An officer in the guards division of which Higekuro was the com-
mander, Kashiwagi was constantly being summoned for solemn confer-
ences and had presented Higekuro's suit to To~ no Chu~jo~. Higekuro was a
man of the finest character, certain to become one of the most important
statesmen in the land. Though To~ no Chu~jo~ did not think that Tamakazura
was likely to do better, he would defer to Genji's wishes. Genji must have
his reasons, some of them, perhaps, of a highly personal nature.
Higekuro was the crown prince's maternal uncle, lower in the royal
esteem only than Genji and To~ no Chu~jo~. In his early thirties, he was
married to the eldest daughter of Prince Hyo~bu and so was Murasaki's
brother-in-law. It need not have been cause for embarrassment that his
wife was three or four years his senior, but for some reason he had never
<P 489>
been really fond of her. He called her "the old woman" and would have
been happy enough to divorce her. It was for this reason, perhaps, that
Genji did not welcome his suit and thought that Tamakazura would be
making a mistake to encourage it. Higekuro was not of an amorous nature
and no scandal had been associated with his name; but now he had lost
his senses over Tamakazura. To~ no Chu~jo~ did not think him at all beneath
contempt and Tamakazura did not seem enthusiastic about going to court.
Higekuro had a good informant who kept him apprised of these matters
in considerable detail.
"Genji does not seem to like me," he said to Bennomoto, one of her
women, who had become his agent. "We must see that the wishes of her
real father are respected."
<N 7>
The Ninth Month came. On that magically beautiful morning of the
first frost the usual notes were brought in by the usual women, messengers
for her several suitors. She had them read to her.
This one was from Higekuro:
"Hateful the Long Month to those who are sure of themselves.
I hang, as if for my life, on each fleeting day.
<P 490>
"The days upon which I had fastened my hopes pass in empty futility
and the autumn skies bring the most intense anxiety."
He thus made it clear that he was keeping himself well informed.
Anasthis from Prince Hotaru: "There is no point in questioning a firm
and final decision, and yet,
"Warm though it be in the radiant morning sun,
Let the jeweled bamboo not forget the frost beneath.
"A word of reassurance and understanding would suffice to quiet the
turmoil of my thoughts."
It was attached to a sprig of bamboo curled by the frost which still
lay upon it. The choice of a messenger had been as careful.
Murasaki had a brother who held a guards commission. On friendly
terms with the Rokujo~ house, he too had informed himself well of
Tamakazura's affairs and was much disappointed by the turn they were
taking. Among his rather lengthy complaints was this poem:
"Difficult it is to try to forget.
What shall I do about you, about myself?"
Each of these several notes was superior in all of its details, the color
of the paper, the perfume that had been burned into it, the modulations
of the ink. Such gentlemen, said her women, must be kept interested.
ck Whatever she may have had in mind, Tamakazura replied briefly to
Prince Hotaru's letter only.
"Not the sunflower, choosing to follow the sun,
Forgets so soon the morning frost beneath."
The faint, delicate hand quite fascinated him. Though as fragile as the
dew, it was at least favorable notice.
There is nothing further to record, save that the complaining went on.
And, one is told, both ministers, her real father and her foster father,
thought her behavior a model which other ladies would do well to imitate.
<W Murasaki Shikibu>{Translated by Edward G.Seidensticker}
<T The Tale of Genji>
<K 3>
<C 31>{The Cypress Pillar}
<N 1>
<P 491>
"I dread having His Majesty hear of it," said Genji. "Suppose we try to
keep it secret for a while."
But the gentleman in question was not up to such restraint. Though
several days had passed since the successful conclusion to his suit,
Tamakazura did not seem happy with him, and it pained him to note that
she still seemed to think her lot a sad one. Yet he could tell himself that
the bond between them had been tied in a former life, and he shuddered
to think how easily a lady who more nearly approached his ideal each time
he saw her might have gone to another. He must offer thanks to Ben-
nomoto even as to the Buddha of Ishiyama. Bennomoto had so incurred
the displeasure of her lady that she had withdrawn to the privacy of her
room; and it must indeed have been through the intervention of the
Buddha that, having made so many men unhappy, the lady had gone to
a man for whom she had no great affection.
Genji too was unhappy. He was sorry that she had done as she had,
but of course helpless to change things. Since everyone had apparently
acquiesced in the match, he would only be insulting Higekuro if at this late
date he gave any sign of disapproval. He personally saw to arrangements
for the nuptials, which were magnificent.
<N 2>
Higekuro wanted to take her home with him as soon as possible. Genji
<P 492>
suggested, however, that haste might seem to show an inadequate regard
for her rank and position, and pointed out that a lady who could hardly
be expected to give her a warm welcome was already in residence there.
"Tact and deliberation are called for if you are to escape the re-
proaches of the world."
"It is perhaps after all the less difficult course," To~ no Chu~jo~ was
meanwhile saying to himself. "I had had misgivings about sending her to
court. A lady without the support of influential relatives can have a diffi-
cult time in competition for the royal affections. I would have wanted to
help her, of course, but what could I have done with another daughter
there ahead of her?"
And indeed it would have been unkind to send her to court when the
prospect was that she would join the ranks of lesser ladies and see the
emperor infrequently.
To~ no Chu~jo~ was most pleased with the reports he had of the third-
night ceremonies.
Though no formal announcement was made, the marriage was the talk
of the day.
The emperor heard of it. "A pity. But she seems to have been meant
for him. She does still seem to be interested in her work. Perhaps if I make
it clear that I have no personal designs upon her--"
<N 3>
It was now the Eleventh Month, a time of Shinto festivals, which kept
her busy. She had offices at Rokujo~, where she was visited by a steady
stream of chamberlains and ladies-in-waiting. His Excellency the gen-
eral, hoping that he was not making a nuisance of himself, spent his days
with her. She did in fact think him rather a nuisance.
