The light of the moon
has not changed from autumns past
of the world we knew,
and it is the mist between
that is hard and cruel here
- Meaning
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The moonlight is no different from the autumns of the world we knew; it is the mist between us that is cruel.
- Commentary
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Part One: Sakaki
Genji answered her poem with this one. The moon is unchanged, he says, and only the mist stands between—so the complaint falls on the barrier she keeps. Fujitsubo could think of nothing but the Heir Apparent and pressed all manner of things on him, but the child took little of it in. Genji watched them with a full heart.
"Tsukikage" is moonlight, taking up her "moon." "The autumns of the world we knew" means the years while the late Emperor lived. "The mist between" likewise carries over her word. Setting what does not change against what divides, and laying the blame on the mist rather than on a person, he complains of her coldness while avoiding any direct reproach.
- Author
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Murasaki Shikibu
- Source
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Genji Monogatari
- Other
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