"Sekiya", or "barrier post" refers to the Osaka Barrier between Kyoto and the provinces to the east, which forms the scene of this very short chapter. The time is set towards the end of the period covered by "The Pilgrimage to Sumiyoshi," from the 9th to the 11th month.
[Tosa Mitsunobu, Harvard Art Museum]
In autumn, at the end of the Ninth month, on a beautiful day when the autumn colors are dazzling, Genji sets out on a pilgrimage to Ishiyamadera, one of the most popular Kannon temples in those days, located on the shore of Lake Biwa (now Otsu, Shiga Pref.). The temple could be visited on a day trip from Kyoto.
On the way, between the capital Heiankyo (Kyoto) and the province of Omi (Shiga Prefecture), stood the famous barrier-gatehouse of Osaka, manned by a barrier guard (lit. "Slope of Meeting" - the "Osaka" here is different from the modern city of Osaka!). It formed the entrance to Heiankyo (the Tokaido also passed through it) and was a crucial traffic artery. There is a famous poem on the Osaka Barrier by Semimaru included in One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each (see my post on Hyakunin Isshu No. 10). The poem ("this is where / one leaves and returns / always taking leave / friends and strangers / the Barrier of Meeting Slope") speaks about the many chance meetings at the Barrier, where people come and go, and Genji will have just such a chance meeting here.
Genji's party encounters that of Utsusemi and her husband the Governor, returning from his post at Hitachi (modern Ibaraki prefecture). Utsusemi's husband, originally the Vice Governor of Iyo (Ehime Pref.), had been given a new posting as Vice Governor of Hitachi (Ibaraki Pref.) and Utsusemi this time had accompanied him to his provincial post - previously, while he was in Iyo, she stayed with her stepson in the capital where she had the unpleasant experience of being pursued rather obsessively by Genji, who unsuccessfully tried to sleep with her; see chapters 2 (Hahakigi, "The Broom Tree") and 3 (Utsusemi, "The Cicada Shell").
Genji has always remembered her, exactly because she, the middle-class woman, has decidedly refused him, the shining prince. Now he has a short reunion with her, although of course not in person - this being the Heian period - when their retinues meet (Genji going out to Ishiyama, Utsusemi and her husband coming back to Heiankyo). Genji lowers his carriage blind and gives an ambiguous message to his old go-between Kogimi, Utsusemi's younger brother, now an officer of the guards (which is in fact meant for Utsusemi): "I am sure you will not soon forget how I came to the barrier to meet you." As they are not alone, he is obliged to keep his message innocuous. Utsusemi also feels sadness rising in her - Murasaki Shikibu writes that "she knows that Genji will never understand her real feelings."
Genji later sends her a letter with a poem via that same brother, in which he refers to the "watchman of the barrier," a stock figure in love poetry, who has kept them apart - of course referring to Utsusemi's husband. Utsusemi replies in a poem about "the mournful way one has to make through a forest of sorrows" at the Osaka Barrier.
Shortly after this, Utsusemi's husband (a much older man - she was his second wife) dies and she is widowed. Her position towards his sons is unstable. Her stepson, the Governor of Kawachi, makes advances to her and without a word to anyone, she suddenly takes the tonsure and becomes a nun.
Genji-e
An illustration of this scene, when the governor's party, including ox-carriages, makes way for Genji's splendid mounted entourage, survives in the early 12c scroll of The Tale of Genji in the Tokugawa Art Museum. Another well-known example is the screen by Tawaraya Sotatsu (?-ca 1640) in the Seikado Bunko Museum, Tokyo. On the painting by Tosa Mitsunobu at the top of this page you can also see the two carriages; the one at the top is that of Utsusemi and her husband, who have left the road to make way for Genji, whose carriage is shown at the bottom.
Visiting
- The Osaka Barrier ("Meeting Slope", originally written as "Ausaka") is a historical spot (and utamakura) on the border between the old capital Heiankyo (now Kyoto) and the province of Omi (now Shiga Prefecture, with as capital Otsu), where the road to eastern Japan started. The low pass formed the entrance to Kyoto (the Tokaido also passed through it) and was a crucial traffic artery, apparently already busy in the ninth century.
