Yugiri
Title
On a misty evening Yugiri visits Princess Ochiba in the villa in the hills where she lives with her mother, and there he sends her the poem that gave both him and the chapter their name: 'Evening mists brought melancholy to a mountain village and veil the sky, so I cannot leave now.'
Waley keeps "Yugiri" as name, but the other translators have "Evening Mist".
Waley keeps "Yugiri" as name, but the other translators have "Evening Mist".
Chronology
This chapter begins more or less when "Bell Crickets" ends, and lasts into the winter of the same year. Position in the Genji
This chapter concerns Yugiri's increasing infatuation with and eventual seduction of the Second Princess, Ochiba no Miya, the widow of Kashiwagi. Jealous, his wife Kumoi no Kari retreats back to her father's house.
[Yugiri, by Tosa Mitsunobu. Harvard Art Museums]
Synopsis
Day by day, Yugiri's interest in Kashiwagi's widow, Princess Ochiba, is rising. Because her mother, Miyasudokoro, has fallen ill, the princess has moved to a mountain villa at Ono to the north of the capital (in the foothills of Mr Hiei) to have prayers said for her mother. Around mid-August, Yugiri visits Ono on the pretext that he is calling on the mother to inquire about her health. He confesses his love to the princess, but she doesn't accept him and keeps evading him. When the fog is thickening, Yugiri stays on with the mist as a pretext. He ends up spending the night by the Princess's side, but returns the nex mornng to the capital whtout having made her his. But the Buddhist priest who has come to pray for the health of Miyasudokoro tells her that he saw Yugiri only leaving in the morning. The mother then forces herself in spite of her illness, to send a letter to Yugiri in order to make certain of the truth.
However, Yugiri's wife, Kumoi no Kari, snatches the letter away the letter and hides it. She is jealous because Yugiri has stayed away the whole night. The mother is waits for a long time for a reply from Yugiri, but at last she passes away suddenly as a result of her excessive anxiety. Yugiri is told about her sudden death and he takes care of organizing the funeral, but Princess Ochiba blames him for her mother's death.
Although Princess Ochiba hopes to stay at the villa and take vows, her father the Cloistered Emperor Suzaku disagrees with her and sends Yugiri to take her back to the principal residence at Ichijo. Their relationship is already considered as an open secret by everybody, and she is confused by the situation.
Yugiri's foster mother, Hanachirusato, asks him for an explanation about the rumor, and after he returns home, Yugiri quarrels with his wife, Kumoi no Kari, who is angry at his philandering. He manages to calm her down, and pays frequent visits to the mansion where Princess Ochiba lives, but she stays inside and will not show herself, locking herself in a strong room. Finally, Yugiri manages to sleep with her and thus marry her.
The next morning, when Yugiri returns home, Kumoi no Kari has already gone with her daughter and several young children to the To no Chujo Residence, where her real parents live, and she will not listen to him when he visits her in order to take her and their children back home. The problem for Kumoi no Kari is not that Yugiri brings another woman into their home (he has already done that, with Koremitsu's daughter, but that is a woman of lower status) - the point is that Kumoi no Kari will be overshadowed by the high status of Princess Ochiba, just as Murasaki was overshadowed by the Third Princess. In her opposition to Yugiri’s marriage to Ochiba, Kumoi no Kari offers the most fully articulated objection to polygamy in the tale.
We also see that Yugiri is unable to imitate his father's frequent amorous adventures and polygamous behavior - in his case it only results in complications and he is unable to establish harmony between his wives.
Genji-e (Information from JAANUS)
The two episodes frequently chosen for illustration are: the jealous Kumoi no Kari coming upon Yugiri from behind to snatch away a letter she thinks is from the Second Princess; and Yugiri visiting the princess at her Ono villa, standing at the veranda railing and looking at the fall landscape with a fan raised to his eyes (as in the above illustration).No plays
There are two different plays about Princess Ochiba. One is called "Ochiba" (Fallen Leaves), the second one "Darani Ochiba" (The Magic Spell and the Fallen Leaves). Ochiba is a third-category play, probably created by Zeami, that is
performed only by Kongo-ryu. Both plays describe the melancholy of the
widow, Princess Ochiba, who is puzzled by Yugiri's love and closes her
heart to him.