The Tale of Genji

  apron shibira, uwamo—Worn by a gentlewoman when serving her mistress.

  ash green aoji.

  aster layering shion (kasane)—A layering of colors (perhaps pale gray-violet [usuiro] over blue or green [ao]) that gave an impression of violet-blue, like this flower.

  autumn green layering aokuchiba—Fabric woven of leaf green (ao) warp and yellow weft threads, over leaf green.

  azure hanada—A medium, morning glory blue from indigo.

  bead tree layering ōchi—Possibly purple lined with a lighter shade of the same color. Ōchi is the old name for the Japanese bead tree (sendan, Melia azedarach, var. subtripinnata), which reaches about twenty-six feet in height and in spring bears light purple, five-petaled flowers.

  beaten silk uchimono—Silk beaten on a fulling block (kinuta) to bring out its luster.

  blue koki hanada.

  blue-gray aonibi—May also be visualized in the green range (gray-green), since ao in practice covers both ranges.

  Cathay tendril pattern karakusa—A family of textile patterns consisting of arabesque-like leafy tendrils and sometimes flowers.

  cherry blossom layering sakura gasane—White over scarlet (kurenai) or, if worn by a young man, violet (futaai).

  Chinese jacket karaginu—A short jacket, longer in front than in back, that formed the outer-most layer of a woman's formal dress.

  clove-dyed chōjizome, kōzome—A warm tan.

  court dress nōshi sugata—The ordinary costume worn by a nobleman at the palace or when dressed up at home. The level of formality could be varied: with a formal cap (kanmuri) it was more formal than with a hat (eboshi). The dress cloak (nōshi) was tied on and worn over a gown (uchiki, akome, onzo, kinu) and shift (hitoe), with gathered trousers (sashinuki).

  cover kinu—A gown used for cover at night.

  cypress bark hiwada iro—The color of the bark of the Japanese cypress (hinoki), a dark red-brown.

  damask aya—More properly figured twill. Twill weaving was originally Chinese.

  dark blue kon—A color associated in the tale with ruri (lapis lazuli or glass).

  dark gray tsurubami.

  dayflower tsuyukusa, tsukikusa—A fugitive blue dye from the sky blue flowers of the dayflower, a common wild plant in Japan.

  deep blue komayaka naru—A deep shade (komayaka) of azure (hanada).

  deep blue-gray koki aonibi—See blue-gray.

  deep green midori—A color range that actually extends from gray to blue-green and deep blue.

  deep hat tsubo sōzoku—The attire for a respectable woman outdoors. She draped an unlined gown over her head and hair, then put on a deep, broad-brimmed hat. She also hitched up her skirts a little for walking.

  deep red-violet koki iro.

  deep scarlet layering koki hitokasane—Two very dark scarlet shifts, one over the other.

  deutzia layering unohana—White over grass green (moegi). The deutzia flowers in the fourth lunar month, in long clusters of small white blossoms.

  dress cloak nōshi—The outer garment ordinarily worn by a courtier at court or fully dressed at home. The dress cloak and the formal cloak (hō) were ample, straight garments tied at the neck and with the front and back joined at the hem by a circular band of cloth (ran), pressed flat. However, the color of a dress cloak was not determined by the wearer's rank. It could be made of a single layer of sheer, dark cloth in summer and of light-colored, lined cloth in winter. It was generally worn with gathered trousers (sashinuki).

  dress gown kouchiki—A gown of fancy stuff of the same shape as a gown (uchiki) but somewhat shorter, worn by a woman at home when some formality was desired. Also kazami—A long garment worn on top, especially by page girls in formal dress.

  earth green aoni.

  fallen chestnut ochiguri—Thought to be a deep, reddish brown.

  formal cap kanmuri—A small cap with various attachments worn with full civil dress and with more formal court dress.

  formal cloak hō—The outer garment worn by men on official business and when participating in court ceremonies. The formal cloak was not a layering (kasane) but was made either of an opaque cloth with a figure worked into it in the same or nearly the same color, or of a single layer of sheer cloth. Its color matched the wearer's rank in the time of the tale.

