General Comments:

This chapter is, above all, about female "anger" (恨み, urami), which Genji's father warns him about early in the chapter in terms of Rokujō. But it is really too late to manage this problem, if it were ever even possible, and if Genji had ever seemed interested in bringing real attention to it. Rokujō will be a disaster for Genji. There is a different flame of urami towards the end of this chapter, too, when Genji converts the father-daughter relationship with Murasaki that they have both been enjoying into a husband-wife affair, with sexual intimacy and a muted wedding ceremony.

Rokujō's jealous anger is legend, and is one sort of icon of jealousy in both classical and pop Japanese culture. The Noh play "Aoi" looks at her agitated frame of mind from one interesting, Buddhist-informed, angle. Enchi Fumiko's gripping short novel Masks explores the issue in detail, and from a different point of view. Enchi, who creates very interesting and complex female characters in her writings, takes seriously the power and intelligence that can be behind jealousy.

One can decide for oneself whether Rokujō should be seen as a sympathetic character, but here is the situation: She became consort to a crown prince at age 16 but he died unexpectedly when she was 20. Genji's father has always favored her and he wishes Genji would do so, but Genji has never seemed ready to fully commit himself to this woman, perhaps because she is 7 years older, perhaps for other reasons. Nothing is clearly stated. Rokujō is from excellent family and herself is wonderfully educated and elegant. From her perspective she has done nothing wrong to deserve her current situation. That Genji was married to Aoi must have been a blow and when Aoi gives birth to a boy, and Rokujō correctly calculated that this will keep Genji's loyalty from her, it is just too much. The famous "carriage altercation" (車争ひ, kuruma arasoi) between her and Aoi is not the primary reason she attacks Aoi, it is just a trigger, though a very powerful trigger. Rokujō's living spirit attacks Aoi; she herself seems deeply troubled that this is the case but cannot control her actions. Beliefs at the time associate the human spirit with the human body but the connection between them is not necessarily rock solid. At death, of course, the spirit drifts off, but at times of extreme emotion the spirit can also become dislodged.

What position the reader takes about Rokujō will also affect how the reader judges the very awkward and interesting correspondence between Rokujō, the killer of his wife, and Genji in this chapter and their face-to-face meeting in the next chapter.

Kamo Aoi (Asarum caulescens)

Is Murasaki Genji's wife? These is usually some waffling over this in English discussions mostly, I would suggest, because in English we cut a clear distinction between being married and not but in the Heian period it was more nuanced. Theirs is more than an affair, most definitely, because it is being recognized as a marriage through the proper three-day process. However, as Tyler suggests, the ceremony is "relatively formal" (T188 footnote) not perfectly so. It is too soon after Aoi's death for it to be an elaborate affair, but this is, I think, just cover. The truth is that she has been a secret relationship and the marriage is a secret relationship, too (except that he tells her father), and so it is nothing at all like the official marriage with Aoi now or his later marriage to the Third Princess.

Basic Story Summary:

In the space of about two years between the end of the previous chapter and the beginning of this one, Genji's father abdicates and Kokiden's son ascends to the throne as Emperor Suzaku.

With his father's retirement, Fujitsubo becomes even more inaccessible, since she is in constant service to the retired emperor.

Rokujō, in her displeasure with Genji's insufficient attention, has determined to leave with her daughter Akikonomu (Ise Princess) to relocate in the area of Ise Shrine, where her daughter will be the Shrine Virgin (a very high appointment).

Princess Asagao (lady of the bluebells) continues to maintain measured distance from Genji, though in her heart she has not entirely given him up.

Aoi becomes pregnant.

4th month of Genji's 22nd year: At the Kamo Festival many women have come for the opportunity to see Genji as he parades by. A disagreement about the location of carriages breaks out between Aoi's runners and those of Rokujō. In the end Rokujō's carriage is pushed to the back, with portions broken. When Genji passes, he does not acknowledge her, though he does "bestow a sidelong glance and a smile" (T) to some ladies here and there. When he attempts to visit Rokujō later he is refused. He stays, then, with Murasaki, and trims her hair.

Genji meets Gen no Naishi no Suke (Dame of Staff, Naishi) at the Festival.

A spirit begins to trouble Aoi with one particularly persistent. Genji goes to Rokujō to try to make peace but to no avail. At Aoi's bedside, Rokujō speaks through Aoi's mouth that she is in "anguish".

While the birth of Yūgiri is achieved, and Aoi survives that day, she dies suddenly a few days later. Genji is devastated, as is, of course Aoi's doting father the Minister of the Left, who retires from political life.

After the mourning period of 49 days for Aoi, Genji has a brief and formal meeting with his father and Fujitsubo, then returns to his Nijō Estate (he has been staying at Sanjō during the initial mourning period). Unable to restrain himself any longer, he takes Murasaki as his wife, accompanied with a secret and muted presentation of wedding cakes on the third night.

On the first day of the New Year, Genji's makes his rounds of greeting, including Sanjō. The chapter closes with Genji and Aoi's mother exchanging sad poems.

