The Tale of Genji

  10. Gosenshū 64: “O for sleeves wide enough to cover the sky, that I might keep from the wind the flowers that bloom in spring!”

  11. Probably the southwest corner of the east wing of the southeast quarter at Rokujō, where he had lived with Murasaki; however, some commentators take the scene to be at Nijō.

  12. Kokinshū 967, by Kiyowara no Fukayabu: “In a lightless valley far removed from spring, there is no grief for flowers that bloom only to fall.” Onna San no Miya seems to mean “lightless valley” to allude modestly to herself. However, she has not taken the rest of the poem into account, and Genji is annoyed because it implies that Murasaki's death leaves her indifferent.

  13. Above all, until the present Heir Apparent, their grandson, becomes Emperor in his turn.

  14. And blossom in mourning gray. From Kokinshū 832, by Kamitsuke no Mineo.

  15. Wordplays in this poem evoke both Genji's mourning for Murasaki and the return of the wild geese to the north in spring. Nakunaku (“crying”) refers both to weeping and to the cries of the geese; kari (“fleeting,” nothing lasts) also means “wild goose”; and the toko of toko no yo (“haven beyond time,” the distant, eternal home of the geese) also means “sleeping place,” “marriage bed.”

  16. “Now that Murasaki [the “water”], who so attracted you [the “geese”] is gone, you [the “flower”] never take the occasion to visit me [“reflected there”] either anymore.”

  17. The Kamo Festival, in the middle of the fourth month.

  18. All colors associated with mourning.

  19. Aoi (in Heian spelling afuhi, “day of meeting”). Genji has not made love for so long that he claims to have forgotten what it is like.

  20. “I know it is a long time since we last made love, but still…”

  21. “I would gladly commit enough of a sin [tsumi] to pick [tsumi] this leaf [make love with you].”

  22. Gosenshū 186: “Upon the orange tree, unchanging in hue, the cuckoo sings his song of a thousand years.” The cuckoo (hototogisu), like orange blossoms (tachibana), was associated with fond recollections of the past.

  23. From Bai Juyi (Hakushi monjū 0131).

  24. “Would have liked Murasaki to hear.” Early commentaries attribute the quotation to an otherwise unknown poem (Genji monogatari kochūshakusho in'yō waka 300): “It is sad to listen to you alone, O cuckoo; I would have your song ring out at my darling's hedge.”

  25. Genji's personal retainers.

  26. That Genji was thinking only of Murasaki. Kokinshū 743, by Sakai no Hitozane: “The heavens are no memento of the one I love, yet whenever I miss her, I gaze aloft.”

  27. A painting of Amida in the midst of his paradise.

  28. Murasaki had scriptures copied for the posthumous benefit of particular people. “His Reverence” was presumably Murasaki's spiritual adviser.

  29. Kokin rokujō 2804: “I talk about the past, and, cuckoo, how did you know, that you should sing in the voice I heard long ago?”

  30. “There are so many dewdrops [tears] on their leaves!” Kokin rokujō 2479 (also Ise shū 176), by Ise: “There are so many, the tears of one who suffers a mounting burden of sorrow.”

  31. Kokinshū 244, by Sosei: “Am I to admire them all alone, the pinks in the sun's last rays, while crickets sing?”

  32. From a passage of Bai Juyi's “Song of Unending Sorrow,” in which the Emperor remembers his lost love: “Fireflies roam before the evening pavilion, and I mourn.”

  33. The idea that “fireflies rule the night” is from Wakan rōei shū 187, by the Tang poet Xu Hun (Japanese Kyokon, 791–854).

  34. The Tanabata Festival, when the celestial lovers on either side of the Milky Way were said to come together for their one night a year.

  35. Probably the bridgeway from the east wing to the main house.

  36. The eighth.

  37. The day is apparently the one that marks the formal close of mourning.

  38. To absorb dew from the flowers. Chrysanthemum dew was an elixir, and rubbing the dew-soaked cotton on oneself kept old age at bay. The ninth of the ninth month was Chōyō no Sechie, the Chrysanthemum Festival.

  39. An early commentary attributes this expression to the otherwise unknown poem (Genji monogatari kochūshaku in yō waka 304), “The cold rains of the tenth month, yes, they always fall, but never before have they so soaked my sleeves.”

