There will be no one
left to see them, in this hill
village where the storm
goes astray—and yet the scent
of flowers recalls old days

Meaning

There will be no one left to see them in this hill village where the storm goes astray, and yet the scent of the flowers recalls the old days.

Commentary

Part Three: Sawarabi

　With the day of her removal at hand, Naka no Kimi had to leave the villa at Uji where she had always lived. In the garden the red plum her sister had loved was in bloom, and a warbler was singing. She sent this poem to Kaoru, saying that there would soon be no one left to look at these flowers. He answered it, and came to think of turning the villa in time into a temple. On the night before she left, the two of them talked of Oigimi until late.

　Arashi is both the storm and, by sound, araji, there will be none, so that a scene of wind and the lament that no one will remain are held in one word. "The scent of flowers that recalls the old days" is the plum whose fragrance brings back the days spent with her sister. The flowers go on blooming and breathing scent while only those who looked at them go away, and that shape sets out plainly the unsteadiness of one about to leave Uji.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

There will be no one left to see them, in this hill village where the storm goes astray—and yet the scent of flowers recalls old days

There will be no one
left to see them, in this hill
village where the storm
goes astray—and yet the scent
of flowers recalls old days