Look where I will, the
world gives us no leave—and yet
the name of having
grown used to the barrier
river is a thing to grieve

Meaning

Look where I will, the world gives us no leave, and yet the name of having grown used to the barrier river is a thing to grieve over.

Commentary

Part Three: Yadorigi

　In Kaoru's household there was a gentlewoman in the service of his mother, the Third Princess, known as Azechi no Kimi, with whom he had a quiet connection. Once, when he made to leave early, she spoke this poem in reproach. He answered with a defence of his feeling, but his mind had all along been on Naka no Kimi, and this affair was not a serious one. Scenes like this show, from the side, a man who cannot hold his feeling for Naka no Kimi in check.

　Sekikawa is the river at the Osaka barrier, a place name in poetry that calls up meeting. Minare carries both minare, growing used to water, and minare, growing used to the sight of a person. Watashi belongs with the river, and seki, to dam, sounds in seki, barrier. The complaint that the talk goes about while the tie is unacknowledged sets out the position of a woman of low rank very clearly, and there is real feeling under the technique.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

Look where I will, the world gives us no leave—and yet the name of having grown used to the barrier river is a thing to grieve

Look where I will, the
world gives us no leave—and yet
the name of having
grown used to the barrier
river is a thing to grieve