Though this body goes
wandering away like this,
the reflected face
in the mirror that does not
leave your side will not leave you
- Meaning
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Though this body of mine goes wandering off, the face in the mirror that stays beside you will never leave you.
- Commentary
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Part One: Suma
With the day of departure near, Genji rested at the Nijo residence until past noon and then received Prince Sochi and the Third Rank Captain. Since he held no office he changed into an unpatterned robe, and going to the mirror stand to smooth his hair he saw how thin his face had grown. Murasaki no Ue looked across at him with her eyes full, and unable to bear it he spoke this poem. She answered, then hid behind a pillar to conceal her tears.
"Sasurau" is to wander without direction, naming the condition of exile. "The mirror that does not leave" follows an older usage—a mirror never parted from—and here means that his reflection will remain in the glass he leaves behind. "Kage" is the image in it. Body gone, reflection staying: the parting is gathered into a single object. That mirror will work again later as the thing that calls up her grief.
- Author
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Murasaki Shikibu
- Source
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Genji Monogatari
- Other
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