plates a painting. Murasaki sits to his right, absorbed
space for her to do so. And yet, this is the fi rst time
in a separate painting, her diminutive right hand
she views the intimate picture diaries, nearly three
pressed against the ground to steady herself as she
years after his return, having been shown them only
leans in for a closer look. The painted scroll before
incidentally. The images trigger memories of lonely
her depicts scenes f rom the Suma seascape: a fi gure
days in Genji’s absence, and she is said to feel dis-
tant f rom him even now. At the same time, Genji’s
thoughts turn not to the woman beside him, but to
Fujitsubo, whose poem appears in the calligraphic
excerpt adjacent to the painting, as if refl ecting
the content of his wandering mind. This poem by
Fujitsubo appears later in the chapter, spoken as she
reviews scrolls f rom the contesting sides at the fi rst
of the picture contests, where the ladies-in-wait-
ing of the respective Consorts, divided into teams
of Left and Right, debate the merits of each work.
Genji’s side, the Left, puts forth an illustrated scroll
of the Tales of Ise, a collection of anecdotes about
the ninth-century courtier Ariwara no Narihira,
while the Kokiden Consort’s faction on the Right
submits a new illustrated tale. Fujitsubo speaks up
for the Tales of Ise scrolls, lauding the work’s pro-
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tagonist Narihira, himself a famous exile, and using
ulous workings of the Sumiyoshi deity, the oneiric
seashore imagery to express sympathy for Genji’s
visitation f rom the deceased Kiritsubo Emperor,
period of isolation.
and the tempest that brings Genji to the Akashi
Deliberations over the merits of various tales
shores — the Suma scroll in this moment of political
continue apace among the women until Genji sug-
triumphalism resembles an oracle. As it is revealed,
gests that the contest be brought before Reizei. A
Genji describes the spontaneity of its creation, con-
magnifi cent formal matching of illustrations ensues
fi rming for those assembled Genji’s righteousness
before the Emperor and his courtiers, emulating
and the otherworldly forces that brought him back
the pageantry and ceremony of court poetry con-
to power.
tests. The subject matter and connotations of each
The picture contests in this chapter can be seen
illustrated story that comes up for debate serves
as a pretext for an aesthetic pronouncement on nat-
a rhetorical purpose, and each side attempts to uralism and spontaneity, as well as literary genre.
advance its case through the interpretation of prose,
Genji’s unmediated, personal renderings prove to
poetry, and painting. The seemingly lighthearted
be more powerful than the works of professional
competition thus enables long-standing political foes
court artists, a stance that echoes the author’s
to engage each other through the language of aes-
view, expressed in Chapter Twenty-Five, that tales
thetic debate. With the contest coming to a close, as
( monogatari) relate human experiences of the past
its fi nal maneuver Genji’s side unveils his scroll f rom
more compellingly than offi
cial histories. Genji’s
Suma. Its vivid evocation of his exile moves every-
Suma diaries, rendered in pictures combined with
one to tears, bringing victory for Genji’s side along
kana, are the antithesis of offi
cial kanbun diaries,
with an implicit acknowledgment of the injustice
but they secure him this victory and suggest the
he suff ered. Considering the supernatural elements
author’s understanding of the power of writing in
of the exile chapters — the invocation of the mirac-
the vernacular.
Chapter 17 | A Contest of Illustrations | 91
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Where the lambent moon does dwell
Your village lies —
Small wonder that the Katsura
Should glow with a light serene.
cranston, p. 794
“How enviable,” Reizei added.
92
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18
Wind in
the Pines
Matsukaze
Tsuki no sumu
Kawa no ochi naru
Sato nareba
Katsura no kage wa
Nodokekaruramu
“Urayamashiu” to ari.
