not, as mother of the crown prince, be ignored. They had a long talk about
old times. The Suzaku emperor offered good advice on the management
of public affairs when presently his son's time on the throne should begin.
The crown prince was a sober, mature young man and his mother's family
was powerful. So far as his affairs were concerned, the Suzaku emperor
could retire with no worries.
"It is your sisters. I fear I must worry about them to the end. I have
heard, and thought it a great pity, that women are shallow, careless crea-
tures who are not always treated with complete respect. Please do not
forget your sisters. Be good to them when your day comes. Some of them
have reliable enough sponsors. But the Third Princess--it is she I worry
about. She is very young and she has been completely dependent on me.
And now I am abandoning her." He brushed away a tear. "What will
happen to the poor child?''
He also asked the crown prince's mother to be good to her. He had
been rather less fond of her than of the Third Princess's mother, however,
and there had been resentments and jealousies back in the days when his
several ladies were competing for his attention. Though he surmised that
no very deep rancor persisted, he knew that he could not expect her to
trouble herself greatly in the Third Princess's behalf.
<N 3>
Seriously ill as the New Year approached, he no longer ventured from
behind his curtains. He had had similar attacks before, but they had not
been so frequent or stubborn. He feared that the end might be near. It was
true that he had left the throne, but he continued to be of service to the
people he had once favored, and their regrets were genuine. Genji made
frequent inquiries, and, to the sick man's very great pleasure, proposed a
visit.
Yu~giri came with the news and was invited behind the royal curtains
for an intimate talk.
"During his last illness Father gave me all manner of advice and
instructions. He seemed to worry most about your father and about the
<P 539>
present emperor. There is a limit, I fear, to what a reigning monarch can
do. My affection for your father continued to be as it had always been, but
a silly little incident provoked me to behavior which I fear he has not been
able to forgive. But I only suspect this to be the case. He has not through
all the long years let slip a single word of bitterness. In happier times than
these the wisest of men have sometimes let personal grievances affect their
impartiality and cloud their judgment until a wish to even scores has lured
them from the straight way of justice. People have watched him carefully,
wondering when his bitterness might lead him similarly astray, but not for
a moment has he ever lost control of himself. It would seem that he has
the warmest feelings towards the crown prince. Nothing could please me
more than the new bond between them. I am not a clever man, and we
all know what happens to a father when he starts thinking about his
children. I have rather withdrawn from the crown prince's affairs, not
wanting to make a fool of myself, and left them to your father.
"I do not think that I went against Father's wishes in my behavior
towards the emperor, whose radiance will shine through the ages and
perhaps make future generations overlook my own misrule. I am satisfied.
When I saw your father last autumn a flood of memories came back. It
would please me enormously if I might see him again. We have innumera-
ble things to talk about." There were tears in his eyes. "Do insist that he
come."
"I fear that I am not as well informed as I might be on what happened
long ago, but since I have been old enough to be of some service I have
tried this way and that to inform myself in the ways of the world. Father
and I sometimes have a good talk about important things and about
trivialities as well, but I may assure you that I have not once heard him
suggest that he was a victim of injustice. I have occasionally heard him say
that since he retired from immediate service to the emperor and turned to
the quiet pursuits he has always enjoyed most, he has become rather
self-centered and has not been at all faithful to the wishes of your royal
father. While Your Majesty was on the throne he was still young and
inexperienced, he has said, and there were many more eminent and tal-
ented men than he, and so his accomplishments fell far short of his hopes.
Now that he has withdrawn from public affairs he would like nothing
better than a free and open interview with Your Majesty. Unfortunately
his position makes it difficult for him to move about, and so time has gone
by and he has neglected you sadly."
Not yet twenty, Yu~giri was in the full bloom of youth, a very hand-
some boy indeed. The Suzaku emperor looked at him thoughtfully, won-
dering whether he might not offer a solution to the problem of the Third
Princess.
"They tell me that you are now a member of the chancellor's family.
It worried me to see the matter so long in abeyance, and I was enormously
<P 540>
relieved at news of your marriage. And yet it would be less than candid
of me not to acknowledge that I felt certain regrets at the same time."
What could this mean? Then Yu~giri remembered rumors about the
Suzaku emperor's concern for the Third Princess, and his wish to find a
good husband for her before he took holy orders.
But to let it appear that he had guessed with no trouble at all might
not be good manners. "I am not much of a prize," he said as he took his
leave, "and I fear that I was not very eagerly sought after."
The women of the house had all gathered for a look at him.
"What a marvelous young man. And see how beautifully he carries
himself."
This sort of thing from the younger ones. The older ones were not so
sure. "You should have seen his father when he was that age. He was so
handsome that he left you quite giddy."
The Suzaku emperor overheard them. "Yes, Genji was unique. But
why do you say 'that age'? He has only improved as the years have gone
by. I often say to myself that the word 'radiant' was invented especially
for him. In grand matters of public policy we all fall silent when he speaks,
but he has another side too, a gentle sense of humor that is irresistible.
<P 541>
There is no one quite like him. I sometimes wonder what he can have been
in his other lives. He grew up at court and he was our father's favorite, the
joy and treasure of his life. Yet he was always a model of quiet restraint.
When he turned twenty, I seem to remember, he was not yet even a middle
councillor. The next year he became councillor and general. The fact that
his son has advanced more rapidly is evidence, I should think, that the
family is well thought of. Yu~giri's advice in official matters has always
been careful and solid. I may be mistaken, but I doubt that he does less
well in that respect than his father."
