Kojiju~ thought him a very moody young man indeed.
Choosing a time when the princess had few people with her, she
delivered the note. "He seems a rather sticky sort," she smiled. "I do not
know why I take him seriously."
"Aren't you funny," said the princess, glancing at the note, which
Kojiju~ had opened for her.
Immediately recognizing the allusion and the incident upon which it
was based, she flushed scarlet. And she thought of something else, how
Genji was always reproving her for just such carelessness.
"You must not let Yu~giri see you," he would say. "You are very young
and you may not pay a great deal of attention to these things. But you
really should."
She was terrified. Had Yu~giri seen and told Genji? Would Genji scold
her? She was indeed a child, that fear of Genji should come first.
Finding her lady even more unresponsive than usual, Kojiju~ did not
press the matter. When she was alone she got off the usual sort of answer
in a flowing, casual hand.
"Away you went, so very coolly. I was incensed. And what do you
mean by suggesting that you see poorly? These innuendos are almost
insulting.
"Do not let it be known, I pray of you,
That your eye has fallen on the mountain cherry.
"It will never do, never."
<W Murasaki Shikibu>{Translated by Edward G.Seidensticker}
<T The Tale of Genji>
<K 4>
<C 35>{New Herbs}
<N 1>
<P 587>
Kojiju~'s answer was not unreasonable, and yet it seemed rather
brusque. Was there to be nothing more? Might he not hope for some word
from the princess herself? He seemed in danger of doing grave disservice
to Genji, whom he so liked and admired.
<N 2>
On the last day of the Third Month there was a large gathering at the
Rokujo~ mansion. Kashiwagi did not want to attend, but presently decided
that he might feel a little less gloomy under the blossoms where the Third
Princess lived. There was to have been an archery meet in the Second
Month, but it had been canceled, and in the Third Month the court was
in retreat. Everyone was always delighted to hear that something was
happening at Rokujo~. The two generals, Higekuro and Yu~giri, were of
course present, both of them being very close to the Rokujo~ house, and all
their subordinates were to be present as well. It had been announced as a
competition at kneeling archery, but events in standing archery were also
included, so that several masters of the sport who were to be among the
competitors might show their skills. The bowmen were assigned by lot to
the fore and after sides. Evening came, and the last of the spring mists
seemed somehow to resent it. A pleasant breeze made the guests even more
reluctant to leave the shade of the blossoms. It may have been that a few
of them had had too much to drink.
"Very fine prizes," said someone. "They show so nicely the tastes of
<P 588>
the ladies who chose them. And who really wants to see a soldier battering
a willow branch with a hundred arrows in a row? We much prefer a
mannerly meet of the sort we are here being treated to."
The two generals, Higekuro and Yu~giri, joined the other officers in the
archery court. Kashiwagi seemed very thoughtful as he took up his bow.
Yu~giri noticed and was worried. He could not, he feared, tell himself that
the matter did not concern him. He and Kashiwagi were close friends, alive
to each other's moods as friends seldom are. One of them knew immedi-
ately when the smallest shadow had crossed the other's spirits.
Kashiwagi was afraid to look at Genji. He knew that he was thinking
forbidden thoughts. He was always concerned to behave with complete
correctness and much worried about appearances. What then was he to
make of so monstrous a thing as this? He thought of the princess's cat and
suddenly longed to have it for himself. He could not share his unhappiness
with it, perhaps, but he might be less lonely The thought became an
obsession. Perhaps he could steal it--but that would not be easy
<N 3>
He visited his sister at court, hoping that she would help him forget
his woes. She was an extremely prudent lady who allowed him no glimpse
<P 589>
of her. It did seem odd that his own sister should be so careful to keep up
the barriers when the Third Princess had let him see her; but his feelings
did not permit him to charge her with loose conduct.
<N 4>
He next called on the crown prince, the Third Princess's brother.
