Written approximately 1000 years ago, the world's oldest...
...tale of love "Genji Monogatari" is still being widely read today.
Its protagonist, Hikaru Genji, is tormented by...
...his forbidden love for one of the Emperor's concubines.
As if to seek some sort of salvation, Genji engages...
...in a series of affairs with numerous women.
The ultimate mystery of "Genji Monogatari" lies with its author, Murasaki Shikibu.
Why did she write this tale?
Or rather, why was she compelled to write it?
The real world Murasaki Shikibu lives in and the
fictional world of Hikaru Genji are blended together...
to create the glorious milieu of high courtiers during the Heian period.
A new story is about to begin that will take us to the
heart of the ultimate mystery in "Genji Monogatari".
Translated by melkarie and yuizaki_libra@livejournal
I have heard of your reputation.
It is said that real blood...
runs in your tale.
You should stop resisting.
Whatever I may do,
I will be forgiven.
One day,
let me read the tale you write.
It is a tale about a man and a woman.
Do you want to know my name?
I am Hikaru.
The light that shines on the whole world.
This paper has been brought back...
from China by some monk.
You shall catch...
the heart of the Emperor...
with this brush. With your brush.
You are the only one able to do it.
No one besides you can do it.
With the power of the tale you will write,
the Emperor will stay with my daughter, Shoshi,
as long as possible.
So I can rule over the whole country.
So I can put my blood into the Emperor's.
"My blood"?
The Tale of Genji - A Thousand Year Enigma...
In the reign of a certain Emperor,
there was among the court ladies serving...
at the inner palace of the Emperor,
one who, though she was not of high birth,
was loved more than anyone by the Emperor,
and received special treatment...
as if she were Yang Guifei.
This person was called Lady Kiritsubo.
However, the depth of the Emperor's great love...
was envied by many ladies...
and Lady Kiritsubo was attacked.
Among those, the anger the Emperor's first consort,
Lady Kokiden, was extraordinary.
You dirty woman!
Somebody of low birth like you...
will not give birth to the Emperor's child!
I will never allow it!
With this,
my blood will finally...
be united with the Emperor.
You are...
my life.
It seemed that Lady Kiritsubo...
gave birth to her child...
and died in exchange for his life.
Three years after losing his beloved Lady Kiritsubo,
the Emperor was wandering...
through a dark world.
Come here.
Come to your father.
From today onwards, we will be living here together.
Prince Hikaru*. (* means "shining")
You are the child of the person I loved.
Ah, my son.
The colors are changing.
The Emperor took the fourth princess of the previous Emperor
as his new consort.
This person was called Princess Fujitsubo.
Her features resembled those...
of the late Lady Kiritsubo.
Many seasons passed...
and the second son who had grown tall...
became a young noble man who...
captivated all the hearts in the inner palace, like no one before him.
Ah, he is so handsome!
He makes you forget the passage of time.
This is quite satisfactory.
Prince Hikaru's coming of age ceremony...
was held in the Seiryoden.
The first son, who Lady Kokiden gave birth to,
was soon made Crown Prince,
thanks to the strong support of the Ministry of the Right.
The Emperor's real intention...
was to make Prince Hikaru a Crown Prince too,
but he had no satisfactory support.
Thus, instead of staying in a vague position
as an Imperial Prince without any rank,
he was given the name of Genji,
and was demoted to the rank of a subject serving in the inner palace.
That's a good thing. It suits him well, doesn't it?
He is not of the same rank as my Prince.
Rather than a prince,
isn't he the son of this low dirty woman?
Even so, his figure is such that...
after seeing it once,
it is burnt into my memory...
I cannot think of anything else, in the
mornings and at nights, and even in my dreams.
It is the same for me.
Huh?
Shut up!
Shut up, shut up! Won't you shut your mouth?
When will Genji resent me?
Things that are truly precious to me...
always fall from my hand.
I will always be...
by your side.
You are really kind.
My sincere congratulations on your coming of age ceremony.
Won't you...
let me see your face?
You have now...
become an adult.
From now on,
I will forever stay...
within the inner palace...
and with Lady Fujitsubo as a subject.
"Prince Genji came into the world..."
"...blessed with incredible beauty."
"In the inner palace torn by the passion of these ominous women,"
"...however,"
"...the urge of his heart which grew without the love of a mother..."
"...would lead him to a great tragedy."
We really want to hear the rest of the story, right?
Yes.
I do not deserve...
such words.
Let go of me.
No, I will not let you go.
Tonight's moon...
makes me remember that night.
I will remember it all my life.