  40. Genji alludes to “The Song of Unending Sorrow,” in which the Emperor has a seer search the afterworld for the soul of his beloved Yang Gueifei.

  41. In the eleventh month.

  42. Printed with patterns of flowers, butterflies, and so on in the blue or light leaf green of yamaai (wild indigo) and characteristic of the Gosechi Festival.

  43. With the Gosechi Dancer, who wore it. The moment alluded to is not actually told in the tale.

  44. The “Warmth of Wine” is Toyo no Akari, a court banquet that took place after the First Fruits Festival (Niinamesai) or the Enthronement Festival (Daijōsai), and that was accompanied by the Gosechi dance; the name means literally “ruddy faces” (from drink). “Sun” alludes to the hikage (literally, either “sunshade” or “sunlight”) worn by the dancers; hence “stranger to the sun” implies “stranger to the pleasures of dalliance.”

  45. Gosenshū 1143, by Prince Motoyoshi, composed when asked to return some letters: “I cannot destroy them, yet they will come to light if I do not; how bitterly I weep therefore to return them to you.”

  46. The “Mountain of Death” (shide no yama) looms before those newly arrived in the land of the dead, who must cross it on the way to the palace of the King of the afterworld. “Signs” (ato) refers both to footprints and to writing in a letter.

  47. The Butsumyō-e began on the nineteenth day of the twelfth month, in the palace and in other great houses, and lasted three days. The ceremony invoked the names of the buddhas of past, present, and future in a spirit of repentance and atonement.

  48. The chanting monks mark the rhythm with their shakujō, staffs topped with jangling metal rings.

  49. For the devil-expelling rite (tsuina no gi) held on the last night of the year.

  42: NIOU MIYA

  1. Niou and Kaoru, who both grew up at Rokujō.

  2. She had left the house to him.

  3. The Empress's first son.

  4. Yūgiri.

  5. Six: three from Kumoi no Kari and three from Koremitsu's daughter, “the Dame of Staff.”

  6. In principle, a gentleman's daughters married in order of age.

  7. When Genji built Rokujō, few other great nobles lived nearby, and Yūgiri is afraid that the ones his father attracted there may move away again.

  8. Yūgiri moves Ochiba to where Hanachirusato used to live, but his main residence remains at Sanjō, with Kumoi no Kari.

  9. Akikonomu (Reizei's Empress), Akashi no Chūgū, Onna San no Miya, and perhaps Akashi no Chūgū's children as well.

  10. A daughter of Tō no Chūjō, also known as the Kokiden Consort.

  11. This Buddhist allusion remains unclear. Perhaps the author conflated more than one source, or perhaps the text is faulty.

  12. “Turning worldly feelings into enlightenment.” Apparently, a synthetic allusion to a range of Buddhist writings.

  13. This evasive expression (itsutsu no nanigashi) suggests that out of respect for Onna San no Miya, Kaoru cannot bring himself to name the “five hindrances” (goshō) that prevent a woman from attaining enlightenment.

  14. The reigning Emperor and Onna San no Miya are both Suzaku's children.

  15. Hagi, which flowers in autumn, was accorded a feminine grace and so considered rhetorically the “wife” of the stag, who seeks his mate also in autumn. Chrysanthemums, which flower so late and last so long, were associated with longevity.

  16. Kaoru.

  17. Reizei thinks Kaoru is his half brother.

  18. All other things being equal, Kaoru is (or is supposed to be) too close a relative to make an attractive marriage partner
for one of Yūgiri's daughters. Such a marriage would gain neither side any particular advantage.

  19. Yūgiri in his military capacity.

  20. Kaoru and the others all appear to be riding in their own carriages.

  21. The ostensible purpose of the banquet was to honor the winning archers, who for the occasion were given the seat of honor (facing south) and extravagantly noble attendants.

  22. A piece from the group known as Eastern Dances (Azuma Asobi); the song is said to have been given new words each time it was sung. The meaning of the title is unclear.

  23. On the subject of plum blossoms in darkness, the women allude to Kokinshū 41, by Ōshikōchi no Mitsune.

  43: KŌBAI

  1. Kashiwagi.

  2. Higekuro, who seems to have become Chancellor between “The Seer” and “The Perfumed Prince.” The beginning of “Bamboo River” makes it clear that he is no longer alive.

