Why did this water,
which has never once run dry,
not keep for me at
least the shadow of the face
of those who are here no more
- Meaning
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Why did this water, which has never run dry, not keep for me even the shadow of the faces of those who are gone?
- Commentary
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Part Three: Azumaya
Kaoru went to the villa at Uji and thought of the dead Eighth Prince and Oigimi. The stream in the garden ran on as it always had, never drying, and yet the figures it must once have reflected were gone. He spoke this to himself, complaining of that injustice to the water. On this visit Ben the nun told him that Ukifune was living hidden at Sanjo in the capital, and he resolved to have her act as go-between and go to the house himself.
"Water that has never run dry" is a garden stream, set here as the type of what does not change. "Those who are gone" means both the prince and Oigimi. Omokage o dani is at least the face, if nothing more. Since water reflects a figure, the reasoning is that it might have kept the reflection; the complaint is made in full knowledge that it is impossible. The contrast between unchanging nature and the people who have been lost is a pattern that recurs throughout the Uji chapters.
- Author
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Murasaki Shikibu
- Source
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Genji Monogatari
- Other
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