Prince Hotaru and her other suitors were of course unhappy. Murasa-
ki's brother was the unhappiest of all, for the gossips were having mali-
cious fun over the affairs of another sister, Higekuro's wife. But he told
himself that a confrontation with Higekuro would do him no good.
Higekuro had been offered as a model of sobriety, a man who had not
been known to lose his head over a woman. Now see him, delirious with
joy, a changed man! Stealing in and out of Tamakazura's rooms in the
evening and morning twilight, he was the very model of youthful infatua-
tion. The women were vastly amused.
There was little sign these days of Tamakazura's essentially cheerful
nature. She had withdrawn into a brooding silence and seemed intent on
making it clear to the world that her husband had not been her first choice.
What would Genji be thinking of it all? And Prince Hotaru, who had been
so friendly and attentive? She had never shown much warmth toward
Higekuro, and in that regard she had not changed.
Genji stood acquitted of the charges that had been leveled against
him. Reviewing the record, he could tell himself that he had shown very
little interest, really, in amorous dalliance.
<P 493>
"You did not have enough faith in me," he said to Murasaki.
It would invite a proper scandal if now he were to surrender to temp-
tation. There had been times when he had thought he would do anything
to have the girl, and it was not easy to give her up.
<N 4>
He called on her one day when Higekuro was out. So despondent that
she was feeling physically ill, she did not want to see him. Half concealed
behind curtains, she sought to compose herself for an interview. Genji
addressed her most ceremoniously and they talked for a time of things that
did not greatly interest them. The company of a plainer sort of man made
her see more than ever what a surpassingly handsome and elegant man
Genji was. Yes, her lot had been and continued to be a sad one. She was
in tears, which she sought to hide from him.
As the conversation moved to more intimate topics he leaned forward
and looked through an opening in the curtains. She was more beautiful,
he thought, for being thinner. It had been very careless of him to let her
go.
"I made no move myself to try the river,
But I did not think to see you cross with another.
"It is too unbelievably strange." He brushed away a tear.
She turned away and hid her face.
"I wish I might vanish as foam on a river of tears.
Before I come to the river Mitsuse."
"Not the river I would choose myself," he said, smiling. "There is no
detour around the other, I am told, and I had hoped that I might take you
gently by the hand and help you. I am joking, but I am sure that you now
see the truth. Few men can have been as harmlessly silly as I was. I think
you see, and I take comfort in the thought."
He changed the subject, fearing that she saw all too well. "It is sad that
His Majesty should still be asking for you. Perhaps you should make a
brief appearance at court. The general seems to think you his property, to
do with as he pleases, and so I suppose it will not be possible to put you
in the royal service. Things have not turned out quite as I had hoped. His
Lordship at Nijo~ seems satisfied, however, and that is the important
thing."
He said much that amused her and also embarrassed her. She could
only listen. He was sorry for her, and gave no hint of the improper designs
which he had not quite put aside. He offered many helpful suggestions for
her work at court. It seemed that he did not want her to go immediately
to Higekuro's house.
<N 5>
Higekuro was not pleased at the thought of having her in court ser-
<P 494>
vice. Then it occurred to him, though such deviousness went against his
nature, that a brief appearance at court might be just what he wanted. He
could take her from the palace to his house. He set about redecorating it
and restoring rooms that had been allowed to decay and gather dust over
the years. He was quite indifferent to the effect of all this activity upon
his wife, and thought nothing at all of the effect on his dear children. A
man of feeling and sensitivity thinks first of others, but he was an obsti-
nate, unswerving sort of man, whose aggressiveness was constantly giving
offense. His wife was not a woman to be made light of. She was the
pampered daughter of a royal prince, comely and well thought of. For some
years a malign and strangely tenacious power had made her behavior
eccentric in the extreme and not infrequently violent. Though he no longer
had much affection for her, he still considered her his principal wife,
unchallenged in her claim to that position. Now, suddenly, there was
another lady, superior in every respect. More to the point, the shadows and
suspicions surrounding this second lady had been dispelled. She had
become a perfectly adequate object for his affections, which were stronger
every day.
<N 6>
"And so you are to live miserably off in a corner of the house," said
Prince Hyo~bu, her father, "while a fashionable young lady takes over the
rest? What will people say when they hear of that arrangement? No. While
I am alive I will not permit them to laugh at you."
He had redecorated the east wing of his house and wanted her to come
home immediately. The thought of going as a discarded wife so distressed
her that the fits of madness became more frequent. She took to her bed.
She was of a quiet, pleasant nature, almost childishly docile and amiable
in her saner moments, and people would have enjoyed her company if it
had not been for her great disability. Because of it she had so neglected
herself that she could hardly expect to please a man who was used to the
best. Yet they had been together for many years and he would be sorry
in spite of everything to have her go.
<N 7>
"People of taste and sensibility see even their casual affairs through
to a proper conclusion. You have not been well, and I have not wanted to
bring the matter up--but you should give a thought to the promises we
made. We meant them to last, I think. I have put up with your rather
unusual illness for a very long time and I have meant to take care of you
to the end, and now it seems that you are prepared to forestall me. You
must think of the children, and you could think of me too. I doubt very
much that I have behaved improperly. You are emotional, as all women
are, and you are angry with me. It is quite understandable that you should
be. You cannot of course know my real feelings and intentions. But do
please reserve judgment for a little while longer. Your father is being rash
and reckless, taking you off the minute he hears that something is wrong.
Of course I cannot be sure whether he is serious or whether he wants to
