thought over the days of the possibility that his wellborn wife might have
a child. Still, one would not wish to describe him as merely perverse. Had
he been a man of reprehensible tendencies, the emperor would surely not
have insisted upon having him for a son-in-law. In high matters of state,
one would imagine, he showed uncommon talents.
nsTouched and pleased that the princess had consented to let him see
the child, he talked on at greater length than usual, and presently it was
dark. The pity was that he could not stay on into the night, making himself
quite at home. Sighing and sighing again, he departed.
"What a remarkable perfume," said the women. Indeed some of the
younger ones found it rather a trial."'So noisy the warbler'--I imagine
we will be pestered by warblers looking for our blossoms."
<P 929>
The approach to the Sanjo~ mansion from the palace was in a direction
which would be interdicted by the stars once summer had come. He
therefore moved his wife to Sanjo~ late in the Third Month--before what
is called, I believe, "the parting of the seasons." On the day before her
removal, the emperor was host at a wisteria viewing in her mother's apart-
ments. (It being a state assembly, the princess did not herself act as host-
ess.) The blinds were rolled up and the royal seat put out on the south
veranda. The keepers of the palace larder saw that the courtiers of various
ranks were suitably entertained. Yu~giri and Ko~bai were in attendance, as
were two of Higekuro's sons, a councillor and a guards captain. Two
princes of the blood, Niou and Prince Hitachi, were also present. Courtiers
of medium rank were seated beneath the wisteria arbors in the south
garden, with court musicians disposed along the east side of the Ko~ro~den
Gallery, immediately beyond. As dusk came on they played a strain in the
so~jo~ mode. Musical instruments were brought out from the princess's
rooms for the emperor's delectation. Yu~giri and certain lesser officials
delivered them to the imperial presence. Yu~giri also presented two koto
scores in the late Genji's own hand. Genji had given them to Kaoru's
mother, and now, for presentation to the emperor, they were attached to
felicitous pine branches. Lutes as well as kotos of the several varieties were
brought out, all of them once the property of the Suzaku emperor. Then
there was the flute that had been the source of a revelation in a dream,
memento of a man long dead, which the emperor had on an earlier
occasion pronounced to be of unexcelled tone: thinking there would not
be another affair so brilliant, it would seem, its owner had it brought out.
The emperor gave a Japanese koto to Yu~giri and a lute to Niou. Kaoru quite
outdid himself on the flute. Numbers of medium-ranking courtiers famous
for their voices serenaded the emperor most admirably. The princess sent
out cakes of the five-colored cereals. As for the table settings, there were
four trays of aloeswood and stands of sandalwood, and cloths of varied
lavender embroidered with wisteria branches. There were glass cups and
silver saucers, and indigo decanters. The guards captain busied him-
self seeing that the cups were kept full. Since it would not do to press too
many drinks upon Yu~giri, and since no princes of the blood were present
who could appropriately receive the royal cup, His Majesty turned to
Kaoru. The young man protested that he was unworthy of the honor, but
presently, whatever he may have read into the august invitation, he ac-
cepted and raised the cup high.
"To Your Majesty's health." Even so ordinary a toast he managed to
<P 930>
utter with a difference--or perhaps his very special position made it seem
so to the assembly. He transferred the wine to another cup, and with
incomparable dignity descended to the garden to offer ritual thanks. Men
of the highest rank, ministers and princes of the blood and the like, find
such attentions flattering; and for Kaoru there was the singular honor of
having been received as a royal son-in-law. His rank did carry its limita-
tions, however, and in the end he had to return to his low seat.
Ko~bai was annoyed. He had hoped to be so honored. He had had
intentions upon the girl's mother, and had continued to write to her even
after her presentation at court; and his thoughts had then turned to the
daughter. He had let it be known that he would not be averse to being
looked upon as her protector. The mother had chosen not to inform the
emperor, however, and Ko~bai had not emerged from the affair with
grounds for satisfaction.
"No doubt," he said, "our friend was born under better stars than the
rest of us, but I do think His Majesty is making a bit of a fool of himself.
All this fuss over getting a daughter married! And I don't think it sets a
very good precedent when a commoner no different from you and me takes
over rooms practically next door to the celestial chamber itself, and is
treated today as if he were the guest of honor."
He had not wanted to be left out of what promised to be a brilliant
assembly, but he was not happy.
Torches were lighted. Each guest, as he placed his poem upon the
lectern, seemed more pleased with himself than the one before. Sure that
the poems would be of the usual trite and fusty sort, I did not think I would
trouble myself to write them down; but I do seem to have made note of
a few after all, by way of remembering the occasion. (I must warn that rank
bears little relation to performance as a poet.)
This would seem to be Kaoru's, presented with a sprig of wisteria for
the royal cap:
"Wisteria, thought l, to grace the august bonnet;
And my sleeve has caught upon a high, high branch."
Such are the airs one assumes when one marries a princess.
And this His Majesty's reply:
"Its fragrance shall last through all the centuries.
We shall not then be weary of it today."
Someone else presented this:
"The wisteria spray that graces the august bonnet
Competes with the purple clouds of paradise."
And yet another:
<P 931>
"It sends its cascade of flowers to the loftiest heights.
Of a most uncommon hue is this wisteria."
The last would seem to be by the unhappy Ko~bai.
I may have made mistakes in transcribing certain of these attempts at
poetry, but can give assurance that none was conspicuous for its original-
ity.
The hours passed, the concert was more and more interesting. Kaoru
was in splendid voice as he sang "How Grand the Day." Ko~bai joined in,
and one still recognized the voice for which he had been famous as a youth.
