In the traveller's robe,
for the sorrow of its hem,
I cannot hold out
till the dawn; on grass pillow
no dream will form itself here

Meaning

In this traveller's robe, for the sadness of its lining, I cannot hold out till dawn, and on a pillow of grass no dream will form.

Commentary

Part One: Akashi

　Genji answered the novice's poem with this one, turning it aside lightly—one used to life by the bay can hardly be so lonely—while stating the loneliness on his own side. His relaxed manner as he spoke, the tale says, was beautiful past describing. Soon afterward he sent a letter to the daughter, and an awkward correspondence began.

　"Tabigoromo" is a traveller's robe, working as a preface to "ura" and joining the lining of a garment to the underside of a heart. "Uraganashi" is a vague sadness, sounding the word for bay as well. "Akashi kane" is being unable to hold out till dawn, with the place-name in it—the same pun the novice had used, taken up directly. "No dream will form" is sleeplessness, and also suggests sleeping beside someone. Where the old man spoke of his daughter's loneliness, Genji answers with his own bed.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

In the traveller's robe, for the sorrow of its hem, I cannot hold out till the dawn; on grass pillow no dream will form itself here

In the traveller's robe,
for the sorrow of its hem,
I cannot hold out
till the dawn; on grass pillow
no dream will form itself here