There must, he was sure, be a family resemblance. No one could have
called the crown prince devastatingly handsome, but such eminence does
bestow a certain air and bearing. The royal cat had had a large litter of
kittens, which had been put out here and there. One of them, a very pretty
little creature, was scampering about the crown prince's rooms. Kashiwagi
was of course reminded of the Rokujo~ cat.
"The Third Princess has a really fine cat. You would have to go a very
long way to find its rival. I only had the briefest glimpse, but it made a deep
impression on me."
Very fond of cats, the crown prince asked for all the details. Kashiwagi
perhaps made the Rokujo~ cat seem more desirable than it was.
"It is a Chinese cat, and Chinese cats are different. All cats have very
much the same disposition, I suppose, but it does seem a little more affec-
tionate than most. A perfectly charming little thing."
The crown prince made overtures through the Akashi princess and
presently the cat was delivered. Everyone was agreed that it was a very
superior cat. Guessing that the crown prince meant to keep it, Kashiwagi
waited a few days and paid a visit. He had been a favorite of the Suzaku
emperor's and now he was close to the crown prince, to whom he gave
lessons on the koto and other instruments.
"Such numbers of cats as you do seem to have. Where is my own
special favorite?"
The Chinese cat was apprehended and brought in. He took it in his
arms.
"Yes, it is a handsome beast," said the crown prince, "but it does not
seem terribly friendly. Maybe it is not used to us. Do you really think it
so superior to our own cats?"
"Cats do not on the whole distinguish among people, though perhaps
the more intelligent ones do have the beginnings of a rational faculty. But
just look at them all, such swarms of cats and all of them such fine ones.
Might I have the loan of it for a few days?"
He was afraid that he was being rather silly. But he had his cat. He
kept it with him at night, and in the morning would see to its toilet and
pet it and feed it. Once the initial shyness had passed it proved to be a most
affectionate animal. He loved its way of sporting with the hem of his robe
or entwining itself around a leg. Sometimes when he was sitting at the
veranda lost in thought it would come up and speak to him.
"What an insistent little beast you are." He smiled and stroked its
back. "You are here to remind me of someone I long for, and what is it you
long for yourself? We must have been together in an earlier life, you and
I."
<P 590>
He looked into its eyes and it returned the gaze and mewed more
emphatically. Taking it in his arms, he resumed his sad thoughts.
"Now why should a cat all of a sudden dominate his life?" said one
of the women. "He never paid much attention to cats before."
The crown prince asked to have the cat back, but in vain. It had
become Kashiwagi's constant and principal companion.
<N 5>
Tamakazura still felt closer to Yu~giri than to her brothers and sisters.
She was a sensitive and affectionate lady and when he came calling she
received him without formality. He particularly enjoyed her company
because his sister, the crown princess, rather put him off. Higekuro was
devoted to his new wife and no longer saw his old wife, Prince Hyo~bu's
daughter. Since Tamakazura had no daughters, he would have liked to
bring Makibashira into the house, but Prince Hyo~bu would not hear of it.
Makibashira at least must not become a laughingstock. Prince Hyo~bu was
a highly respected man, one of the emperor's nearest advisers, and no
request of his was refused. A vigorous man with lively modern tastes, he
stood so high in the general esteem that he was only less in demand than
Genji and To~ no Chu~jo~. It was commonly thought that Higekuro would
be equally important one day. People were of course much interested in
his daughter, who had many suitors. The choice among them would be
Prince Hyo~bu's to make. He was interested in Kashiwagi and thought it
a pity that Kashiwagi should be less interested in Makibashira than in his
cat. She was a bright, modern sort of girl. Because her mother was still very
much at odds with the world, she turned more and more to Tamakazura,
her stepmother.
<N 6>
Prince Hotaru was still single. The ladies he had so energetically
courted had gone elsewhere. He had lost interest in romantic affairs and
did not want to invite further ridicule. Yet bachelorhood was too
much of a luxury. He let it be known that he was not uninterested in
Makibashira.
