<P 472>
empty complaining of a dotard, but to Genji they seemed genuine. He was
deeply moved.
<N 6>
They talked of many things, ancient and recent.
"I suppose your son comes to see you every day. It would please me
enormously if he were to come today. There is something I have been
wanting to speak to him about, but it is not easy to arrange a meeting when
I do not have important business."
"I do not see a great deal of him, I fear, perhaps because he does not
have an overwhelming sense of filial duty. What might you wish to speak
to him about? Yu~giri has his just grievances. I say to my son that however
matters may once have been, rumors that have escaped do not come
meekly home again. Nothing is to be gained at this late date by keeping
the two apart. The end result could be to make us all look ridiculous. But
he has never been an easy man to talk to, and I am by no means sure that
he sees the point."
Genji smiled. She always thought first of Yu~giri. "But I had heard that
your good son was prepared to accept the facts. I made bold to drop a few
hints of my own, and afterwards rather wished that I hadn't, because they
only got the boy a scolding. Things eventually come out clean in the wash,
they say, and I have wondered why he has not seen fit to let the water do
its work. But of course that is not entirely true. There are things that no
amount of laundering does much for. They get worse the longer you wait.
I am sorry for the damage that has already been done.
"But as a matter of fact," he said, turning to his main business. "As
a matter of fact, there is a girl who should have been his responsibility but
who quite by accident has become mine. I did not at first know the truth
and I was not as diligent as I might have been in seeking it out. Having
so few children of my own, I convinced the girl in question that it need
make no difference if she thought of herself as one of them. I did not try
as hard as I might have to make her feel like one of the family, and time
passed. Then one day--I cannot think how he heard about her--there was
a summons from His Majesty.
"He told me very confidentially that he was concerned about the inner
palace. If the ladies' apartments do not have a competent wardress the
ladies are left without proper guidance. There are two elderly assistant
wardresses and there are other candidates as well, all of them most eagerly
desiring the appointment, but His Majesty is not enthusiastic about any
of them. It has been the practice to appoint someone of good birth who
is not unduly encumbered by family problems. He could, he said, consider
intelligence and attainments and promote someone who has served long
and faithfully, but in the absence of remarkable promise he would prefer
a younger lady who is beginning to attract favorable notice.
"I thought immediately of the young lady I have mentioned, and
wondered how your son would feel about proposing her as a candidate.
Ladies who go to court, whatever their rank, find themselves in competi-
<P 473>
tion for His Majesty's affection, and the more prosaic work of seeing that
the palace continues to function does not seem very attractive or challeng-
ing. But I have come to think myself that whether it is or is not depends
on the lady whose responsibility it is. Having made further inquiry about
the lady I had taken under my protection, I had concluded that her age
identified her as someone who should more properly be under your son's
protection. I would like to discuss the matter quite frankly with him. I do
not want anything as grand as a formal conference. I hoped I had found
the occasion for informing him, but when I wrote inviting him to be
present he was not enthusiastic and wrote back that your illness made it
necessary for him to decline. I had to agree that my timing was less than
ideal. But now I see that you are not as ill as my informant had led me to
fear, and so I think I must insist. Could you so inform him, please?"
"How very interesting, and how very unlikely. I know that he has
been rather indiscriminately collecting children who have claimed to be
his. It is astonishing that this one went to the wrong father. Was she herself
misinformed?"
"There is an explanation. I am sure that he will be familiar with the
details. It is the sort of thing that happens in the untidy lives of the lower
classes and is always being talked about. I have not told even Yu~giri. I hope
that you will be as careful as I have been."
<N 7>
To~ no Chu~jo~ heard with surprise of Genji's visit. "But they have far
too few people at Sanjo~ to receive such a guest. Who will be looking after
his man and seeing that he is properly entertained himself? I imagine
Yu~giri will be with him." He immediately sent off a few sons and several
of their friends. "I ought to go myself, but I would not want to make too
elaborate an affair of it."
A letter came from Princess Omiya. "The Rokujo~ minister has been
kind enough to inquire after my health. We are badly understaffed and
cannot be making a good impression. Do you suppose I might ask you to
come, as quietly as possible, without having it seem that I sent for you?
He has said that there is something he wishes to speak to you about."
What would it be? Yet more about Yu~giri? Princess Omiya did not
have much longer to live and was making strong pleas in Yu~giri's behalf.
If Genji were to lodge a protest To~ no Chu~jo~ would have great trouble
turning it away. To~ no Chu~jo~ had been thinking how unfortunate it would
be to learn at this late date that Yu~giri's ardor had died. He must find an
occasion to let it be known that he might consider acceding to the young
people's wishes. If Genji and the princess were in collusion he would have
very great trouble answering their arguments. He was a stubborn man,
however, and a rather perverse man as well, and he did not want to
surrender without a fight.
His mother had sent for him, and Genji would be waiting. He did not
want to offend either of them. He would see what they had to say. He
dressed very carefully and ordered a modest retinue,<N 8> and presented a very
<P 474>
grand figure as he set forth surrounded by sons. He was tall and strongly
built and carried himself with magisterial dignity. In purple trousers sur-
mounted by a very long train of white lined with red, he might almost have
been accused of overdressing. By contrast, the easy informality of Genji's
dress, a robe of white Chinese brocade lined with red over several red
singlets, suggested a prince who has ample time to cultivate his sensibili-
ties. It might have been said that Genji had the finer material to work with
and To~ no Chu~jo~ worked harder with what he had.