  formal dress—The full-dress costume worn by women at court or by gentlewomen in an aristocratic household. The Chinese jacket (karaginu) was worn over a train (mo) tied at the waist over an outer gown (uwagi) that was the most elaborate of a layer of gowns of identical shape (uchiki, kinu, onzo) worn over a shift (hitoe) and long, ample trousers (hakama) tied at the waist with a sash. The layers of gowns were cut smaller as they reached the outside so that the edges of the underlayers could be seen.

  full civil dress sokutai—The costume worn by noblemen on official business and when participating in court ceremonies. The formal cloak (hō), in the color appropriate to the wearer's rank, was worn with a sword and a stone belt (sekitai) likewise matched to the wearer's rank. It was worn over a train-robe (shitagasane), which was a midthigh-length garment with a train (kyo), worn in turn over gowns (akome, onzo, kinu, uchiki) and a shift (hitoe), with two pair of wide, open-legged trousers (hakama). The costume was completed by the formal cap (kanmuri) and baton (shaku). At least in later times, for somewhat less formal occasions, including ceremonies at home, the formality of this costume could be lowered by wearing gathered trousers (sashinuki) instead of trousers (hakama) and lowered still further (ikan) by omitting the belt and sword and using a narrow sash instead, and by carrying a fan instead of a baton.

  gathered trousers sashinuki—Ample trousers gathered around the ankles and worn with a dress cloak (nōshi) or a hunting cloak (kariginu).

  golden yellow yamabuki—The color of kerria rose flowers.

  gossamer silk suzushi—A thin, raw silk for an unlined garment.

  gown (1) uchiki, onzo, kinu—Any woman's gown worn, often in several layers, between dress gown (uwagi) and shift (hitoe). (2) akome, onzo, kinu, uchiki—A man's robe worn over the shift (hitoe) but under the train-robe (shitagasane) or the dress cloak. (3) akome—A garment worn by young girls between dress gown and shift. However, akome is sometimes translated “jacket” because page girls could wear their akome on top.

  grape (colored) ebi, ebizome—Grape purple to reddish brown.

  grape layering ebizome kasane—A winter layering of sappan (suō) over azure (hanada).

  grass green moegi.

  gray nibiiro (light gray, usunibi dark gray, tsurubami).

  green asamidori.

  hail pattern arare-ji—A check pattern of dark and light squares. Also called ishidatami, “paving stones.”

  hat eboshi—A tall hat worn with court dress (nōshi sugata) and with informal dress (kariginu sugata).

  hunting cloak kari no onzo, kariginu—An outer garment originally worn for hunting and then adopted by the nobles as everyday informal wear. The hunting cloak had cords laced through the sleeves to allow them to be gathered at the wrist, and it had sleeves semidetached from the body of the garment, for ease of movement. It was worn with gathered trousers (sashinuki) or hunting trousers (karibakama) and a hat (eboshi). A gentleman normally wore a hunting cloak while traveling, and his attendants would wear it even when he was in court dress (nōshi sugata). He also might wear it as a disguise.

  indigo ai—A plant that yields a blue dye.

  jacket akome—A type of gown worn as an outer garment by page girls.

  kerria rose yamabuki—The color, also listed as “golden yellow,” obtained from gardenia-seed dye.

  kerria rose layering yamabuki kasane—Ocher (kuchiba) over yellow (kuchinashi).

  layering kasane—Usually a combination of two garments of different colors, or of garment and lining, so that one color could be seen through the other. Layerings had names, but the colors in them changed over time, and they are often uncertain. The name often refers to the overall effect. For example, “cherry bl
ossom,” white over scarlet, produced a pale cherry blossom pink. Many layerings were seasonal and were also affected by the wearer's age and rank.

  leaf gold kanzō iro.

  leaf green ao, ao-iro—A light leaf green veering toward yellow. The color also known as kikujin (although the word does not appear in the tale) and favored by the Emperor for daily wear.

  light blue asagi.

  light gray usunibi, usuki nibi.

  light russet akakuchiba.

  light silk twill ki.

  long dress hosonaga—A lady's outer garment, divided in front and with long panels that trailed behind on either side.

  madder red hiiro—The color dyed with akane.

  maidenflower layering ominaeshi (kasane)—A layering that recalls the valerian family flower of that name. The outer layer has a leaf green (ao) warp and a yellow (ki) weft, and the underlayer is leaf green.

  mauve-gray (paper) murasaki no nibameru (kami).

