Ima wa tote moemu keburi mo musubōre
taenu omoi no nao ya nokoramu

English Translation

The smoke that will rise
when I burn, saying now it
ends—even that smoke
will not clear, and the longing
that does not end will remain

Meaning

Even the smoke that rises when I burn, saying now it ends, will not clear away; and the longing that never ends will remain behind.

Commentary

Part Two: Kashiwagi

　Once Genji had learned of what had passed between him and the Third Princess, and had said what he said to him at the rehearsal for Suzaku's celebration, Kashiwagi weakened until he could no longer get up. The new year came and his illness only deepened, and he understood that it was over. Wanting at least a word, he turned to Kojiju, who served the Princess, and sent a last letter. This poem was in it. The Princess was too ashamed even to remember and had no wish to answer, but Kojiju pressed her until she took up the brush.

　"Saying now it ends" is the acknowledgment that this is the end. "The smoke when I burn" is the smoke of his own pyre, spoken of before the fact. "Will not clear" is smoke that smolders instead of lifting, and it stands for dying with something unresolved. The word for longing carries the syllable for fire, so it belongs with smoke and burning. Smoke, fire, and love all fail to clear away: the whole of his attachment is pressed into one poem, and it comes as close to a death verse as anything in the tale.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

Ima wa tote moemu keburi mo musubōre taenu omoi no nao ya nokoramu

Ima wa tote moemu keburi mo musubōre
taenu omoi no nao ya nokoramu