This body of mine,
weighed with care, in no state to
rise and dance at all—
did you know the heart that shook
and waved its sleeves out at you
- Meaning
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Burdened as I am, I was in no state to rise and dance—did you understand the heart behind the waving of those sleeves?
- Commentary
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Part One: Momiji no Ga
In the tenth month, ahead of the imperial progress to the Suzaku Palace, a rehearsal was held at court. Fujitsubo, being with child, could not attend the progress itself, so at the Emperor's wish the performance was given in the courtyard before the Seiryoden. Genji danced the Waves of the Blue Sea with To no Chujo, and the sight moved the onlookers to tears. The next day he wrote to Fujitsubo, enclosing this poem. Unable simply to ignore it, she sent a brief reply. Their bond, even after the secret meeting, would not be cut.
"Weighed with care" points to his suffering over their relationship. "Waving the sleeves" is a movement of the dance and at the same time draws on the old convention by which waving a sleeve signals feeling for someone. A public spectacle is turned straight into a private appeal, and in that rereading of a ceremonial gesture the precariousness of this bond shows.
- Author
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Murasaki Shikibu
- Source
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Genji Monogatari
- Other
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