  3. In “The Handsome Pillar.” She is known as Makibashira.

  4. Makibashira's grandfather (Murasaki's father) married her to Prince Hotaru (His Late Highness of War), Genji's younger half brother who once courted Tamakazura. His Highness of Ceremonial was earlier His Highness of War.

  5. Makibashira's daughter by Hotaru.

  6. This is the first time the text actually calls Genji's daughter Empress (Chūgū).

  7. The boy is presumably a privy page.

  8. He is dreaming of his elder daughter becoming Empress. The Kasuga God, the patron deity of the Fujiwara, decreed (at least so he believes) that only a Fujiwara should become Empress, but the last three Empresses (Fujitsubo, Akikonomu, and Akashi no Chūgū) have been non-Fujiwaras. One of the daughters of Tō no Chūjō (“His Late Excellency”), hence one of the Grand Counselor's sisters, was a Consort to Reizei and could have become Empress, but Tō no Chūjō was outmaneuvered by Genii, and the honor went to Akikonomu instead.

  9. His younger daughter.

  10. Kaoru, though he has not been mentioned as a Counselor before. In “Bamboo River” he is an Adviser.

  11. When in full civil dress (sokutai) a privy page wore his hair in twin tresses (mizura), but in service dress (tonoi sugata) he wore his hair loose.

  12. To take to Makibashira at the Reikeiden, where his elder daughter is now living as a Consort to the Heir Apparent.

  13. Rather than with a plectrum.

  14. Kokinshū 38, by Ki no Tomonori: “To whom shall I show off these plum blossoms, if not to you; for he who knows their hue and scent will know.”

  15. Niou's residence at Nijō.

  16. Kōbai's elder daughter.

  17. The elder daughter, now the Heir Apparent's Consort.

  18. Imperial.

  19. The implication of this remark is uncertain. If he had received these flowers after making some sort of reproach to the sender, would they be more welcome or less?

  20. This story is told in “The Maiden of the Bridge” and subsequent chapters.

  44: TAKEKAWA

  1. Higekuro's.

  2. When Tamakazura married Higekuro instead of serving Reizei as Mistress of Staff.

  3. Kumoi no Kari.

  4. Yūgiri's sons by Kumoi no Kari are related to Tamakazura through their mother (a half sister of Tamakazura) and through Yūgiri (a cousin of Tamakazura).

  5. Tamakazura's and Onna San no Miya's.

  6. Kōbai, the Inspector Grand Counselor prominent in “Red Plum Blossoms.”

  7. Reizei's Kokiden Consort, a daughter of Tō no Chūjō and thus a half sister of Tamakazura.

  8. The double doors are open and blinds hang in the entrance. Kaoru seems to have avoided coming up the southern, front steps. Tamakazura's chapel is inside her house, probably on the west side.

  9. Kokinshū 37, by Sosei: “Plum blossoms I thought so lovely from afar—I only knew once I had picked them how marvelous they were in scent and hue!”

  10. “Just try me, and you will see!” Kokinshū 33: “Rather than the color, the scent is what moves me: whose sleeves have brushed past you, plum tree at my door?”

  11. Tō no Chūjō's. He is Tamakazura's father and also Kaoru's grandfather, although ostensibly no one knows that, and the resemblance between his touch and Kaoru's on the wagon is a token of their blood tie. Meanwhile, the Lieutenant is a grandson of Tō no Chūjō.

  12. Kashiwagi. The original actually calls him “Grand Counselor,” the office awarded him on his deathbed.

  13. A congratulatory passage from the saibara song “This Gentleman.” The plant sakikusa, no longer identifiable with certainty, was thought felicitous in ancient times.

  14. The words of the saibara song “Bamboo River” go something like “Let me go, go, go, hand in hand with a fair maiden, to the bed of flowers, oh, to that bed of flowers by the bridge, the bridge over Bamboo River.” The song is felicitous because it suggests praise for the ladies of the household.

  15. The text has the Fujiwara Adviser (Tamakazura's son) singing “Bamboo River,” but Kaoru seems to have sung it, too.

  16. Kaoru pretends that he is taking part in the New Year's mumming and that he has simply stopped at the house for light refreshments (mizumumaya), as the mummers did in their rounds.