93
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In the only painting in the album that depicts a
communicates deference toward Genji, the Palace
scene entirely outdoors without any architectural
Minister. The fi gures on either side of Genji appear
motifs, Genji sits amid a group of fi ve other court-
to be the two men said to have accompanied him
iers and devoted retainers, once again taking center
in his carriage f rom the Akashi Lady’s villa in Ōi
stage with a gold cloud hovering above him that
to Katsura: a Commander f rom the War Ministry
emphasizes his primacy. The group sits near the riv-
( hyōe no kami), wearing the distinctive fan-shaped
er’s edge occupying a clearing among tall autumn
ornaments ( oikake) on his kanmuri hat that indicate a
grasses and mistfl owers ( fujibakama), with pine-tree-
member of the palace guard, and a Middle Captain
dotted green hills in the distance. This particular
( tō no chūjō) seated to Genji’s left. The gathering
episode f rom Chapter Eighteen takes place in an
begins in midday and continues late into the night
area known as Katsura in the western part of the
as the men imbibe several rounds of wine, compose
capital, where Genji has recently constructed a new
verses in Chinese-style quatrains ( zekku), and off er
villa for himself to be near the Akashi Lady, who is
musical compositions on the biwa, seven-stringed
currently living upriver in Ōi with her mother and
koto, and the fl ute, engaging in revelry beneath the
young daughter in the home in which the Akashi
autumn moon that rivals that at the imperial palace.
Nun was raised. Although Genji’s Katsura villa was
In fact, despite the f rivolity, this chapter and this par-
meant to be a secluded residence for him to use on
ticular scene have much to do with Genji’s growing
his visits to the Akashi Lady, his whereabouts have
authority and claim to imperial legitimacy, the ban-
become known, and numerous courtiers have trav-
quet functioning as a site for the demonstration of
eled f rom the imperial palace to be in his company.
fealty and obligatory praise of a reign.
One such man, a prince leading a hunting party, has
The poems in this section connote imperial sov-
spent the night in the fi elds on the way. In this scene,
ereignty, beginning with the verse included in the
the party arrives, represented by the three men in
album, composed by Emperor Reizei, who regrets
the foreground bearing a token of the hunt — fi ve
Genji’s absence f rom his own moon-viewing ban-
small game fowl attached to a branch of bush clover.
quet at the palace. The young emperor’s poem puns
Their off ering, along with their upturned gazes and
on “Katsura,” which is the name of the place where
location in the lower register of the image, clearly
Genji is, and also the name of a mythical tree said
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and, as Takada Hirohiko has argued, later seems
to request an offi
cial visit ( gyōkō) usually made by
a reigning emperor to a retired emperor, normally
the sovereign’s father. While reinforcing Reizei’s pri-
macy as emperor, the text makes Genji into a fi gure
with the exalted status of a pseudo retired emperor,
which he will soon acquire. The fi nal three poems
by Genji and his retainers in the chapter use the
imagery of the moon as a metaphor for Genji’s exile
and return and the glory of the current reign, and
present Genji and Reizei as the true heirs to the late
Kiritsubo Emperor (instead of Suzaku, Kokiden’s
son). Genji takes on a symbolic sovereignty, sur-
passing whoever occupies the actual throne in the
narrative by the sheer force of his supremacy in all
ways that matter, including in his enactment of rit-
to grow on the moon. He compliments Genji, link-
ualized revelry. The gathering at the end of “Wind
ing him with the katsura tree bathed in the radiance
in the Pines” evokes an imperial banquet in which
of the moon, while expressing f rustration that he
praise poems and musical performances instantiate
cannot leave the palace f reely to be in Genji’s lumi-
the harmony of the realm.
nous presence. The poem is unusually deferential
Although Chapter Eighteen concludes by con-
for one composed by a sovereign to his own Palace
fi rming the supremacy of the Kiritsubo Emperor’s
Minister. But, as the reader knows, Genji is not just
line, specifi cally as it runs through Genji and Reizei,
any Palace Minister — he is in fact Emperor Reizei’s
the majority of this chapter concerns the Akashi
true father. Although Reizei will not learn the truth
family, as does the chapter title. Much space is
of his parentage until the next chapter, the inclu-
devoted to the decision to relocate the Akashi Lady,
sion of the poem introduces the tension apparent in
her young daughter, and the Akashi Nun to the
all interactions between Genji and Reizei in which
capital as a part of the Novitiate’s divinely inspired
their hierarchical father-son relationship, although
plan to elevate his lineage. A villa owned by the
covert, puts into disarray the expected power Nun’s family near the Ōi river where she lived in her dynamic of sovereign over subject.
