Of Old Japan
supposing that he had come only to show that he was not without sympathy, she continued the night absorbed in religious services, talking little with him.
In the morning the Prince said: "I have passed an extraordinary night"—
New is such feeling for me
We have been near,
Yet the night passed and our souls have not met.
And he added, "I am wretched."
She could feel his distress and was sorry for him; and said:
With endless sorrow my heart is weighted
And night after night is passed
Even without meeting of the eyelids.
For me this is not new.
May 2. The Prince wrote to her: "Are you going to the temple to-day? When shall you be at home again?"
Answer:
In its season the time of gently falling rain will be over.
To-night I will drag from its bed the root of ayame.[1]
Went to the temple and came back after two or three days to find a letter [from him]:
- ↑ The meaning of the poem is vague. Ayame may mean Iris sibirica—rain-stop, darkness—these are homonyms in Japanese. The fifth day of the fifth month was a festival day, and people adorned their houses with iris sibirica, so the last line might mean that she wanted to prepare for the festival. If we take the word ayame in the meaning of rain-stop, then we can understand the poem as follows: "It is the wet season now, and it Is raining within my heart. To-night I am going to the temple to pray that the rainy season will be over (and to chase away the darkness from my soul). After that I wish you to come."
