His charmingly stylish playing was so delightful that the two other instruments stopped, and instead His Excellency discreetly beat the rhythm, singing, “Dyed with hagi flowers,”34 and so on. “Your father, who loves this sort of music making, too, has escaped the troublesome burden of his duties, has he not? Yes, in this cruel world one may well hope to live as one pleases.” He had some wine. Meanwhile, it grew dark, the lamps were lit, and all partook of fruit and hot watered rice.35 Then he sent the young lady off to another room.
Flute and rhythm clappers
“Those two are in for a great disappointment,” whispered the older women who served Her Highness intimately. His Excellency was now keeping them so strictly apart that he would not even let the young man hear the sound of his daughter's koto.
His Excellency had got up as though he were leaving, in order to have a private word with one of the women; and while he was stealing away again, he caught the sound of these whisperings. He listened, intrigued. They were about him.
“He thinks he knows best, but that's a father for you.”
“Something or other is going to happen one of these days.”
“It's the parent who knows the child, they say, but I don't believe it.” They were nudging each other.
How awful! he thought. I knew it! No, I am not surprised, but they are children, and I have not been on my guard. Ah, life is nothing but trouble! He saw the whole picture, but he went away in silence nonetheless.
His escort's warning cries were imposingly loud. “My lord has only just left, then!” the gentlewomen said to each other. “What cranny can he have been hiding in? To be playing about that way, at his age!”
“When that strong scent came wafting through, I thought it was the young gentleman!” The whisperers regretted their talk.
“I am afraid! What if he heard some of what we were saying? He has such a temper!”
On the way back His Excellency reflected that everyone would be thinking and saying that the match, even if no disaster, still offered nothing brilliant. Ah, he said to himself, this really makes me angry, when His Grace disposed of the Consort so ruthlessly, and I had hoped perhaps just this once to get ahead of him! On the whole he had always got along very well with Genji, and he still did, but he remembered their long rivalry over such things bitterly, and he slept little that night. “Her Highness must have noticed what is going on, you know; she must simply be allowing her beloved grandchildren to do as they please.” That was what the women had been saying, and it infuriated him. He was so angry that he could not suppress the somewhat impetuous impulse to have the matter out.
Nun
He called on Her Highness two days later. She was very pleased when he came often, so this for her was a happy occasion. She tidied up her nun's sidelocks, put on a formal dress gown, and took care not to receive him completely face-to-face, since despite his being her son she held him in awe.36
His Excellency seemed to be in a bad humor. “It is awkward for me, calling on you like this,” he began, “and I do not like to imagine what your women must think of me. I am not all I should be, I know, but I did hope to go on seeing you as long as I live and always to remain in close touch. Now, however, thanks to that hopeless daughter of mine, something has happened to make me angry with you, and although I should much prefer not to be, I am afraid that I simply cannot help it.” He wiped his eyes.
Her Highness paled under her makeup, and her eyes widened. “In what have I so displeased you, at my age?” she asked, and he felt for her after all.
“I confidently entrusted this young person to you, and I myself have never had that much to do with her, but what with the disappointment of seeing the daughter I kept lose out at court, I had counted on making something of this one at least, and this latest surprise is a considerable blow. He may indeed be the most erudite young man under the sun, for all I know, but they are relatives, and people will find all that a bit tedious and dull, which will be a pity for him, too. It would look better for him to be given a warm welcome somewhere strikingly desirable and quite unrelated. His Grace will have a thing or two to say as well when he hears about this curious match between cousins. And even if it were all right, you might at least have let him know, and put on a visible welcome, and done something to make it a bit of an occasion. I can only deplore the way you allowed these young people to do as they pleased.”
Her Highness had known nothing about it, and she was shocked. “I quite understand that you should speak this way, but I had absolutely no idea what those two were up to. It is indeed deplorable, and especially so for me. I resent your accusing me as well. I have given her special attention ever since I took her on, and I have hoped privately to make her superior even in things that you would never notice. Not once has affection so blinded me that I have wished to allow any such thing before they are even grown-up. But who told you this? You should be ashamed of yourself, scolding me this way over a rumor put about by malicious gossips, because there is nothing to it, and you are only risking soiling the poor girl's name.”
“There is nothing to it, is there? Why, all your women seem secretly to be laughing about it, which is both infuriating and extremely disturbing!” With these words he left. Those who knew what the matter was felt very sorry indeed. The ones who had been whispering among themselves the other evening were even more upset and wondered miserably why they had ever done it.
His Excellency looked in on his innocently unsuspecting daughter and was touched by the spectacle of her sweetness and charm. “She is young, yes,” he reproached her nurses, “but I am a great simpleton, because I who knew nothing of her youthful folly entertained high ambition for her.” They had no reply.