Reading notes:

Seidensticker 159 / Tyler 166, age difference between Genji and Rokujō:

she is 7 years older than him.

Seidensticker 159 / Tyler 166, Genji's father's warning about Rokujō:

Clearly the Emperor's concern expressed earlier about Genji not knowing enough about women doesn't mean he thinks Genji doesn't see women at all, for he knows, or perhaps has come to know, of Genji's relationship with Rokujō.

Seidensticker 163 5th paragraph / Tyler 169 2nd paragraph:

the relationship referenced is that between Rokujō and Aoi.

Seidensticker 163 7th paragraph / Tyler 169 4th paragraph, yin-yang principles:

"Doctor of the Almanac" (T) and "Soothsayer" (S) refer to specialists in yin-yang divination and astrology. I'm just noting this because often this aspect of The Tale of Genji is just sort of skipped over.

Seidensticker 164 first poem / Tyler 169 poem:

"you are mine alone" would probably be enough (我のにぞ見む).

Seidensticker 165 / Tyler 171, Rokujō's deteriorating mental state:

the slippage of her spirit begins in this area "The Rokujō Haven ..." (T) / "For the Rokujō lady ..." (S) (浮きたる).

Tyler 171 last full paragraph, "residence":

Genji is at the Sanjō residence of his father-in-law, where he has his own wing.

Seidensticker 165 last full paragraph, "sometimes weep":

"constantly weep" is probably better (つくづくと).

Tyler 172 first full paragraph, "retched":

the action is closer to a dry heave or air being choked in the throat (をりをりは胸をせき上げつつ). "Retched" is a bit jarring for me because of the indelicacy of the word which, to my mind, falls outside Murasaki's careful diction, but does help the horrific tone of the passage.

Tyler 172 middle of the page, Rokujō "moved elsewhere":

Rokujō's daughter is purifying herself for the Ise Shrine. The rites Rokujō wants to do might interfere with that, and in any event her frame of mind is impurely agitated.

Seidensticker 166 / Tyler 172, Genji's appeal to Rokujō:

"and he appealed to her with an account of the afflicted lady's [Aoi] condition" (T). I think the issue here is where Genji should be at night. After the carriage altercation Genji attempted to go to Rokujō but she refused him in her anger. He can't go to Aoi's because that would anger her even more. Thus he "sought refuge" (T) at Murasaki's. Then, in this passage, he tries to explain why he cannot come to visit Rokujō: Aoi's parents are so concerned that if he did not stay at her side it would be very harshly looked upon and he wants Rokujō to understand that, to look on the situation with a little generosity (よろづを思しのどめたる御心ならば、いとうれしうなむ). But Rokujō's calculation is that this will not bring benefit to her (because of the baby) so why cooperate? ... I find this a very dramatic scene; it is, essentially, Genji trying to save the life of his wife.

Seidensticker 169 / Tyler 175, the title of Confessions of Lady Nijō ...:

for those interested, "startlingly addressed him" (T) and "unsolicited remarks" (S) translate 問はず語り (tohazugatari), which is the title of the famous middle period memoir translated into English as Confessions of Lady Nijō.

Seidensticker 170 / Tyler 176, Genji's comment to his wife that encourages her to get better soon:

"your mother pampers you too much" (S) / "you treat yourself too much like a child" (T) (あまり若くもてなしたまへば). Although I am sure Tyler had a specific reason to translate as he did (perhaps because もてなしたまへ isn't sufficiently high-level honorifics to refer to the mother Ômiya, who is, as the titles says, a "great princess") both Enchi and Tanizaki in their modern translations match Seidensticker's choice. The modern Japanese in NKBZ, which I'm certain Tyler would know, says おふるまい which could refer, I suppose, to either Aoi or the mother but I would lean towards the mother.

Seidensticker 171 / Tyler 176–77, the timing of Aoi's death:

Since 2-3 days (in the first textual mention) or some days (日ごろ) (in the second mention) pass between the actual death and the funeral, and since the funeral happens on the 20th-plus day of the 8th month (八月二十余), then the timing of this death, like that of Yūgao and Murasaki, is very close to the full moon of the 8th month or, more precisely, the 16th moon.

Seidensticker 173 / Tyler 179, Rokujō's condolences:

I just find this a very interesting part of the text.

Seidensticker 182 / Tyler 188, Genji's frame of mind when first making the young Murasaki his wife:

"Genji felt like a child thief" (T) / "Genji ... just stolen a bride" (今はじめて盗んでもてきたらむ人の心地) To my ear, Tyler sound a little too damning and Seidensticker not enough so. The narrator does, at times, give us glimpses of Genji's frame of mind, though usually brief and not always very well delineated. However, usually the main problem is not the narrator's language but one of interpretation that is involved, deeply, with the sort of Genji one is building in one's mind. Small changes in translation choice can have big effects in this type of situation.

Seidensticker 183 / Tyler 189, Murasaki's anger:

As one would expect, the transition from being a "daughter" to a "wife" is not easy or pleasant and Murasaki's anger here matches the overall theme of feminine anger that drives this chapter.