If she gazes too
at the same cloud-realm you gaze
into, then surely
the feeling in her must be
the very same as your own
- Meaning
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If she gazes at the same cloud-realm that you gaze at, then surely her feeling must be the same feeling as yours.
- Commentary
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Part One: Akashi
Since the daughter would not take up a brush, her father answered Genji's poem in her place, apologizing as he did so for behaving like a man half in love himself. She, thinking of the gap in rank and holding Genji as someone far off, had lain down and would not stir; the distance between the three of them shows exactly in how the poems pass.
"Kumoi" takes up Genji's own word, keeping the etiquette of exchange, and "nagamu" likewise returns, appearing twice within the poem. "The same feeling as the feeling" doubles the word for sameness. The repetitions press the point that the two are looking at one sky, and the position of a proxy trying to make a match without the principal's consent can be felt in it.
- Author
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Murasaki Shikibu
- Source
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Genji Monogatari
- Other
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