“In this sort of thing, my lord, the old tales suggest that even a Sovereign's cherished daughter may go astray, but then someone privy to the affair is generally the one to arrange it for her. In this case, though, they have been together day in and day out for years, and we took it for granted that since they are so young, we could not very well go beyond what Her Highness herself thought best and separate them ourselves. Then it seems to have been decided the year before last to keep them apart, and although some young people seem to manage one way or another to be precocious in secret, these two showed so little sign of straying that nothing like that ever occurred to us.” They all sighed.
“Very well, keep this quiet for the time being. It will get out in the end, but for now take care to deny that it ever happened. I will move her to my house. Her Highness's attitude is extremely disappointing. Still, I cannot imagine that you ever condoned this.”
The gentlewomen welcomed his words, despite their distress on the young lady's behalf. “Oh, no, my lord, never! Just think how the Grand Counselor37 would take this! The young gentleman is thoroughly worthy, of course, but what appeal would he see in a match to a commoner?”
His Excellency spoke to his daughter, but she was still too much a girl, and nothing he said got through to her. This reduced him to tears, and he took up secret consultations with the appropriate women to find some way to keep her from going to waste, meanwhile saving all his anger for Her Highness.
Her Highness grieved deeply for them both, but she may have especially favored the young man, whose sentiments she found endearing, because she could not understand why her son should be so heartlessly outraged. He had never given the girl much thought before, and it was the way she herself had taken charge of her that encouraged him to consider the Heir Apparent in the first place. Besides, if it was her destiny to marry a commoner, could any other compare with him? Why, he might aspire to heights far beyond the likes of her! Yes, her penchant for him must be what made her so angry with His Excellency. How much angrier he would have been if she had allowed him to divine her thoughts!
The young gentleman now arrived, never expecting a scolding. There had been too many people about the other evening to let him express all he had in his heart, and so he came toward nightfall, more than usually eag
er. Her Highness, who normally greeted him with pleasure, wreathed in smiles, embarked on a serious conversation that gave her an opening to say, “I am painfully caught, you know, because His Excellency is angry with me over you. You have given your heart all too tamely, and that, I am sorry to say, is causing trouble for other people. I would rather not have told you, but I thought you should know.”
He understood instantly, since the matter was so much on his mind, and he blushed. “What can you possibly mean? I have been among people so little since I retired into quiet study that I can hardly have done anything to make anyone angry.”
His shamefaced looks aroused her pity. “Very well, but be careful henceforth.” She turned the conversation elsewhere.
He saw with anguish that corresponding with his friend would be more difficult than ever. He ate none of the food that he was offered and put up a pretense of going to bed, but he was desperate, and once everyone had retired, he tried the intervening sliding panel.38 It had never normally been locked, but it was this time, quite firmly, and there was no sound within. He lingered there miserably, leaning against it. Meanwhile the young lady awoke to hear bamboo rustling in welcome to the wind and a passing wild goose utter a faint cry, and in the turmoil of her girlish feelings she murmured to herself, “Is the goose on high sad as I am sad?”39
He was profoundly troubled when he divined a sweetly youthful presence on the other side. “Do open the door! Is Kojijū with you?” But there was not a sound. Kojijū was her nurse's daughter. Embarrassed to have let him hear her talking to herself, she had unthinkingly drawn her head in under the covers—not that the naughty little thing mistook what he had in mind. With her nurses and others lying nearby she dared not move, and both remained silent.
“When deep in the night wild geese pass by aloft, calling to their mates,
how cruelly the wind, too, then comes rustling through the reeds!”
And what a chill it brings!40 Sighing, he returned to Her Highness, lay down, and kept very still lest she hear him and wake up.
The next morning he went straight off to his own room, feeling vaguely ashamed, and wrote her a letter; but he despaired because he could neither find Kojijū nor go to her himself. As for the young lady, she was ashamed only because she had had a scolding, and she remained otherwise as bright and sweet as ever, giving little thought either to what might lie ahead for her or to what others might feel. She did not even object when her gentlewomen discussed the matter among themselves. To her mind it hardly deserved all this fuss, but those most concerned with her welfare reproved her thoughtlessness so thoroughly that she could not get a word to him either. An adult might still have devised a way to do so, but her young man was still less grown-up than she, and he could only mourn.
His Excellency, who was furious with Her Highness, had not been back since. He breathed not a word of his discovery to his wife; he only made it clear that he was in a thoroughly bad humor. “The Empress made a particularly impressive entry,”41 he conceded, “and the Consort is so pessimistic about her prospects that it hurts me to see it. I am going to have her withdraw for some quiet and a rest. Her women never have a moment's peace, what with His Majesty still calling her constantly to attend him and visiting her day and night, and I gather they are under great strain.”
So it was that he suddenly brought his daughter home. His Majesty resisted granting her leave to go, but His Excellency grumbled until he unwillingly gave in, and at last he managed to extract her from the palace. “You may find yourself rather at loose ends,” he told her. “Do bring your sister here, so that you can amuse yourself with her. I have her at Her Highness's, where she is quite all right, except that I am afraid she has not been able to help becoming involved with some tiresomely precocious company, company wholly unsuitable for her at her age.” He abruptly brought her to his own residence.
