The bond we have tied
between us will not be cut,
even if for me
the rites that remain to hold
are few enough in number
- Meaning
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The bond we have tied will not be cut—even if the rites left to me to hold are few enough in number.
- Commentary
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Part Two: Minori
Hanachirusato answered Murasaki no Ue's poem with this one. She promises that the bond made at the rite will not be broken, and adds that it is she who has little time left—gently contradicting what the other has said. Hanachirusato had never been a favorite, and she had gone on being the same steady presence at Rokujo for many years. After this exchange Murasaki's condition worsened as the summer came on.
"The bond we have tied" takes up the other poem's tying and bond unchanged. "Will not be cut" is a negative supposition that reverses her "must come to its end." "Even if" opens a concession. "The rites that remain" are the ceremonies she may still hold, and behind them lies the shortness of her own life. Receiving each of the other's words and denying them one by one, the reply is a careful and considerate piece of comfort.
- Author
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Murasaki Shikibu
- Source
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Genji Monogatari
- Other
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