  mourning weeds fujigoromo—Mourning robes figuratively made (as perhaps they really were in ancient times) from the bark of wild fuji (wisteria) vines.

  murasaki—A plant (Lithospermum erythrorhizon) the roots of which yield a purple dye; also, the dye and its color. The color stands for relationship and lasting passion.

  night service wear tonoi sugata—A simple costume, perhaps just a white gown, worn by a page girl on night attendance.

  ocher kuchiba—The Japanese word means “dead leaves.”

  pale gray-violet usuiro.

  petal blue hana (iro)—A pale indigo.

  pink layering nadeshiko (kasane)—A layering that suggests the pink, or gillyflower. According to some authorities, dark pink over light purple; others cite plum pink (kōbai) over leaf green (ao).

  plum pink kōbai—A pink veering toward violet, reminiscent of plum blossoms.

  plum red imayō.

  pure raiment jōe—Robes worn by priests during a rite; blue-black, yellow, red, white, gray, or brown, depending on the deity to whom the rite was addressed.

  purple murasaki—The color from the roots of the murasaki plant, a common field plant with white flowers. In poetry murasaki stands for close relationship. The color figures prominently in the tale as the color of enduring love.

  red aka.

  red plum blossom layering kōbai kasane—Scarlet (kurenai) over purple (murasaki) or sappan (suō).

  rouge red beniiro—A scarlet color produced with safflower (benibana) dye, the source of scarlet (kurenai).

  sanctioned rose yurushiiro—A pale scarlet (kurenai). The counterpart “forbidden color” (kinjiki), not mentioned in the tale, was a deep shade of dark red or purple allowed only to the Emperor and the senior nobles.

  sappan layering suō gasane—A winter layering of sappan over dark sappan (a dull reddish purple).

  sappan (wood) suō—A red from the wood of the sappan tree, imported from Southeast Asia.

  sash obi.

  scarlet kurenai—The color from the carthame dye, a fugitive red lake made from safflowers (Carthamus tinctorius). The dye has both red and yellow components, but with some difficulty the yellow can be eliminated. The pigment from the flowers can also be used to produce a makeup rouge.

  scarlet layering kaineri kasane—Scarlet (kurenai) over scarlet.

  seaside kaifu—A textile pattern showing waves, beachside pines, seaweed, shells, and so on.

  service dress tonoi sugata—The costume worn by men in regular service at the palace, characterized especially by the dress cloak (nōshi).

  shift hitoe—An unlined garment worn by men or women under the outer layers of clothing and cut larger. Like all other garments listed in this glossary, it was open in front, like a jacket, so that “shift” is only an expedient approximation.

  shoulder cords obi, or, more properly, kakeobi—Red silk cords passed over each shoulder and tied together in the back, worn by a woman on pilgrimage or when performing religious devotions.

  silk gauze usumono—Very thinly woven silk, used especially for summer wear.

  sky blue asahanada.

  softened silk kaineri—Silk boiled with lye to soften it.

  spring green layering wakanae kasane—Light grass green (moegi) over light grass green.

  stone belt sekitai, shakutai—A broad black leather belt worn with the formal cloak (hō), with a row of squares or circles made of stone, jade, or horn set in it so as to show at the wearer's back. (A fold of the hō covered the front.) The “stone” varied according to the wearer's rank.

  sunshade band hikage—A band of dangling white or blue-green braided threads (originally club moss fronds) worn by a Gosechi dancer as well as by other women, such as the Kamo Priestess, engaged in certain sacred functions.

  sweet-flag layering ayame gasane—Probably green over plum pink.

  tail ei—A long, narrow, springy appendage to a man's court cap, made of lacquered cloth. Usually straight, but rolled as a sign of mourning.

  tan kurumi iro, kō-iro—A yellowish tan from cloves.

  train kyo, mo—The man's train (kyo) was a long, rectangular piece of cloth extending from the train-robe (shitagasane) worn with full civil dress (sokutai). The woman's train (mo) was a long, sheer, decorated piece of cloth pleated into a sash tied at the front, at the waist, over the gown (uchiki, uwagi), and under the Chinese jacket (karaginu). A woman wore a train in service or on formal occasions to indicate a subservient position.