Yu~giri's seventh son, a mere child, played the _sho~_ pipes so charmingly that
he was given a robe by the emperor. Yu~giri himself descended to the
garden to offer the ritual thanks. It was almost dawn when the emperor
withdrew to his rooms, having made certain that appropriate gifts were at
hand for ranking courtiers and princes of the blood. The princess had gifts,
each appropriate to his rank, for lesser courtiers and for the musicians.
The next night she was escorted to Kaoru's Sanjo~ mansion. The
ceremonies accompanying the move were of unusual grandeur, with all the
I ladies in attendance. The princess rode in a brocaded carriage with
a wide, flaring roof. In the procession were three carriages similarly bro-
caded but with plain roofs, six carriages whose facings of plaited palmetto
were embossed with gold, twenty such carriages without the gold, and two
carriages with wickerwork facings. There were thirty ladies-in-waiting,
each attended by eight little maids of honor and eight serving women, and
they were joined by women who had been sent from Kaoru's house in
twelve carriages. The ranks of courtiers down to the Sixth Rank quite
exhausted the possibilities of gorgeous display.
And so Kaoru had her with him, and could observe her at his leisure;
and he was not unhappy with what he saw. She was small, pretty, and
quiet, with no defects that immediately caught the eye. He had been lucky
--and when would he have a better chance to forget Oigimi? Yet he
continued to grieve. He could not hope for comfort on this earth, he feared.
If only he might find enlightenment, and an understanding of what their
strange, unhappy relationship had been a punishment for, he might be able
to send it on its way. He lost himself in plans for the Uji villa.
Toward the end of the Fourth Month, when the excitement of the
Kamo festival had passed, he set out once again for Uji. He inspected the
building and gave appropriate orders, and, thinking it would be unkind not
to visit the "rotting, ivy-covered tree" while he was on the precincts, he
made his way to the nun's quarters. A procession of some dignity was just
then coming across the bridge: a modest woman's carriage guarded by a
band of rough East Country soldiers with quivers at their hips, and at-
tended by a considerable number of servants. Some provincial lady or
other, he said to himself as he started inside. His men were noisily making
<P 932>
their way through the gate when it became apparent that the other proces-
sion was coming to the villa. Quieting his men, Kaoru sent to ask who they
might be.
The answer came in rustic accents: "Our lady's the daughter of the old
governor of Hitachi. She's been to the temple at Hatsuse. We put up here
on the way out too."
Well, now: this was someone of whom he had had news! He ordered
his men to take cover.
"Please bring her carriage in," he sent by messenger. "There is some-
one else staying here, but he is over in the north wing."
His men were in travel dress not notable for its finery. The newcomers
seemed ill at ease all the same, apparently sensing that the guest was of
high rank. Leading their horses aside, they stood at rigid attention. The
carriage was pulled up at the west end of a gallery joining the main hall
to an outbuilding. The house was without blinds, quite exposed to the
public gaze. Kaoru took up his position in a room with lowered shutters,
and a search revealed a convenient aperture in one of the doors to the
east. To guard against tell-tale rustling, he stripped down to a singlet and
trousers.
The lady was reluctant to leave her carriage. She sent to inquire of the
nun who this apparently well-placed guest might be. But Kaoru had said
that his identity was under no circumstances to be revealed.
"Please do come in," said a servant who knew what was expected of
him. "We do have a guest, but he is in another part of the house."
A young woman climbed out and turned to raise the carriage blinds.
She was far less countrified than the guards. Then came an older woman.
"Be quick about it, please, if you will," she said to her mistress.
"But I have a feeling I'm being watched." The low voice suggested
considerable refinement.
"There you go again. Always imagining things." The woman seemed
very confident of herself. "You remember perfectly well that the shutters
were down the last time too. And where would anyone be watching
from?"
Hesitantly, the lady came out. The hair and the shape of the head, the
bearing of the slight little figure, added to the impression of good breeding
--and reminded him astonishingly of Oigimi. His heart raced with longing
to see her face, which was hidden behind a fan. The carriage, a high one,
had been stopped at a hollow in the ground. The other two women had
jumped down with agility, but their mistress seemed afraid. Hesitantly,
she at length climbed down and made her way inside. She had on a robe
of deep red, and over it a cloak that seemed to be of pink lined in lavender,
with another cloak, of pale green, showing beneath. A screen four feet or
<P 933 >
so high had been spread against the door through which Kaoru was watch-
ing, but he had a clear view, the aperture being yet higher. The lady seated
herself beside an armrest. She was evidently suspicious of these doors, for
her face was turned carefully away.
"You've had a hard day. Wasn't the Kizu awful?"
"It was so much lower when we crossed last spring. But this is nothing
compared to the roads in the east."
The two women showed no sign of fatigue. Their mistress had lain
down, in silence. The arm upon which she rested her head was plump and
pretty. Such a charming girl, one knew, could not have been sired by a boor
like the governor of Hitachi. Kaoru's back was beginning to ache, but he
stood motionless, lest they sense his presence.
"What a fine smell," said the younger woman. "Some high-class
incense, I imagine. Something the nun will be burning, maybe?"
"A really fine smell. These ladies from the capital go on being all
elegant and stylish even when they run off to the mountains. The gover-
nor's lady was pretty pleased with herself when it came to perfumes and
such, but way off there in the east what chance did she have of putting
together a smell like this one? You can say it's a nunnery if you want, but
<P 934>
I say she does pretty well for herself. Quality shows through even when
you have to stick to blues and grays."
A girl came in from the veranda beyond. "Something that might make
your lady feel better," she said. Boxes were brought in one after another.
"Do have some of this," said the women, pressing sweets upon their
mistress.
She did not open her eyes, however, and so the two of them, with loud
crunches, commenced devouring chestnuts or something of the sort. It was
a noise he was not used to, and it bothered him. He drew away from the
door. But again and again he came back. How strange that he should be