Her Highness was extremely disappointed. “I was very sad and lonely after I lost my only daughter, and taking this girl on was such a joy. I thought I would be looking after her the rest of my life, and I hoped to have the comfort of her presence every day in my old age. Alas, your sudden decision to exclude me is a bitter blow.”
“I have only given natural expression to a discontent I cannot help but feel,” he answered respectfully. “How could there possibly be any question of my excluding you? The daughter I have in His Majesty's service is hurt over her own prospects, and lately she withdrew to my house, where I have been sorry to see her so listless and downcast. I just thought I would have the young lady come to me for a while so that the two of them can amuse themselves together and make my visitor feel better. I have no wish to make light of all you have done to look after her and bring her up.”
He had made his decision, and he was not one to change it for anything she might say. She could only feel deep and painful regret. “How very cruel the heart can be,” she said, weeping. “Even those two young people hatefully kept things from me. Never mind, though, because you yourself, with all your fine understanding, have turned against me, and now you are taking her away. I tell you, she will be no safer there than she has been with me.”
Just then the young gentleman arrived. He had been looking in often lately, hoping for any opportunity, however remote. The presence of His Excellency's carriage pricked his conscience, and he stole away to hide in his room. His Excellency's sons—the Left Lieutenant, the Junior Counselor, the Second of the Watch, the Adviser, the Commissioner—were all there, but none of them was allowed through Her Highness's blinds. The Intendant of the Left Gate Watch and the Acting Counselor, although born of another mother, waited assiduously on Her Highness even now, and all their own sons were present, too, but apparently none had anything like this young gentleman's charm. Her Highness favored him far beyond the others, and this granddaughter of hers had become her only darling, to cherish and to keep with her always. She felt very, very lonely now that the girl was going away.
“I am off to the palace now, and I shall be back for her toward evening,” His Excellency announced as he left.
I suppose I might make the best of a bad job and just let things take their course, he said to himself, but he still bridled at the idea. No, once that young man has risen a bit and seems worthy, then perhaps I may weigh the seriousness of his intentions and approve the match after all, but only if it is done properly. Anyway, no reproof from me could prevent those two from making a childish spectacle of themselves as long as they were there together, and it is not Her Highness who would put a stop to it. So it was that the Consort's listlessness provided him with the excuse to move her, after tactful representations to both sides.42
“I suppose His Excellency is angry with me, but I know that you, dear, still understand how much you mean to me. Please come and see me,” Her Highness wrote; and so she came, all dressed up and looking very pretty. She was fourteen. Although obviously not quite grown-up yet, she had a charming and thoroughly childish poise.
“You have been my special pet day and night, and I have never let you go far away. I shall miss you terribly. It has already been such a disappointment that I have too little time left to see how you will turn out. And how sad it is, too, now you are leaving me, to think where you are going!” She wept. For shame the young lady never lifted her head but only stood there, crying.
The young man's nurse, Saishō, came in and whispered, “My lady, I looked as much to you as I ever did to my young lord, and I so wish you were not going! Stand firm, even if His Excellency decides to marry you to someone else!” The girl was more ashamed than ever and said nothing.
“Come now, do not put ideas in her head. We all have our own destiny, and no one knows where it will lead.”
“No, Your Highness, His Excellency seems to hold my lord in contempt. But just ask anyone whether my lord really is less worthy than anyone else!” Anger made her quite blunt.
The young gentleman was looking on from behind a screen. Normally he would have worried about being caught, bu
t now he was simply wiping away tears of misery when, with a sharp pang of pity, his nurse noticed him and put a plan to Her Highness. In the confusion that reigned as darkness fell, she brought the two together.
They were shy in each other's presence, their hearts beat fast, and at first they only wept in silence. “I feel as though I might as well give up, now that His Excellency is acting so cruelly,” he said, “but I know how badly you would miss me if I did. Why did you keep me away, when these last few days might have offered us a chance to meet?” He looked very young and charming.
Lamp on a stand
“I am sure I feel as you do,” she replied.
“Do you love me?”
She nodded slightly, with girlish artlessness.
The lamps were lit, and signs of His Excellency's arrival from the palace, especially his escort's ostentatious cries, now sent the women rushing about with exclamations of surprise. The young lady shivered with fear, but her obstinate young gentleman dismissed whatever reprimand he might receive and refused to let her go.
Her nurse came looking for her. “Oh, no,” she said when she saw what was going on, “they can't! Why, it is true, Her Highness must know!” She continued in an angry whisper, “This is awful, it really is! How will my lord the Grand Counselor take it, not to mention what His Excellency will have to say! He is all very well, but to think it was her fate to start out with someone of the sixth rank!” They could just hear her, since her complaint came from right behind their screen.
What she means, he said to himself, is that my rank does not even count. He so raged against the world that his ardor cooled somewhat. It was too much. “Listen to that!” he said.
“How can she dismiss as a light and worthless blue these sleeves I must wear,
The Tale of Genji: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) (Junichiro Breakdown of Genji) Page 51