1

Coming of Age

Long ago, a young man who had just come of age

went hawking on his family estate by the village of
Kasuga near the former capital of Nara. Two beauti­
ful sisters were living there, and the young man
happened to catch a glimpse of them through a gap
in the fence. Discovering such beautiful ladies in
this incongruous setting at the old abandoned capi­
tal filled him with excitement. And he cut off a
piece from the hem of his hunting robe, dashed off
a poem on it, and had it sent in to them. Shinobu
ferns had been rubbed into the fabric of his robe,
creating an irregular pattern.
Lavender shoots
On the Plain of Kasuga
on the Plain of Kasuga,
like the riotous patterns
 surroundings, now standing, now sitting down, but
nothing looked as it had the year before. Bursting
into tears, he lay down on the bare floorboards and
4 remained there until the moon sank low in the sky.
Recalling the events of the previous year, he com-
The Spring of Old posed a poem:
Could that be the same moon?
Could this be the spring of old?
Long ago, a lady was living in the western wing of Only I am as I have always been,
the residence of Her Majesty the Empress Mother but without you here
on the eastern side of the Fifth Avenue. In spite of
himself, the man could not help but fall deeply in Then, in the faint light of dawn, he returned home,
love with this lady and began to frequent her apart­ weeping bitterly.
ments. However, around the tenth day of the New
Year, she suddenly vanished. The man discovered
where she was, but it was not a place where ordi­
nary people could go, so he was deeply unhappy.
At the beginning of spring in the following year,
when the plum blossoms were at their peak, the
man's heart was filled with poignant memories of
the year that had passed, and he returned to the
lady's former apartments. He gazed intently at his
 Here by Mount Utsu were all filled with sadness, for there was not one
in Suruga so far away, among them who had not left behind a loved one in
I cannot meet you
in the real world,
the capital.
nor even in my dreams. Just at that moment, they saw a white bird about
the size of a snipe, with red legs and beak, frolick­
Then when he looked up and saw Mount Fuji, he
ing on the water while gulping down a fish. As it
noticed that even though it was midsummer, snow
was a bird that they had never seen in the capital,
still covered the peak.
no one knew what it was. They asked the boatman
Mount Fuji,
what its name was, and he replied, 'Why, it's the
knowing not the seasons,
which one do you think it is? "Bird of the Capital".' Hearing this, the man recited
Snow still covers your peak­ a poem.
the dappled coat of a fawn.

Compared to the mountains at the capital, Mount

Fuji was like Mount Hie piled twenty times as high
in the shape of a great mound of salt.
The man and his friends continued their journey
and came to a large river on the border between
Musashi and Shimosa. It was called the Sumida­
gawa. They rested together on the bank and
thought forlornly about how far they had travelled.
But the ferryman shouted, 'Get on board quickly!
It's getting dark.' As they boarded the boat, they
 The governor's men heard the girl and seized her;
then both of them were marched off together.

12
Grasses of the Musashi Plain

Long ago, the man stole away with someone's

daughter. This made him an abductor, and while he
was fleeing with her to the Plain of Musashi, an
order for his arrest was issued by the provincial
governor. Before he was apprehended, he hid the
girl in a grassy thicket. The pursuers exclaimed,
'We've been told the thief is hiding in this field,'
and were about to set it aflame. In anguish, the girl
cried out:
Please don't burn,
don't burn, the grasses
of the Musashi Plain.
My beloved hides here,
and I do, too.
 17 18
Fickle Blossoms From White to Red

Once, after a long time, the man arrived at a certain
house to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom. His
host's poem:
Though fickle by repute,
these cherry blossoms
waited through the year
to share their beauty
with you, who rarely come.
The reply:
If I had not come today, by tomorrow
the blossoms would scatter like snow,
and even if they had not disappeared,
they would no longer look like flowers,
which fade the way your feelings do.
Long ago, a lady of affected ways was living near
the man. As she was confident in her ability to
write poetry, she decided to test him with a poem.
She plucked a chrysanthemum that was turning a
reddish colour as it faded and sent it to him with a
poem.
On this blossom
where is passion's red?
For all I can tell
it is as pure as you-
a branch laden with snow.
Pretending that he did not understand the meaning
of the poem, the man replied:
Surely the sleeve of the one
who plucked the chrysanthemum
is as beautiful as the flower,
hiding beneath its white
a sensual red.
19
A Raging Gale

Long ago, the man began to frequent the quarters

of a lady who served at the palace. After a short
time, their affair came to an end, but as they both
served al court, 1.he lady st.ill saw Lhe 1nan often; he
behaved as if she was not there. The lady's poem:
You grow as distant
as clouds in the sky,
yet all the while,
here before my eyes,
you are as plain as can be.

The reply:
If I am as distant
as clouds on high,
it is because of a gale
raging on the mountain
 where I should like to be.

He sent the poem because the lady had begun to

have an affair with another man.
20

No Such Thing as Spring

Long ago, the man fell for a lady of whom he had

caught a glimpse in Yamato. He courted and won
her, but after some time elapsed, he had to return
to the capital, where he was in the service of the
emperor. Though the end of spring was approach­
ing, he picked a branch of beautiful red maple
leaves on his way and sent them back to the lady
with a poem.
I send you this to show
that though it may still be spring,
the leaves have taken on
an autumn red
deep as my love for you.

She timed her answer to arnve after he had

returned to the capital.
 25 26
The Sleeves of Morning A Harbour in My Sleeves

Long ago, the man sent a poem to a lady, who nei­ Long ago, the man lamented to someone: 'I could
ther refused him nor agreed to meet him. not take as my beloved the lady who lived on the
The sleeves of morning may get wet Fifth Avenue.' After receiving a reply, he wrote a
parting bamboo on the autumn plain poem.
returning home from a night with you,
How could I have imagined it?
but what makes them wetter still
Your kind words, like a towering ship,
are all these nights alone.
come suddenly from China
The fickle lady replied: making great waves of tears
in the harbour of my sleeves.
Man of the sea,
searching till your legs are weary,
can you not see
that on the shores of my heart
no seaweed grows for you?
 29 30
The Cherry Blossom Banquet A String of Threaded Gems

Long ago, the man recited a poem upon being sum­ Long ago, when the man was able to make love to a
moned to attend the Cherry Blossom Banquet at lady for only the most fleeting of moments, he sent
the palace of the mother of the crown prince. her a poem:
I never tire of the blossoms Our encounter
that each year was as short as the interval
I must bid farewell to, on a string of gems;
but never with such poignancy so why has your heart
as I part from them tonight. been cold for so long?
int page (XR)
The lady responded:
More futile
than writing numbers
on flowing water 51
is trying to love someone
who cannot return your love. Deep Roots
The man's reply:
Rapidly flowing waters,
scattering blossoms, Long ago, the man planted chrysanthemums in
the passing years that age us so­ someone's garden. His poem:
which of these would heed,
As I planted them firmly,
should we ask them to wait?
they will only fail to bloom
But though they each insinuated the other's infi­ should autumn not come,
delity, they were probably both involved in secret and even if the petals scatter,
affairs with others. may the plants always thrive.