  train-robe shitagasane—The man's garment worn in full civil dress (sokutai) over the mid-robe and under the formal cloak (hō); it was of midthigh length and had a train (kyo).

  trousers hakama, nagabakama—Men wore two pair of wide-legged, ankle-length trousers (an inner one and an outer ue no hakama) with full civil dress, and a different sort of under-trousers under gathered trousers (sashinuki) in less formal costume. Women wore long trousers (nagabakama), with legs that extended well beyond their feet.

  twill aya—See damask.

  violet futaai—A “double-dyed” (futaai) color produced by dyeing cloth in safflower (the source of scarlet, kurenai) dye and then in indigo (ai). The actual hue varied. Brighter, deeper shades with little blue were worn by young men, while duller, paler tints with little red were worn by older men.

  violet-blue shion—A color reminiscent of the aster (shion).

  white layering shiragasane—White over white.

  wild indigo yamaai—The green color derived from the wild indigo plant.

  willow yanagi—White weft and pale green warp threads.

  willow layering yanagi kasane—White over green.

  wisteria layering fuji gasane—Violet over green.

  yellow ki, a general term; or kuchinashi—A yellow from gardenia-seed dye. The color is that of kerria rose (yamabuki) flowers. (The color specified in the text as yamabuki is translated “golden yellow.”)

  young pink leaves nadeshiko no wakaba no iro—A light yellow-green (usumoegi).

  Offices and Titles

  This glossary lists all the official or customary titles that appear in The Tale of Genji, explains their meaning, and in most cases indicates the numbered rank corresponding to the office in question. Each office had an officially defined and numbered rank. The ranks descended from the first to the ninth. All were divided into two levels, full (indicated below by the number alone) and junior; and below the third rank each of these two levels was likewise subdivided into upper and lower grades. However, the Emperor was outside this numbered system. The text sometimes describes the imperial dignity as being “without rank,” or words to that effect, and this was literally true. For more information on Heian government offices and organization, one may consult such sources as Appendix A (“Some Notes on Rank and Office”) in volume two of William H. and Helen Craig McCullough's A Tale of Flowering Fortunes. (The translations adopted here are not always those of the McCulloughs.) Still more information is of course available in Japanese.

  Even translated this way, most of the terms adopted will not a
t first mean much to the reader. However, they are at least made up of English words, so that they should be easier in the long run to make sense of and to remember. They are a significant aspect of the translation as a whole because the people in the tale themselves are so acutely conscious of rank and office. Rank and office and, more generally, degrees of power and prestige defined the structure of their social world.

  Two features of the nomenclature of official appointments are especially striking. The first is that many government organs were divided into Left and Right components. For example, the two senior Ministers were the Ministers of the Left and of the Right. This pattern is Chinese: when seated in state, the Emperor faced south, with his two Ministers symmetrically stationed to his left (east) and right (west). Since the east took precedence in principle, the Minister of the Left normally took precedence over his colleague of the Right, and this distinction held—again, in principle—down through the lower levels. In fact, this symmetry extended beyond matters of government. All contests, from wrestling (sumai) to poetry, were divided into “east” and “west” sides, and so were the repertories of court music and dance. The City itself was administratively divided into Left and Right.

  The second striking feature of this nomenclature is that the titles of many men mentioned in the tale, especially young ones of high birth, indicate a dual appointment. That is to say, these men hold two positions in different official organs, of which one is often “civil” and the other “military.” For instance, Tō no Chūjō, the great friend of Genji's youth, spends some time as both a Secretary (Tō) in the Chamberlains' Office and a Captain (Chūjō) in the Palace Guards. I have translated this dual title as Secretary Captain. Other examples are Consultant Captain, Controller Chamberlain, Controller Lieutenant, and Inspector Grand Counselor.

  Many official titles, even ones that do not indicate a dual appointment, can become quite long in translation if one is to get in all their major elements. I have therefore made them as compact as I could. An example is the nomenclature of the “Counselor” range, which has three levels. The highest of these, Dainagon, is usually translated “Major Counselor,” but I have chosen Grand Counselor instead because it is a syllable shorter. For the same reasons of economy I have adopted simply Counselor for Chūnagon, over the more familiar and literal “Middle Counselor.” (Shōnagon, Minor Counselor, occurs once or twice as a man's title.)