The autumn wind that
blows and sets the dew upon
the leaves of the reeds—
it is at evening above
all that it goes to the bone

Meaning

The autumn wind that blows and gathers dew on the reed leaves goes to the bone at evening above all.

Commentary

Part Three: Kagero

　With autumn, a letter came from the First Princess, the Emperor's eldest daughter, to her younger sister the Second Princess. The Second Princess was Kaoru's wife, and he saw the letter. It is only an ordinary greeting of the season between sisters, but to a man who had lost the people of Uji one after another the grace of the hand stayed in mind. It is the beginning of the shift of his interest from Uji to the ladies of the palace.

　The ogi is the reed whose sound in the wind stands for autumn, sung of in poetry from far back. "Blows and sets the dew" is the wind gathering dew on the leaves, a standard autumn image. Yube zo wakite is at evening above all. It attempts nothing clever, and it is the quiet dignity of it that catches Kaoru. The poem is placed where the eye of the chapter quietly turns.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

The autumn wind that blows and sets the dew upon the leaves of the reeds— it is at evening above all that it goes to the bone

The autumn wind that
blows and sets the dew upon
the leaves of the reeds—
it is at evening above
all that it goes to the bone