[Monument of the Osaka Pass]
Today it still is, as both Route No. 1, the Keihan line and the Meishin Expressway struggle for space in the narrow pass, while the JR Tokaido and Shinkansen lines use tunnels bored through the mountain. The only difference is that people on foot are seldom now, you only see cars swishing by... The (probable) situation of the barrier is indicated by a large stone in a tiny memorial park.
[The Osaka Pass today]
The barrier soon became a rest station for travelers, and Fujiwara no Michitsuna's mother, the author of Kagero Nikki ("The Gossamer Years"), records resting there in 970 while crossing the pass.
To see the barrier monument, take the subway Tozai line from Sanjo Keihan bound for Biwako-Hamaotsu and get off at Otani St (15 min). The barrier is a few min walk in the direction away from Kyoto. This can easily be combined with a visit to Ishiyama temple (see below).
[Ishiyama Temple on top of its wollastonite rock formation] - Ishiyamadera (or "Stony Mountain Temple") is part of the Kansai Kannon Pilgrimage and was already founded in 747 by the priest Roben, at the behest of Emperor Shomu. Gold was needed to gilt the Great Buddha
of Todaiji in Nara and Roben had prayed to Ishiyama's Kannon for the discovery
of such gold. Soon, in northern Japan, gold was indeed found and Roben
converted his hermitage into a temple. The temple is named after the formation of wollastonite rocks in the compound (a good example of the importance of rocks as cult places in Japanese religion). The main hall, built on stilts and dating from 1096, is imbued with the mysterious atmosphere of esoteric Buddhism. The elegant Tahoto Pagoda was built in 1194 by Minamoto no Yoritomo and is the oldest stupa of its type in Japan.
[Murasaki Shikibu room in Ishiyamadera]
During the Heian era, pilgrimages to Ishiyama-dera became popular and people would spend the night at the temple, retiring to the Kannon-do hall for prayer. The temple has appeared in works by Sei Shonagon and Izumi Shikibu and became an important literary setting. The temple also has a link with Murasaki Shikibu: there is a legend saying that Lady Murasaki wrote parts of the Genji Monogatari while staying here. She apparently came up with the idea for "The Tale of Genji" while gazing at the full moon from Ishiyamadera (the date is even mentioned as August 1004!). The room that Shikibu purportedly used when writing "The Tale of Genji" still remains to this day. In the pleasant park at the back of the temple (famous for its many flowers as plum and cherry blossoms), visitors will also find a statue of Murasaki. Unfortunately, there is no historical foundation for a special link between Murasaki and Ishiyamadera - except that she visited here, like so many aristocratic Heian-ladies did, and that it appears in the chapter "At the Pass" of the Genji.
[Statue of Murasaki Shikibu in Ishiyamadera]
The temple commands a splendid view of Lake Biwa and the River Seta flowing out of the lake. Ishiyamadera is located close to Kyoto and – together with other temples in Otsu as Miidera and Saikyoji – a pleasant alternative to the more crowded establishments in the old capital. The temple was also visited by famous haiku poet Matsuo Basho and novelist Shimazaki Toson. Ishiyamadera has been included in the "Eight Views of Omi," which were selected based on a famous series of views in China ("Omi" is an ancient name for Shiga prefecture). The Ishiyama view is called "The Autumn Moon at Ishiyama", fitting into the Murasaki legend. Hiroshige and other ukiyo-e artists were inspired to create prints of the "Eight Views of Omi."
Ishiyama temple is a 10 min walk from Ishiyamadera St on the Ishiyama-Sakamoto Keihan Line. When coming from central Kyoto, from Sanjo Keihan take the subway Tozai line bound for Biwako-Hamaotsu; in Biwako-Hamaotsu transfer to the Keihan Ishiyama-Sakamoto line for Ishiyamadera (the last station on the line). This takes about 45 min.
When coming from Kyoto St by JR, take the JR Special Rapid Service bound for Yasu or the JR Biwako line bound for Maibara and get off at Zeze; here it is a 3 min walk to the adjacent Zeze St on the Ishiyama-Sakamoto Keihan Line for the short rode to Ishiyamadera St. Travel time is less than 30 min and transport cost is lower than that of the first option. But the first option allows you to get off at Otani St in case you want to see the barrier monument.
[Hiroshige's take on the Eight Views of Omi shows the full moon above Lake Biwa (note the Seta Bridge), and Ishiyama temple hidden in the folds of its mountain]