Only drawing near
could one tell if it is that—
in the failing dusk
what I saw was faint and dim,
that flower of evening face

Meaning

Only by coming close could one tell whether it is truly that—this evening face flower, glimpsed so faintly in the dusk.

Commentary

Part One: Yugao

　Reading the poem on the fan by lamplight, Genji was struck by the quality of the hand and felt the woman of that house was no ordinary person. He set Koremitsu to find out about the household, and meanwhile sent an answering poem—this one. Letters began to pass between them, and Genji took to visiting her with his face covered, still hiding who he was.

　He takes up her own "is it that" and "evening face flower" and returns them, as the etiquette of poetic exchange required. "Tasokare" comes from a phrase meaning "who is that?" and names the hour when faces grow hard to make out, so that not knowing who someone is and the light of that hour are held in one word. By saying that only closeness makes things clear, he conveys his wish to meet her without pressing it, and the poem marks the beginning of the affair at Gojo.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

Only drawing near could one tell if it is that— in the failing dusk what I saw was faint and dim, that flower of evening face

Only drawing near
could one tell if it is that—
in the failing dusk
what I saw was faint and dim,
that flower of evening face