Is it truly so,
that where the flower stands you
find it hard to leave?
I shall watch the look of that
sky where the mist is rising
- Meaning
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Is it really true that you find it hard to leave where the flower stands? I shall watch the look of that misted sky and see.
- Commentary
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Part One: Wakamurasaki
The nun answered Genji's poem with this one. She turns aside his claim that he cannot leave the flower, saying she is not obliged to believe it, and so repeats that she will not give up her granddaughter. Genji felt again how little opening she left him, and went down to the capital. The negotiation over the girl continued by letter.
She takes up his "flower" and "mist" and returns them, as the exchange required. "Hard to leave" answers his "hard to set out," using his own word but turning it toward doubt: she will see whether it is true. "The look of the misted sky" transposes a heart she cannot read into a landscape, which lets her voice suspicion without stating it.
- Author
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Murasaki Shikibu
- Source
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Genji Monogatari
- Other
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