The bridge of Uji,
which is broken and unsafe
so much of the time—
would you have me trust it still
as a thing that will not rot

Meaning

The bridge of Uji is broken and unsafe so much of the time; would you have me trust it still as a thing that will not rot?

Commentary

Part Three: Ukifune

　Ukifune's reply. As the bridge has gaps in it and is unsafe, she says, so his visits fall off and cannot be relied on. What actually lies behind the poem, though, is the unsafety of her own position, answering Kaoru while she hides what has passed with Niou. He took it for a complaint about how seldom he came, and did not see what was in her.

　It is a well made answer, taking over his Uji bridge and kuchiseji. Taema is the gap in a bridge and at the same time the interval in which a man does not come. Ayabushi covers both the danger of the bridge and the danger of her situation. On the face of it the poem reproaches him for staying away; to a reader it states her own position exactly.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

The bridge of Uji, which is broken and unsafe so much of the time— would you have me trust it still as a thing that will not rot

The bridge of Uji,
which is broken and unsafe
so much of the time—
would you have me trust it still
as a thing that will not rot