Like this one night,
I would like to receive your love...
in your arms tonight.
It seems you have drunk more sake than you should have,
Sir Michinaga.
Please have a good night.
You will be late for tomorrow's council.
I am not Michinaga.
I am Hikaru.
Isn't Hikaru the name...
you gave me in your story?
Hurry and go to rest please.
You might catch a cold if you stay here too long.
Well done, Shikibu!
Huh?
Thanks to you, Shoshi is pregnant.
I will thank you again.
I am simply...
following your orders.
Your brush really transcends our lives.
Even I am your slave.
The tale you are writing...
has completely caught my heart.
Good night.
Let us see which one is stronger,
my desire or your mind.
Hey, move back, move back. Move back, move back.
Make way.
Go away, quick.
Ah... The Ministry of the Right is such an idiot.
Adding unnecessary things when it's already obvious.
Ah... because of this it's already late.
People who are stupid...
often talk in a roundabout way.
Right, Kozei, don't you think so too?
You should follow his example.
What?
Saying things frankly causes unnecessary misunderstandings and quarrels.
Isn't it a good thing?
It means this boring council will become more interesting.
I...
don't need books.
The blood of the Fujiwara family running in this body...
actually teaches me many things.
How to move to manipulate the heart of people.
How to move to punish hindrances.
The child inside Shoshi's belly...
has to be a son.
Only then will we be able...
to put an end to this clan battle.
What are you?
Huh?
Who are you?
Tell us your name!
What are you?
Wait.
You probably want to see me.
It was you as expected.
Haven't you put an end to your feelings yet?
You were defeated. I was the one who defeated you.
Why can't you understand this?
Why can't you admit it?
Sir Korechika.
It happened too early. You were too young.
You consumed the flower of this world...
without even understanding its taste.
This is why...
you could not even notice what people desired.
Shut up. Shut up.
You plotted all of this, my uncle.
Your time has come to an end.
It is enough.
You enjoyed it more than enough.
You arrogantly assumed everything was under your power...
without even knowing you had to be thankful...
to my older brother Michitaka!
Shut up,
Shut up, shut up!
Won't you shut up!
Kaku, kou, tei, bou, shin,
bi, ki, to, gyuu, jo,
kyo, ki, shitsu, heki, kei, rou,
i, hou, shitsu, shi, shin,
sei, ki, ryuu, sei,
chou, yoku, shin.
Who are you?
Aren't you late?
Please be very careful at night...
when the moon is like this.
Get in.
Let us go drink sake at my place.
Since your mansion...
seems to be pretty inconvenient.
You don't know, do you?
This man...
lost his mansion in the fire after it was struck by lightning.
Because even Abe no Seimei, the onmyoji of this world,
cannot tell his own bad fortune.
Sir Seimei, I beg your pardon.
Then, let us ask these people to serve us some sake.
Ah!
Oh!
Sir Kozei, do these creatures suit your taste?
This man is fine as long as he has books.
He flirts with books, plays with books,
and is intimate with books.
Thanks to you,
his wife is crying on her pillow.
What are you saying?
I am praising you.
Your brush can make a person more drunk than common sake.
Forget the time,
forget the place,
forget yourself.
Even if I devote myself for the next hundred years,
I will never reach your perfection.
It cannot be attained with efforts only.
It is indeed...
a gift from heaven.
I do not deserve such words.
What is it?
Sir Michinaga, you learned how to praise people.
I just always tell things as they are.
What is good is good. What is bad is bad.
What is clever is clever.
What is stupid is stupid.
You understand, don't you?
Ah...
I am enjoying the sake tonight.
Both of you were born as men of talent.
It is absolutely...
impossible for me.
After his coming of age ceremony,
Prince Genji married.
You really look good together!
From now on, depend on each other...
and stay happily married.
Let us get along for ever and ever.
Is something wrong?
His wife was a Princess of the Ministry of the Left.
The Emperor who was worried about the future of Prince
Genji because he did not have any strong support,
made the Ministry of the Right his guardian...
after the wedding.
How quiet it is.
It is like...
you and I...
are alone in this world.
That...
would be inconvenient.
Why is that?
Who would prepare...
the water to wash our face?
Our breakfast?
Our kimono?
That...
we could do something about it.
No.
There is nothing we could do.
I will prepare the wooden brazier right away.
If we stay like this,
we won't be cold.
Please...
the day has broken.
Where are you going tonight?
My Lady.
Tonight Prince Genji will come here.
Really?
So despicable.
Tonight again, thank you for your guidance.
This is...
a book I received from the late Prince.
I was thinking that you could use it as a model.
