Episode 31

Long ago, a man was walking past a lady's room in the palace.
The lady said, "Oh, don't worry about him. He's just like a leaf. Let's see what happens to him."
The man heard her and said:

罪もなき人をうけへば忘草　　
　　　おのが上にぞ生ふといふなる
"If you hate an innocent person,
a plant called 'daylily' will grow on you."

When the lady heard this, she felt frustrated and knew she had lost.

Episode 32

Long ago, a man spoke to a woman he had once loved, many years after they had parted.
He said,

古のしづのをだまきくりかへし
　　　昔を今になすよしもがな
"Just like an old ball of thread spinning around,
I wish I could spin back time and bring the past into the present."

But the woman didn’t seem to care at all.

Episode 33

A long time ago, a man often visited a woman who lived in Ubara, a countryside town in Settsu Province.
The woman, who was from the countryside, thought that if he left this time, he would never come back.
So the man said:

芦辺より満ち来る潮のいやましに
　　　君に心を思ひますかな
"Like the water rising higher and higher by the reeds,
my love for you grows bigger and bigger."

The woman answered:

こもり江に思ふ心をいかでかは
　　舟さす棹のさして知るべき
"Your heart is hidden deep, like a small, quiet bay.
How could I find it with just a long stick from a boat?"

This was a poem written by a country girl.
Maybe it was good, or maybe not.

 

Episode 34

A long time ago, a man sent a poem to a woman who had treated him coldly.

He said:

言へばえに言はねば胸に騒がれて

 心ひとつに嘆くころかな

“When I speak, I can't find the words.

But when I remain silent, my heart is restless and I can't calm down.

So all I can do is sit alone and wallow in sadness.

How presumptuous of him to send such a poem!

 

Episode 35

A long time ago, a man sent a message to someone he didn’t want to lose, but they had already grown apart.
He said:

玉の緒を沫緒によりてむすべれば
　　　絶えてののちも逢はむとぞ思ふ
"The thread that ties beads together is made of soft, weak string.
Even if it breaks,
I believe we can tie it again and meet once more."

Episode 36

A long time ago, a woman asked a man, "Have you already forgotten about me?"
The man sent her a poem:

谷せばみ峯まではへる玉かづら
　　　絶えむと人にわが思はなくに
"Just like a vine growing from a narrow valley all the way up to the mountain top,
I have never wanted our bond to end,
no matter what happens."

Episode 37

A long time ago, a man met a woman who loved romance.
Maybe he was worried about the future, because he sent her this poem:

我ならで下紐解くな朝顔の　
　　　夕影待たぬ花にはありとも
"Please don’t untie your sash for anyone but me,
even if you are like a morning glory,
a flower that doesn’t wait for the evening sun."

The woman replied:

ふたりして結びし紐をひとりして
　　　あひ見るまでは解かじとぞ思ふ
"Since we tied the sash together,
I won’t untie it by myself.
I’ll wait until we can meet again."

Episode 38

A long time ago, a man went to visit someone named Ki no Aritsune.
But Aritsune was out and came home late, so the man sent him a poem:

君により思ひならひぬ世の中は
　　人はこれをや恋と言ふらむ
"Because of you, I have learned this feeling.
Is this what people call love?"

Aritsune replied:

ならはねば世の人ごとになにをかも
　　　恋とは言ふと問ひし我しも
"I have no experience with such feelings.
Didn't I once ask you what people mean when they say 'love'?"

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Explanation

This exchange shows the deep friendship between the two men.

Episode 39

A long time ago, there was an emperor called the Emperor of Saiin.
He had a daughter named Princess Takako.
One night, Princess Takako passed away.
A man who lived next to the palace wanted to see her funeral.
He got into a women's ox-drawn carriage with some court ladies and went out.

They waited for a long time.
But the funeral procession did not start.
It seemed the night would end with only crying.

At that time, a man named Minamoto no Itaru came to watch too.
He was famous for loving romance.
He saw the ox-drawn carriage and thought it was full of women.
He came closer and tried to flirt.

While acting playful, he caught a firefly.
He threw the firefly into the women's ox-drawn carriage.

One woman said,
"Maybe the firefly’s light will let them see us.
Let’s put out the light."

Then, the man riding with the women made a poem:

出でていなばかぎりなるべみともし消ち
　　　年経ぬるかとなく声を聞け
"When the funeral carriage leaves, it will be the last time we see her.
Let’s put out the firefly’s light.
We have waited so long it feels like many years.
Please listen to our sad crying."

Minamoto no Itaru replied with his own poem:

いとあはれ泣くぞ聞ゆるともし消ち
　　　　消ゆるものとも我は知らずな
"I hear your sad crying.
It is very touching.
But I do not believe the firefly’s light can be put out so easily."

For someone so famous, Itaru’s poem was quite plain.
Minamoto no Itaru was the grandfather of Minamoto no Shitagō.
Because of this flirting, the funeral lost its serious feeling.

 

Explanation

This story shows two different moods at the princess’s funeral.
One was the quiet and sad feeling of mourning.

The other was the lively feeling of a prince and princess pretending to meet by chance.
The princess’s bodyguard was Ariwara no Narihira.

The prince was Minamoto no Itaru, who was like Narihira.
But no one knows who the princess really was.

This funeral happened when Minamoto no Sadame, Itaru’s father, was 34 years old.
That was the same age as Narihira at that time.

 

Episode 40

A long time ago, a young man fell in love with a very beautiful woman.
But his parents were very nosy.
They thought it would be bad if he loved her too deeply.
They planned to send the woman away.
However, they could not do it right away.

The young man still depended on his parents.
He had no power to stop them.
The woman was from a low social class.
She also had no way to fight back.

While they waited, their love grew stronger and stronger.
Then one day, the parents suddenly forced the woman to leave.
The young man cried tears of blood.
But he could do nothing to stop her.

The woman was taken away by others.
The young man, crying, made a poem:

いでていなば誰か別れのかたらぬ
　　ありしにまさる今日は悲しも
"If she had left by her own choice,
no one would say the goodbye was sad.
Even though I have felt sadness before,
nothing is sadder than today."

After saying this, he collapsed and fainted.

His parents were shocked and scared.
They had only tried to help him by interfering.
They never thought he might actually die.
Because he really lost consciousness, they prayed desperately for him.

He fainted at sunset.
He finally woke up around 8 p.m. the next day.

Young people in the past loved with such strong feelings.
Today, are there still young people who could love so deeply they might die from it?

Explanation

This is a story about a young nobleman and a servant girl.
They fell deeply in love.

But their love was torn apart by the young man’s parents, who thought the woman was too low in status.