"I think he would do nicely," said Prince Hyo~bu. "People generally
say that the next-best thing after sending a daughter to court is finding a
prince for her. I think it rather common and vulgar, the rush these days
to marry daughters off to mediocrities who have chiefly their seriousness
to recommend them." He accepted Prince Hotaru's proposal without fur-
ther ado.
Prince Hotaru was somewhat disappointed. He had expected more of
a challenge. Makibashira was not a lady to be spurned, however, and it was
much too late to withdraw his proposal. He visited her and was received
with great ceremony by Prince Hyo~bu's household.
"I have many daughters," said Prince Hyo~bu, "and they have caused
me nothing but trouble. You might think that by now I would have had
enough. But Makibashira at least I must do something for. Her mother is
very odd and only gets odder. Her father has not been allowed to manage
her affairs and seems to want no part of them. It is all very sad for her."
<P 591>
He supervised the decorations and went to altogether more trouble
than most princes would have thought necessary.
Prince Hotaru had not ceased to grieve for his dead wife. He had
hoped for a new wife who looked exactly like her. Makibashira was not
unattractive, but she did not resemble the other lady. Perhaps it was
because of disappointment that he so seldom visited her.
Prince Hyo~bu was surprised and unhappy. In her lucid moments, the
girl's mother could see what was happening, and sigh over their sad fate,
hers and her daughter's. Higekuro, who had been opposed to the match
from the outset, was of course very displeased. It was as he had feared and
half expected. Prince Hotaru had long been known for a certain looseness
and inconstancy. Now that she had evidence so near at hand, Tamakazura
looked back to her maiden days with a mixture of sadness and amusement,
and wondered what sort of troubles Genji and To~ no Chu~jo~ would now
be facing if she had accepted Hotaru's suit. Not that she had had much
intention of doing so. She had seemed to encourage him only because of
his very considerable ardor, and it much shamed her to think that she
might have seemed even a little eager. And now her stepdaughter was his
wife. What sort of things would he be telling her? But she did what she
could for the girl, whose brothers were in attendance on her as if nothing
had gone wrong.
Prince Hotaru for his part had no intention of abandoning her, and
he did not at all like what her sharp-tongued grandmother was saying.
"One marries a daughter to a prince in the expectation that he will
give her his undivided attention. What else is there to make up for the fact
that he does not amount to much?"
"This seems a bit extreme," said Prince Hotaru, missing his first wife
more than ever. "I loved her dearly, and yet I permitted myself an occa-
sional flirtation on the side, and I do not remember that I ever had to listen
to this sort of thing."
He withdrew more and more to the seclusion of his own house, where
he lived with memories.
A year passed, and two years. Makibashira was reconciled to her new
life. It was the marriage she had made for herself, and she did not complain.
<N 7>
And more years went by, on the whole uneventfully. The reign was
now in its eighteenth year.
The emperor had no sons. He had long wanted to abdicate and had
not kept the wish a secret. "A man never knows how many years he has
ahead of him. I would like to live my own life, see the people I want to
see and do what I want to do."
After some days of a rather painful indisposition he suddenly ab-
dicated. It was a great Pity, everyone said, that he should have taken the
step while he was still in the prime of life; but the crown prince was now
a grown man and affairs of state passed smoothly into his hands.
To~ no Chu~jo~ submitted his resignation as chancellor and withdrew to
<P 592>
the privacy of his own house. "Nothing in this world lasts forever," he
said, "and when so wise an emperor retires no one need have any regrets
at seeing an old graybeard turn in his badge and keys."
Higekuro became Minister of the Right, in effective charge of the
government. His sister would now be the empress-mother if she had lived
long enough. She had not been named empress and she had been over-
shadowed by certain of her rivals. The eldest son of the Akashi prin-
cess was named crown prince. The designation was cause for great rejoic-