I am terribly sorry.
What happened?
That is...
a book I copied.
This one is...
the original book.
Your characters...
are far more beautiful.
They are lustrous and graceful.
What is this?
That is...
That...
is because I remembered a deceased person...
while I was writing this down.
Is it...
a tear?
The Prince...
must be very happy.
Even after his death,
a wonderful person like you...
is longing for him so deeply.
No matter how long you live,
if you cannot realize even one dream,
what kind of worthless life is that?
You just have to live enduring...
the burden of your heavy heart.
Prince Genji?
Won't you accept just a little...
of these heavy feelings of mine?
Wh... what?
Finally!
He is finally born!
The son of the Emperor.
Congratulations.
You are my blood.
Shoshi.
Well done!
Shikibu.
This is all thanks to you.
Oh, there is a good omen.
Seimei.
Why are you coming at this hour?
I did not come to pray for a safe delivery.
I came here to see...
the face of a grandfather.
You good for nothing.
Who is this person?
The tale writer.
There is an ill omen.
The fact that Prince Genji...
had a relationship with the popular Lady Rokujo...
became the main rumor.
Wake up.
Are you throwing me out...
into this darkness?
The day will break soon.
I...
could be eaten by some devil in the darkness.
If you go back when the sun is already high,
they will laugh at me.
Saying the young Prince stole the heart...
of the girl past her prime...
and she lost her inhibitions.
What are you...
trying to protect?
Are you just saying,
let us enjoy ourselves?
Or just,
let us love this one moment?
I cannot keep on living alone.
Even if you want to leave me.
Why would you do such a thing?
Because I have to give love to those who will grow old before me.
This is really sad.
I will not let you go.
I will not let anybody have you.
Koremitsu.
What is the name of this flower?
This is an evening glory*. (*yugao)
An evening glory?
Secretly, they bloom at night. And secretly, they wither away.
It is a pitiful flower.
Indeed.
Bring me one.
Forgive me for taking this without asking.
Could you give this to the one up there?
It is a delicate and fragile flower.
I am sure it needs some support.
Oh.
It is beautiful.
"The crystal dew at Evening's hour"
"Sleeps on the Yugao's beauteous flower,"
"Will this please him, whose glances bright,"
"Gave to the flowers a dearer light."
Aren't you Prince Hikaru,
who we hear so much about?
This...
Didn't I hurt your skin?
My nails have now grown so long.
No.
Weren't you cold?
Even though it is summer, you were quite cold...
so I was secretly keeping you warm.
With your warmth.
Come near.
I will...
warm you even more.
Aren't you afraid?
You don't even know who I am...
You are...
a kind person.
Just knowing that is enough.
It's enough for me too.
If only you... are by my side.
"Prince Genji, who lost his mother at an early age..."
"...and spent his childhood lacking love,"
"...was a servant..."
"...still yearning for love."
"And Lady Yugao..."
"...filled tenderly the heart of this servant."
So this is how it is.
I am a servant.
What are you talking about, Father?
Then, in the end what happens...
to Yugao and Prince Genji?
The life of Yugao is taken away.
Oh.
You are beautiful.
I cannot stop admiring you.
You are the most wonderful person with the noblest avocation.
What happened?
What is wrong?
Hey! Hang on! What is going on?
Hey!
Even though I love you so much.
I am miserable for showing no mercy...
to such a frivolous woman.
I am so miserable for believing with all my heart...
that you loved me.
I am just so miserable.
Stop it!
You...
Yugao!
Yugao.
Wake up, Yugao!
Yugao!
Perhaps, this is when Prince Genji...
realized that the the evil spirit who murdered Lady Yugao...
was in reality the possessing spirit of Lady Rokujo.
He had a vague idea,
but he was not sure it was true.
Anyhow, the lady...
was very good at hiding her true nature.
And the Prince...
had no idea about this.
Ah... it hurts.
Ah, it hurts so much!
This girl was quite enthusiastic.
Wait a second.
No matter how much this proves our close relationship,
to hurt me to this point...
Could it be a plot?
A plot?
Ah... I know.
She did this so I would not go to other ladies.
I never imagined she had such an evil mind behind her lovely face.
But this is not the kind of thing that would happen with my little sister.
Could you visit Aoi a bit more often?
She is not a cold woman.
It is just that...
She was brought up to be the princess of the Crown Prince,
so she is still keeping her meaningless pride.
She is an awkward girl who cannot cry and say she feels lonely.
Even if it takes some time,
in the end, I want us to open our hearts to each other.
Ah, but...
I am not really getting along with the
Princess of the Ministry of the Right either.
