Even the horse, they
say, will not touch this grass—the
sweet flag at the edge
of the water. Was it drawn
up, then, only for today?
- Meaning
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Even a horse, they say, will not touch this grass—the sweet flag at the water's edge. Was it drawn up, then, only for today?
- Commentary
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Part One: Hotaru
On the day of the festival there was mounted archery at the riding grounds of the Rokujo estate, and the arrangements were made in the lady of the falling flowers' summer quarter. That night Genji stayed with her. Talking of this and that, he praised the Prince of War; and she answered mildly that though the Prince was his younger brother he had looked the older of the two. Genji thought she had seen through the man at a glance, but said nothing more of the others. Their life together was now only formal, with separate places to sleep, and he was uneasy that it should have come to that. She, who for years had only heard of such gatherings at second hand, took it as an honor to her quarter that today's had been held there, and made this poem.
"The grass no horse will touch" draws on an old verse in which, though people come seeking its fragrance, a horse strangely will not touch the sweet flag. "Susamu" is to relish, to take pleasure in—here, for a horse to eat. The sweet flag, the plant of the day, is herself. "Hiku" plays on drawing up the root and on leading a horse, the one belonging to the flag and the other to the horse. A woman's regret at being no longer sought is a commonplace of poetry; but she says it without reproach, easily, and that is her particular virtue. Genji, thinking it no great poem, was nonetheless moved by it.
- Author
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Murasaki Shikibu
- Source
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Genji Monogatari
- Other
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