His sons were also very handsome. He had two brothers with him,
men of considerable eminence, a grand councillor and a chamberlain to the
crown prince. Though he did not wish to seem ostentatious, he had in his
retinue upwards of ten middle-ranking courtiers of unexceptionable name
and family and very good taste, including two privy secretaries, two guards
officers, and a moderator, and there were lesser courtiers in large numbers.
The wine flowed freely and pleasant intoxication was general, and the
talk was of what a fortunate lady the old princess was.
<N 9>
It was also of course reminiscent, for Genji and To~ no Chu~jo~ had not
met in a very long time. When they did not see each other they were
always finding themselves at odds over things that did not matter, but
when they were together all the solid reasons for friendship reasserted
themselves. They talked of happenings old and recent, and presently it was
evening. To~ no Chu~jo~ continued to press wine on his mother's guests.
"I have hesitated to visit Mother without an invitation. And what
would you have said if I had known you were here and not come?"
"Nothing at all, except to apologize for my own remissness--though
I have at times, you know, had reason to be annoyed with you."
The troublesome matter of the younger generation, thought To~ no
Chu~jo~, retreating into polite silence.
"In the old days," said Genji, "I never felt comfortable unless I had
your opinion on every matter, public and private, large and small, and the
two of us in His Majesty's service seemed like two wings serving one bird.
As the years went by there were from time to time things that rather went
against my wishes. They were private. In matters of public policy I have
never doubted our being on the same side, and I do not doubt it now. I
find my thoughts turning more to the past, and I also find that we see less
and less of each other. It is entirely proper that you should stand on the
dignity of your office, and yet I do sometimes wish that in private matters
ceremony might be dispensed with. There have been times when I have
wished that you might come calling."
"Yes, it is as you say. In the old days you must have thought it
ill-mannered and inconsiderate of me to make such demands on your time.
I had no secrets from you and I profited enormously from your advice. You
<P 475>
praise me too highly when you suggest that I have ever performed as your
companion wing. I have made use of your enormous abilities to support
my own inadequate ones and so I have been privileged to be of service to
His Majesty. You must not for a moment think that I am ungrateful. But
it is once again as you say: we see far too little of each other."
Genji presently found a chance to turn to his main subject.
"How perfectly extraordinary." To~ no Chu~jo~ was in tears. "I believe
that my feelings once got the better of me and I told you of my search for
the girl. As I have risen to my modest position in the world I have gathered
my stupid daughters around me, not omitting the least-favored of them.
They have found ways to make themselves known. And when I think of
the lost ones, it is she who comes first to mind."
they remembered the confessions made and the conclusions
reached that rainy night, they laughed and wept and the earlier stiffness
disappeared. It was very late when they went their separate ways.
"The sight of you brings fond memories," said Genji, "and I do not
at all want to leave." It was not like him to weep so easily. Perhaps he had
had too much to drink.
Princess Omiya was weeping copiously. The sight of Genji, so much
<P 476>
handsomer and grander than in the old years, made her think of her late
daughter. It does seem to be true that a nun's habit and briny waters have
an affinity for each other.
Genji let the opportunity pass to touch upon Yu~giri's affairs. It would
have been in bad taste to introduce so clear a case of injustice on To~ no
Chu~jo~'s part, and To~ no Chu~jo~ himself thought the matter one for Genji
to bring up. And so the tension between them was not after all completely
dispelled.
"I know that I should see you home," said To~ no Chu~jo~, "but you gave
me such short notice, and I would not want to attract attention. I will call
on you soon to tell you again how grateful I am for this visit."
Genji replied that it had been a joy to find Omiya less ill than he had
feared and that he would hold To~ no Chu~jo~ most firmly to his engagement
to bestow the ceremonial train.
They parted in the best of spirits, on the surface at least. Their retinues
were very grand. The various sons and brothers in attendance would have
liked very much to know what had been discussed. Both Genji and To~ no
Chu~jo~ seemed happy with the discussion, and so who might be expected
to resign what office now, and in favor of whom? No one suspected what
had in fact been the reason for the meeting.
To~ no Chu~jo~ was badly unsettled. There were difficulties in the way
of taking Tamakazura into his house immediately. It seemed highly un-
likely, everything considered, that Genji had sought the girl out and
brought her into his house and then left her quite untouched. Out of
regard for his other ladies, Genji had probably refrained from adding her
openly and formally to the company. Probably he was finding the clandes-
tine affair unmanageable and was worried about gossip, and so had chosen
to let To~ no Chu~jo~ in on the secret. It was a pity, of course, but the girl's
reputation need not be thought irreparably damaged. People could hardly
criticize To~ no Chu~jo~ if he were to let Genji keep her. Genji's suggestion
that she be sent to court opened the possibility of unpleasantness for the
sister already there. But be would respect Genji's wishes, whatever Genji
decided to do.
The meeting just described took place early in the Second Month. The
sixteenth, at the beginning of the equinoctial services, was found to be
a propitious day for initiation ceremonies. The soothsayers advised indeed
that no better day would come for some time, and Princess Omiya's illness
did not at the moment seem serious.
In the course of the preparations Genji told Tamakazura in great detail
of his conversation with her father. Genji's kindness could not have been
greater, she thought, if he had been her father, and at the same time she
was delighted at the prospect of meeting her real father.
Genji took Yu~giri into his confidence. The pieces fell into place, num-
<P 477>
bers of puzzles were solved. Yu~giri now thought Tamakazura in pleasing
contrast to the cold lady upon whom he had set his affections, and he
thought himself very obtuse for not having guessed earlier. He was an
honest and sensible boy, and he told himself that the possibilities intro-
duced by the new situation must be dismissed from his mind.
On the day of the ceremony a secret messenger arrived bringing gifts
