Genji Monogatari - The Tale of Genji: Hanachi-Sato (Villa of Falling Flowers)

None

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Section twelve of Genji Monogotari by Murasaki Shikibu. This LibriVox
recording is in the public domain. Section twelve henat child
Sato Villa of Falling Flowers. The troubles of Genji increased
day by day, and the world became irksome to him.

(00:21):
One incident, however, deserves a brief notice before we enter
into the main consequences of these troubles. There was a
lady who had been an Yogo at the court of
the late ex Emperor, and who was called ray kay
Den Niogo from the name of her chamber. She had
borne no child to him, and after his death, she,

(00:44):
together with a younger sister, was living in straitened circumstances.
Genji had long known both of them, and they were
often aided by the liberality with which he cheerfully assisted them,
both from feelings of friendship and out of respect to
his late father. He at this time kept himself quiet
at his own home, but he now paid these ladies

(01:06):
a visit one evening when the weather after a long
continued rain, had cleared up. He conversed with them on
topics of past times, until late in the evening the
waning moon threw her faint light over the tall trees
standing in the garden, which spread their dark shadows over
the ground. From among them, an orange tree in full

(01:27):
blossom poured forth its sweet perfume, and a hototogisu flew
over it, singing most enchantingly. Ah, how he recollects his
old friend, said Genji, and continued to this home of
falling flower. The odors bring thee back again, And now
thou sink'st in an evening hour, Thy faithful, loving strain

(01:50):
to this, the elder lady replied, At the home where
one lives all sadly alone, and the shadow of friendship
but seldom is cast. These blossoms reached the bright days
that are gone, and bring to our sadness the joys
of the past. And after a long and friendly conversation,
Genji returned to his home. One may say that the

(02:11):
character of Genji was changeable. That is true. Yet we
must do him justice for his kind heartedness to his
old acquaintances, such as these two sisters, And this would
appear to be the reason why he seldom estranged the
hearts of those whom he liked. End of Section twelve.