Utsusemi
Title
Chronology
Waley uses "Utsusemi" as the title; Seidensticker has "The Shell of the Locust" and Washburn "A Molted Cicada Shell", but I prefer Tyler's simple "The Cicada Shell."
Position in the Genji
Synopsis
In what is a rather short chapter, Genji continues pursuing (if not stalking) Utsusemi and makes a third visit to the house where she is staying. Utsusemi's title is "the wife of the Iyo Deputy" - her husband is a provincial official serving in Iyo, present-day Matsuyama (even the hot springs of Dogo are mentioned by Murasaki Shikibu). While on duty, he leaves his wife behind in the capital, as was normal in those days.
Ironically, it is Utsusemi's rejection that makes her an unforgettable figure
for Genji. She is modest, somewhat plain and small, but her
behavior stands out splendidly and she has good taste. Even when Genji
makes an advance to her, she maintains her honor gracefully to the last,
though she is afflicted, which again deeply impresses Genji. If she would have surrendered to him when he first tried to sleep with her, he would probably by now have forgotten her - it is her resistance, and pitiable condition, that keep him interested. By the way, it is said that Murasaki Shikibu herself could have served as a model for Utsusemi, because of the resemblance in circumstances and status.
Genji remains so infatuated that he proceeds for a third time to the mansion of the Governor of Kii under cover of the darkness, again claiming a "directional taboo." With the help of Kogimi, Utsusemi's young brother he has taken under his wing, he manages to steal a glance into the room, where Utsusemi is playing a game of Go with her step-daughter, the younger sister of the Governor of Kii, Nokiba no Ogi. Both women are revealingly under-dressed on the warm summer night. This act of spying on women (through a gap in a fence or curtain) by a man is called kaimami and is an often repeated scene in the Genji Monogatari (and just as often depicted in Genji-e).
In fact, Nokiba no Ogi is more attractive and animated than her step-mother, but Utsusemi displays more cultivation and elegance. That night, Genji contrives, with Kogimi's assistance, to secretly creep into the bedchamber of the ladies. But Utsusemi somehow senses his presence, and swiftly flees the room, leaving only a thin robe behind like a cicada discarding its shell (hence the
chapter title). In her desire to escape him, Utsusemi also abandons her sleeping step-daughter, who becomes Genji's unwitting prey. He initially mistakes the sleeping Nokiba no Ogi for Utsusemi and embraces her. When he notices his mistake, things have already gone too far - or he is just unwilling to admit defeat -, so he continues making love to her. Nokiba no Ogi does not even imagine she has been the victim of mistaken identity (Genji woos her into believing she is indeed the object of his desire), but is rather miserly treated by Genji afterwards, as he doesn't even send her the usual "morning after" poem, and also never returns to her. Despite her gorgeous looks, she is as it were the negative counterpart to the modest and small Utsusemi, who will continue to fascinate Genji. Nokiba no Ogi has been left behind by Utsusemi like the discarded robe, and lies just as inert and lifeless in Genji's arms as a cicada shell. It is only later, when she has become a memory, that Genji starts harboring fresh feelings of desire and regret for her.
Genji has managed to steal Utsusemi's robe (his only prize) and for many nights takes it with him to bed, fetischistically trying to find her faint scent in the soft textile. He then writes the following poem to Utsusemi:
at the foot of the tree
where the cicada
shed its shell,
my longing still goes to her
who left it behind
[utsusemi no | mi wo kaetekeru | ko no moto ni | nao hitogara no | natsukashiki kana]
Instead of responding with a poem by her own hand, Utsusemi, who is despite everything impressed by Genji's devotion, copies one by the tenth century poet Lady Ise next to Genji's:
dew lying on the wings
of the locust
hiding beneath this tree -
secretly, secretly
my sleeves are wet with my tears
[utsusemi no | ha ni oku tsuyu no | kogakurete | shinobi shinobi ni | nururu sode kana]
Genji-e
The voyeuristic Kaimami scene (Genji peeping at Utsusemi and Nokiba no Ogi while they are playing go, with Utsusemi's younger brother Okimi watching the game) is the one most frequently illustrated episode from this chapter (others show Utsusemi in the act of fleeing and leaving her robe behind). In the version by Tosa Mitsunobu above, the frail Utsusemi is sitting with her back turned towards Genji, but the somewhat vulgar and voluptuous Nokiba no Ogi is directly in Genji's sight. In the novel she has her robes hanging open, exposing her chest, but that was apparently too much for Tosa Mitsunobu.
No Plays
Two No plays have been based on the Utsusemi story. In Utsusemi the shite appears in disguise before a priest at Nakagawa, the Inner River Mansion of the Governor of Kii (presumably so called as it stood close to a small river that flowed between the Kamo and Katsura rivers), and site of Utsusemi's encounter with Genji. After telling the story of the place she reveals her true identity as Utsusemi and vanishes. In exchange for prayers on behalf of her soul, she then reappears in the priest's dream that night and performs a graceful No dance. The extended description of Nakagawa at the beginning of the play is based on phrases culled from the Genji Monogatari - in medieval times Genji handbooks were compiled by culling words and phrases from famous scenes as a sort of synopsis. Utsusemi's story also provided various motifs for both waka and renga.
The other play is called Go and focuses on that game as secretly watched (kaimami) by Genji. A priest visiting Nakagawa recalls a poem about the place, causing a woman to appear and engage him in conversation about it. She offers him lodging for the night and promises to provide a game of Go as entertainment, whereupon she disappears. In the second part of the play, the shite (Utsusemi) and tsure (Nokiba no Ogi) face each other across a Go board at the front of the stage as they imitate a game (a prop is used for the Go board). This is a very dense and elliptical play.
Note that Genji himself does not appears in these No plays.
Article on kaimami: "Stolen Glimpses: Convention and Variations" by Daniel Struve, in Cipango - French Journal of Japanese Studies (2014) at http://journals.openedition.org/cjs/697.