<N 4>
The Third Princess was a pretty little thing, still very young in her
ways and very innocent. "How nice," said the Suzaku emperor, "if we
could find a good, dependable man to look after you. Someone who would
see to your education too. There are so many things you need to know."
He summoned her nurses and her more knowledgeable attendants for
a conference about the initiation ceremonies. "It would be quite the best
thing if someone could be persuaded to do for her what Genji did for
Prince Hyo~bu's daughter. I can think of no one in active court service. His
Majesty has the empress, and his other ladies are all so very well favored
that I would fear for her in the competition and worry about her lack of
adequate support. I really should have dropped a hint or two while Yu~giri
was still single. He is young but extremely gifted, and he would seem to
have a brilliant future."
"But he is such a steady, proper young man. Through all those years
he thought only of the girl who is now his wife, and nothing could pull
him away from her. He will doubtless be even more unbudgeable now that
they are married. I should think that the chances might be better with his
father. It would seem that Genji still has the old acquisitive instincts and
that he is always on the alert for ladies of really good pedigree. I am told
that he still thinks of the former high priestess of Kamo and sometimes
gets off a letter to her."
"But that is exactly what worries me--his eagerness for the hunt."
Yet it would seem that the Suzaku emperor's thoughts were running
in much the same direction. There might be unpleasantness of some de-
scription, since there were all those other ladies; but he could do worse
than ask that Genji take in the Third Princess much as he might have
brought home a daughter.
"I'm sure that everyone with a marriageable daughter has the same
thought, that when all is said and done Genji would not be a bad son-in-
law. Life is short and a man wants to do what he can with it. If I had been
born a woman I suspect I might have been drawn to him in a not too
sisterly fashion. I used to think so when we were boys, and I have never
been surprised at all when I have seen a lady losing her senses over him."
It may have been that he was thinking of his own Oborozukiyo.
<N 5>
Among the princess's nurses was a woman of good family whose elder
brother was a moderator of the middle rank. He had long been among
<P 542>
Genji's more trusted followers and he had been of good service to the Third
Princess as well. One day when he was with her his sister told him of the
Suzaku emperor's remarks.
"Perhaps you might find occasion to speak to His Lordship. It is a
common enough thing for princesses to remain single, but it is good all the
same when one of them finds a man who is fond of her and will look after
her. My poor lady, only her father really cares about her. Except for us,
of course--and what can _we_ do? As a matter of fact, I would feel better if
I were the only one concerned. There are other women with her, and one
of them could easily bring about her ruin. It would be an enormous relief
if something could be arranged while her father is still with us. Even a
princess may be fated for unhappy things, and I do worry most inordi-
nately. There are jealousies because she is her father's favorite. I only wish
it were in my power to protect her."
"Genji is a more reliable man than you would imagine. When he has
had an affair, even the most lighthearted sort of adventure, he ends up by
taking the lady in and making her one of his own. The result is that he
has a large collection. But no man can distribute his affections indefinitely,
and it would seem that there is one lady who dominates them. I should
imagine, though I cannot be sure, that there are numbers of ladies who feel
rather neglected as a result. But if it should be the princess's fate to marry
him, I doubt that the one lady need be a dangerous threat to her. I must
admit all the same that I have misgivings. I have heard him say, without
making a great point of it, that his life has been too well favored in an
otherwise poorly favored day, and that it would be greedy and arrogant
of him to want more, but that he himself and others too have thought that
in his relations with women he has not been completely successful. I think
I can see what he means. Not one of his ladies need be ashamed of her
family, and not one of them is of really the very best. They are all in some
measure his inferior. I should think that your lady might be exactly what
is needed."
The nurse found occasion to speak of these matters to the Suzaku
emperor. "My brother says that His Lordship at Rokujo~ would without
question be friendly to a proposal from Your Majesty. He would see in it
the fulfillment of all his wishes. With Your Majesty's concurrence my
brother would be happy to transmit a proposal. Yet we have misgivings.
His Lordship is very kind to them all, after their various stations, but even
a commoner who does not have her royal dignity to worry about finds it
unpleasant to be one of many wives. I wonder if the strain on my lady
might not perhaps be too much. I gather that she has other suitors. I hope
that Your Majesty will consider all the possibilities very carefully before
coming to a decision. Ladies tend these days to think first about their own
convenience and to be indifferent to the claims of high birth. My own lady
is really so very innocent and inexperienced, astonishingly so, indeed, and
there is a limit to what we others can do for her. When we are conscien-
<P 543>
tious we do our work under direction, and we find ourselves helpless if it
begins to weaken."
<N 6>
"I have worried a great deal, and think I am aware of all the arguments
and considerations. It may be the more prudent course for a princess to
remain single. The claims of birth cannot be relied upon to protect a
marriage from bitterness and unhappiness. They are certain to come. And
on the other hand there are unmarried princesses who suddenly find them-
selves alone in the world, quite without protection. In the old days people
were diffident and respectful and would not have dreamed of violating the
proprieties, but in our own day the most determined and purposeful lady
cannot be sure that she is not going to be insulted. Such, in any event, has
been the purport of the various discussions I have overheard. A lady who
was until yesterday guarded by worthy and influential parents today finds
herself involved in a scandal with an adventurer of no standing at all and
brings dishonor upon her dead parents. Such instances are constantly
coming to my attention. And so there are arguments on both sides. The