youth in Sagano enables the family to create a sim-
The poetic entreaty subtly suggests that despite
ulacrum of the Akashi shore in the capital. There
Reizei’s status, Genji is somehow superior, a senti-
the Nun hears her daughter’s koto music and recalls
ment that Genji skillfully defl ects in his response:
the “wind blowing through the pines” ( matsukaze),
a sound that conjures up images of life on the shore
Hisakata no
Here in the mountains
and memories of her past. Rather than depict any
Hikari ni chikaki
Morn and evening our village
number of episodes f rom this chapter concern-
Na nomi shite
Lies in unclearing mist;
ing the Akashi family, however, the editors of the
Asayū kiri mo
Only an empty name implies
album chose a scene that highlights Genji’s patri-
Harenu yamazato
Closeness to light everlasting.
lineal claims to imperial authority. Such an image
cranston, p. 794
of loyal men paying obeisance to a leader amid
The light of the moon, which can be taken as a
the wild fi elds must have appealed to the album’s
symbol for the radiance of the emperor, resides in
sixteenth-century commissioners, men of the Sue
Katsura “in name only” ( na nomi shite), says Genji.
house, themselves immersed in the world of homo-
He posits Reizei as the real source of imperial light,
social bonds and the rituals that reifi ed them.
Chapter 18 | Wind in the Pines | 95
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Her childish babbling was
Whose ends are far,
adorable as she tugged on her
The twin-leaf little pine
mother’s sleeve. “Let’s get in!”
Now torn away —
This was too much for
I wonder when the day will come
her mother.
To gaze on its lofty shade.
washburn, p. 392
cranston, p. 796
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19
A Thin Veil
of Clouds
Usugumo
Katakoto no, koe wa
Sue tōki
utsukushiute, sode o
Futaba no matsu ni
toraete, “Noritamae,” to
Hikiwakare
hiku mo imijiu oboete,
Itsu ka kodakaki
Kage o mirubeki
97
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The painting for Chapter Nineteen depicts one of
veranda, where the large open wooden door of the
the most heart-wr
enching scenes in the tale: when
residence connects to it for direct and private access.
the Akashi Lady sends her three-year-old daughter
Two female attendants in the foreground represent
to live with her father, Genji, and to be raised by
the girl’s nurse and a woman named Shōshō, who
Lady Murasaki. Given the Akashi Lady’s provincial
will accompany her to Genji’s Nijō residence. Yet
upbringing, she needs someone of Murasaki’s sta-
the Akashi Lady is said to carry her child into the
tus and pedigree to enable her daughter to ascend
carriage herself, her action described with honorifi c
to the highest levels of court society and to achieve
language never before applied to this character, as if
the greatness to which all believe she is destined. The
to acknowledge the nobility of her sacrifi ce. Precisely
decision torments the Akashi Lady, whose aff ection
at this moment she speaks the poem included in the
for her daughter is described in touching detail. In
album, which uses the image of a “twin-leaf pine”
the cold days of winter leading up to the separation,
torn in half to express her anguish, a sentiment cap-
she strokes the little girl’s hair and sits gazing at her,
tured by the calligrapher who has ripped the poem
as if attempting to commit her features to memory.
apart graphically. It begins in the upper portion
She envisions how quickly her daughter’s appear-
of the sheet with an introductory phrase, “feeling
ance will change through the stages of childhood
overwhelming sadness” ( imijiu oboete), and contin-
that she will never witness — by spring, she muses,
ues through the fi rst twelve syllables of the verse,
the girl’s short hair will have grown long enough to
ending with the “twin-leaf pine.” The poem splits
brush charmingly across her shoulders, in the man-
here, not after the seventeen syllables of the “upper
ner of a woman who has taken Buddhist vows. The
phrase” of the poem, but at an unnatural point. It
line recalls the list of “Adorable Things” ( utsukushiu
continues along the very bottom of the sheet with
mono) from the Pillow Book ( Makura no sōshi, ca 1002) the sharp consonants of the word for “torn apart”
of Murasaki Shikibu’s contemporary, Sei Shōnagon,