Over the steep path
by the peak where clouds have come
to rest, the autumn
mist sets itself all the more—
such is the season we keep

Meaning

Over the steep path by the clouded peak the autumn mist comes down all the more; such is the season we are in.

Commentary

Part Three: Hashihime

　Oigimi's answer to Kaoru's poem at first light. Her father was shut away at the mountain temple, and she says that mist lies over the road to him. Kaoru had complained that mist kept him from going home; she turns the complaint aside into a matter of the distance from her father, and both her reserve and her skill at leaving no opening are apparent.

　The steep path by the peak where the clouds rest is the mountain road leading to her father's temple. Itodo is all the more. She takes up the word mist that he had used and answers that what it separates is herself and her father, turning his words neatly aside. The distance Kaoru and Oigimi will keep through the Uji chapters is set from this first exchange.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

Over the steep path by the peak where clouds have come to rest, the autumn mist sets itself all the more— such is the season we keep

Over the steep path
by the peak where clouds have come
to rest, the autumn
mist sets itself all the more—
such is the season we keep