July 25, 2022

Reading the Tale of Genji (26): Wild Pinks (Tokonatsu)

Tokonatsu

Title

"Tokonatsu," literally "ever lasting summer," is an old name for the late summer / autumn flower "nadeshiko," often rendered as "wild pinks." Because mother and daughter have become one object of love for him, Genji refers to Tamakazura as "nadeshiko" and to Yugao is "tokonatsu." The title is based on a poem by Genji.

Waley translates "A Bed of Carnations," Seidensticker "Wild Carnation." Tyler has "The Pink," Wasburn "The Wild Pinks."

Chronology

This chapter directly follows the previous one, covering the 6th month.

Position in the Genji

The fifth chapter in the Tamakazura series, about the problems arising from the introduction into the household of an illegitimate, long-lost daughter, as To no Chujo, Genji's old friend and rival, has done.



[Tokonatsu, by Tosa Mitsunobu, Harvard Art Museums]

Synopsis

To no Chujo has been looking for Tamakazura, but instead has found Omi no Kimi - he has been such a hyperactive lover, that he has many illegitimate children, often unknown to him, so wherever he searches, one will pop up. The daughter he has found and taken into his residence is coarse and ill-bred, and a total contrast to the beautiful and elegant Tamakazura.

On a hot summer day, Genji and his son Yugiri are trying to escape the heat by having a picnic at the Tsuridono (fishing pavilion) in the lake of the Rokujo-in estate. When To no Chujo's sons come to call, Genji indulges in some sarcastic observations about Omi no Kimi, also because he is irritated by the opposition of To no Chujo to a match between Yugiri and Kumoi no Kari.

That evening, Genji takes the young noblemen to Tamakazura's wing, and she overhears their conversation. She is distressed to find that Genji and To no Chujo are not on good terms, worrying whether she can ever meet her real father. Later, while instructing her in the art of the six-stringed koto, Genji speaks about her dead mother Yugao and promises to let her meet her real father, To no Chujo, one day. All the same, Genji himself is becoming more and more attracted to her, although he hopes to marry her either to Prince Hotaru or General Higekuro, her two most enthusiastic suitors. 

Meanwhile, To no Chujo is angry when he hears from his sons about the cynical remark that Genji has made. He is piqued at Genji's failure to give in and come to him first, and scolds Kumoi no Kari.

At the same time, he is at a loss what to do with Omi no Kimi, the lost daughter he has taken so much trouble to find, but who in her uncouth ways is not at all like a princess. He decides to make her a lady-in-waiting to his oldest daughter, Kokiden no Nyogo, the Emperor's junior consort, to learn good manners, but a letter and a waka poem she sends to Kokiden are so nonsensical that all the court ladies snigger in contempt. Murasaki Shikibu is clearly using the country bumpkin for cheap laughs.

Genji-e

Scenes chosen for illustration tend to focus on the elegant sub-plots: Genji and other courtiers having a picnic in the fishing pavilion on a hot summer day and enjoying trout and ayu sweetfish (as in the Tosa Mitsunobu painting above); or Genji teaching Tamakazura to play the koto (Japanese zither) in autumn, when wild carnations bloom in the garden (JAANUS).



Reading The Tale of Genji