Reading The Tale of Genji (50): The Eastern Cottage (Azumaya)

 

Azumaya

Title

Waley translates"The Eastern House", Seidensticker and Tyler "The Eastern Cottage" and Washburn has "A Hut in the Eastern Provinces". This term occurs in a poem  written by Kaoru when he visits the hidden dwelling of Ukifune. Azumaya is not so much a "hut in the Eastern Provinces," but rather a hut or cottage of the simple type one in that period usually found in the Eastern Provinces; it can also be a "garden pavilion." Here it is of course located in the capital Heiankyo.

Chronology

This chapter takes place in the 8th and 9th month when Kaoru is 26.

Position in the Genji

Ukifune and her mother go to the Nijo Mansion of Naka no Kimi. Ukifune attracts Niou's attention and he attempts to seduce her. Her mother therefore takes her away to a small villa (poetically referred to as an "Eastern cottage") at Sanjo. There Kaoru finds her and takes her to his own villa in Uji.

[Azumaya, by Tosa Mitsunobu. Harvard Art Museums]

Synopsis

Ukifune is the daughter of the Eight Prince and his secondary wife, Chujo no Kimi, but the father has not recognized his daughter. Chujo no kimi soon has remarried with the Vice Governor of Hitachi, and followed her husband to the East (of course also taking the young Ukifune with her), where she lives for a long time. Chujo no Kimi has several children by her second husband, but Ukifune, of noble blood and especially beautiful, is the one she cherishes most, and she often wishes for a good match for her.

Kaoru is interested in Ukifune, who resembles the late Oigimi, but is hesitant because of her low status as the stepdaughter of a provincial governor. Chujo no Kimi, learns from Ben no Kimi about Kaoru's feelings for her daughter, and though she is pleased, she is also reluctant to let her marry someone of such a different status. She feels a union with someone more equal in status would be preferable.

From among various suitors she then chooses Sakon no Shosho, Lieutenant of the Left Guards. But the Lieutenant has his eyes set on the fortune of the Vice Governor, and when he learns that Ukifune is only his stepdaughter, he breaks off the talks and instead begins courting one of the Vice Governor's own daughters. Vexed, Chujo no Kimi decides to have Ukifune live with her half-sister, Naka no Kimi.

Upon bringing her daughter to the Nijo Mansion, Chujo no Kimi is surprised to see how much better Naka no Kimi's condition is compared to that of Ukifune. She also realizes that her husband, the Vice Governor, pales in comparison to the handsome splendor of Niou and Kaoru. Now she decides after all to try to arrange a match between her daughter and Kaoru.

However, Niou happens to find Ukifune by chance in his house. One evening, after Niou returns from the palace where he has been attending to his ailing mother, the Akashi Empress, he seeks out his wife’s company only to find that she is occupied with the laborious process of having her hair washed. Bored, he wanders about, when his attention is attracted by a young serving girl unknown to him, and following her, he finds Ukifune - not knowing that she is Naka no Kimi's half-sister - and after the usual kaimami he forcefully tries to make love to her. Ukifune barely manages to escape when Niou is suddenly called back to the palace. Ukifune is mortified by the incident of being wooed by her sister's husband. Naka no Kimi, too, after hearing about the commotion, is heartbroken. When Chujo no Kimi hears about this incident, she is shocked and hides Ukifune in a small house she is having constructed in Sanjo. This called an "Eastern Corrage" not only because of the building style, but also because the guards she employs are all from the eastern part of Japan and speak a heavy dialect (now the Kanto area) where she has lived with her husband and Ukifune.

In the autumn, Kaoru learns of Ukifune's whereabouts from Ben no Kimi. He asks Ben no Kimi to act as an intermediary so that he can visit her - and now he sees the half-sister of the dead Oigimi for the first time. The next morning, he takes Ukifune in his carriage to Uji.

Genji-e (Information from JAANUS)

1) The illustration used above depicts Ukifune at the Nijo residence of her half sister, Naka no Kimi, while Naka no Kimi's husband, Niou, is spying on her via kaimami. (2) On an autumn morning, Ukifune's mother watches Niou playing with his young son before leaving for court; 3) Ukifune and Naka no kimi look at illustrated romances (e-monogatari), while Ukon, a lady-in-waiting, reads the accompanying text out loud; and 4) Kaoru visits Ukifune at the small villa in Sanjo, where he hears peddlers at dawn walking about with their wares balanced on the tops of their heads. While waiting there, Kaoru refers to an Eastern-type cottage called "azumaya" in a poem.

Reading The Tale of Genji