帚木

Genji “Yes, you are right: it is a very uncertain world, and it always has been, particularly for women. They are like bits of driftwood.” (p.41)
世の中といふもの、さのみこそ。今も昔も、定まりたることはべらね。中についても、女の宿世は浮かびたるなむ、あはれにはべる (original sentence)

宿世 (sukuse): (1) previous existence (2) fatality/ fate/ destiny
あはれ (aware): (1) impressions such as surprise, sorrow, praise, and astonishment (2) stir deep emotions, zest (3) lonely, sorrowful, sad (4) feeling sorry/ pity (5) pretty/ lovely (6) sympathetic (7) extraordinary/ preeminent


Chapter 2. The Broom Tree 帚木 (Genji 17 years old)

The first half: 『雨夜の品定め』 (amayo-no-shinasadame) a discussion about an ideal woman on a rainy night
To no Chujo shares his experience with a beautiful woman in low estate who later appears as Yugao (Evening Faces).

The later half: practice Genji has an affair with Utsusemi

帚木 (hahakigi)
The broom tree in Shinano disappeared or changed shape when one approached. In this chapter, the broom tree is Utsusemi (the shell of the locust) who persistently refuses to interact with Genji. Also, haha means a mother. Therefore, the bloom tree (hahakigi) implies Genji’s mother who passed away when he was three years old.

A custom proper to Japan in Heian era
Page 38. 方違え (katatagae): Onmyōdō teaches that people must avoid the direction which a god comes across.

miho