  17. The “blossoms” are Kaoru. “The dark of a spring night” (haru no yo no yami) also alludes to Kaoru's personal scent because of Kokinshū 41 by Ōshikōchi no Mitsune: “The dark of a spring night is unavailing, for though the plum blossoms remain unseen, what could hide their perfume?”

  18. Especially Tamakazura and her elder daughter.

  19. An awkward allusion to Kokinshū 349 by Ariwara no Narihira: “O cherry blossoms, cover me with clouds of falling petals, that no one may know how age is coming for me.”

  20. The Left Palace Guards Captain and the Right Controller.

  21. Yūgiri's daughter.

  22. Kokinshū 66: “I shall wear robes deeply dyed in cherry hues, in token of blossoms soon to be gone.”

  23. The younger sister.

  24. The women are joking. “Koma” (Korean) rajō music was played to mark a victory by the “Right” in a contest.

  25. The younger sister, being junior, lives on the right (west) side of the house from the standpoint of someone facing south.

  26. It would slight Reizei to do so, since the house would then have to divide its efforts between two marriages instead of giving all its attention to the one with him, and since Yūgiri's son is too junior to merit being paired openly with Reizei as a son-in-law.

  27. The poem plays on shigeki (“many” or “many trees”) and nageki (“sorrows” or “rejected trees”).

  28. Instead of toning down Tamakazura's reply, she passed it on to the Lieutenant exactly as written.

  29. Kazukemono, gifts to be distributed on the occasion of the wedding.

  30. Tamakazura and Kōbai (the Grand Counselor) are half brother and sister, while Tamakazura is Makibashira's stepmother.

  31. Higekuro's eldest son by his first wife, hence Makibashira's brother.

  32. In his note the Lieutenant asked her to “feel aware for me,” and this aware corresponds to the “pity” that desperate lovers beg from their heartless ladies in many literatures. However, aware (as in mono no aware) is also the “pity of things,” an expression associated with thoughts of evanescence.

  33. “They will blame no one but you.” Kokinshū 603, by Kiyowara no Fukayabu: “They will talk of no one else if I die for love, however you may wish to claim that all things in this world pass.”

  34. In retirement he is no longer a prisoner of ceremony and protocol, and he can therefore behave like an ordinary householder.

  35. The wisteria is the elder daughter and the pine Reizei.

  36. “You and I, both Fujiwaras, are also brother and sister…” Murasaki, purple, is the color of romantic or fraternal love and also the color of the Fujiwara clan. (Fuji means “wisteria.”)

  37. Bansuraku, the refrain of a song always sung during the mumming.

  38. Another allusi
on to Kokinshū 41: “The dark of a spring night is unavailing, for though the plum blossoms remain unseen, what could hide their perfume?”

  39. The speaker means the singing of “Bamboo River” at the mumming a year ago, when Kaoru, too, was beginning to court Tamakazura's elder daughter. “Passage” (fushi) conveys a conventional play on “passage [of music]” or “moment [of time]” and “joint [of bamboo].”

  40. He has received an invitation to join Reizei.

  41. The event is mentioned briefly at the end of “The Warbler's First Song.”

  42. The child had been born at Tamakazura's house.

  43. To bear an imperial heir.

  44. “If only I could spend a moment with her!” The words begin Kokin rokujō 3360: “Hitachi sash far down the road to the East—might I just see her long enough to voice my complaint!”

  45. Yūgiri. This appointment is problematical because in the subsequent chapters most manuscripts (hence this translation) still have him as Minister of the Right.

  46. Kōbai.

  47. Yūgiri's and To no Chūjō's.

  48. She spoke to him herself, through blinds.

  49. As a Counselor he now holds the third rank, junior grade, rather than the fourth rank he held before. This critical promotion makes him a senior noble.

  50. Tamakazura's younger daughter.

  51. Kōbai, although only for the rest of this chapter.

  52. Niou.

  53. A banquet (noriyumi no kaeri aruji) given by the Commander of the winning side after the regular New Year archery contest (noriyumi), held on the eighteenth of the first month; and a wrestling meet (sumai no sechi), which also involved a banquet, held in the seventh month. Niou's attendance at these events is not mentioned elsewhere.