
. rations (ga) use F1h year on. Th ys included a b: