Cast off and left when
the one I was paired with went—
like the waterbird,
have I lingered on behind
in this world that is but lent
- Meaning
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Left behind as the waterbird's mate went away, why have I lingered on in this world that is only lent to us?
- Commentary
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Part Three: Hashihime
The Eighth Prince was a son of the Kiritsubo Emperor and a half brother of Genji. Caught up in the struggles at court, he had been forgotten by the world, and when his wife died he was left to bring up two small daughters alone, a layman living like a monk. Watching the waterfowl on the pond keep to their pairs, he murmured this poem. Oigimi and Naka no Kimi each answered it, so that the three stand together.
The bird whose mate has gone is his own condition. "This world that is but lent" is the transient present, and the syllable ko in kono yo also carries ko, child, so that the daughters left behind are folded into the phrase. As the first poem of the Uji chapters it raises, out of one small creature on the water, the theme of those who are left behind that runs through the whole sequence.
- Author
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Murasaki Shikibu
- Source
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Genji Monogatari
- Other
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