Another man's wife—
ah, what a troublesome thing;
at this eastern hut,
at its eaves, I think I will
not grow too familiar here
- Meaning
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Another man's wife—what a troublesome business; like the eaves of this eastern hut, I think I had better not grow too close.
- Commentary
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Part One: Momiji no Ga
On a cool evening after a shower, Genji was walking near the Unmeiden when he came upon the lady playing her lute. He approached humming the saibara song "The Eastern Hut" under his breath, and she sang back its latter half. When she followed this with her poem of complaint, he found it too much and answered with this one, holding her off. He thought of simply leaving, but reconsidered as too unkind, and stayed to trade a few light remarks. To no Chujo, who had long wanted to catch Genji out, was watching the whole of it.
"Eastern hut," "maya," and "amari" are all taken from the words of the saibara song, showing that the whole exchange is built on that one piece of music. "The amari of the maya" is the edge of the eaves, and "amari" also carries the sense of "excessively." Even opening with "another man's wife" picks up a phrase from the end of the song, so that his refusal to be drawn in is made out of the very words she had been singing. The scene is comic, and the handling of allusion and double meaning is exact.
- Author
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Murasaki Shikibu
- Source
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Genji Monogatari
- Other
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