However...
every time I go to the Palace, I am always impressed.
I think the harmony between the Emperor and Lady Fujitsubo...
was surely predestined.
Now, because Lady Fujitsubo returned to her parents,
the Emperor must be very sad.
What is this?
Somebody? Is some servant here?
Nobody will come.
Because I have driven these persons out.
Please stop.
No matter what I do, I will get away with it.
That is what I myself have decided.
How outrageous.
I am your mother.
No, you are not. You are never my mother.
I have admired and loved you dearly since early childhood.
Ever since I could no longer see you with ease, even in my dream,
you are the only person I have been yearning to see.
I will carry this sin alone.
You are not at all in the wrong.
Please stop.
Why will you not understand?
Just because of one mere moment,
you will live in agony and shame of a traitor for the rest of your life.
It is only the same agony I have been going through.
As long as my heart still clings to you, this agony will persist.
You are hugely mistaken.
The reason you long for me is exactly that I'm the wife of your father, the Emperor.
If I were any woman whom you could obtain so easily,
you will definitely not have such desires for me.
Is that what you see of me?
Sir.
Sir, please hold your steps.
Lady Aoi has...
Let us set aside our grudges for the birth of our child.
Are you in pain?
I am overjoyed.
I have no memory of my mother.
However,
my child to whom you are going to give birth...
will be showered with love from his mother that is you.
Witnessing that, I will finally...
be set free from the lonely days of my early childhood.
Aoi.
From now onwards,
please share with me all your complaints...
hardships and sorrow.
For we...
are destined to be man and wife.
Yes.
My dear.
You have lost a bit of weight, have you not?
Still...
those gaunt features make you... all the more beautiful.
My dear,
do you also say such words to other women?
Already a complaint about me?
Yes, it is.
Please do not worry.
I'll be by your side forever.
Yes.
Lady Rokujo is such a frightening woman.
She's still not satisfied after murdering one woman.
Until when will she keep chasing after Genji?
Who knows.
That remains unclear to me, too.
Unclear?
Is it not up to you to decide?
Nothing is set in stone until I hold the brush and touch the paper.
Not until when I write do I know...
"Ah..."
"This is how the story will unfold."
Is that so?
Yes, sir.
You are indeed...
a frightening woman too.
Have you not already captured the hearts of both the
Emperor and Shoshi, as well as everyone else at court...
just with your brush?
Now that Shoshi has given birth to a son,
my biggest wish is now fulfilled.
If that is the case, Shikibu,
what are you still writing it for?
Why would you continue penning this worthless tale?
How can you, out of everyone, not understand my reason?
I suppose...
it is my own unrealized desires that compel me to hold the brush.
It's the Crown Prince.
Our Crown Prince is here.
We are all humbled by your presence.
Everything you see here belongs to you.
I will, for this lifetime, serve you as your retainer.
Sir Kozei.
In the end, I truly can't do anything without you.
Thank you for helping me persuade the Emperor.
I said before that your wish would not come true, even a hundred years later.
But no.
It will not come true even after a thousand years.
Sir Michinaga...
is the kind of person who, once set on something,
will definitely accomplish it.
Ever since Lady Shoshi gave birth to Imperial Prince Atsuhira,
it has become clear...
whom Sir Michinaga would elect for the position of Crown Prince.
Even if that decision is to be overturned,
no matter what hand you use...
things would only fall back to its former state.
I am... very afraid of that.
Bow down... to the entrance of our Emperor!
It is our greatest honor to welcome you to our house.
Please take your time.
Pardon my tardiness.
Make haste.
Bring forth wine and food.
Yes, sir.
Our Crown Prince just had his hakamagi*. (* a ceremony held when a child reached
the age of 3, or later 5, where he or she wears the hakama for the first time)
Such an extremely important occasion deserves any extravagance we can afford.
Yes sir!
Make haste.
What happened to the music? Start dancing.
Yes, sir!
Make haste!
Poison.
Her hardened feelings will turn into poison and spread all over her body.
Prince Genji's child?
Lady Aoi has conceived and will soon give birth.
Everyone in the Ministry of the Left is in a
great hurry to prepare for her safe delivery.
Prince Genji must be overjoyed.
This shall be their first child.
He has constantly been staying with Lady Aoi out of worry for her well-being.
Prince Genji is surely an affectionate person.
He shall make an excellent father.
Will it be a boy? Or a lovely baby girl?
That means Prince Genji's visit tonight would be his last one then...
I am deeply sorry for failing to visit during these
days when I have to care for other businesses.
Please forgive my negligence.
To the family of the Minister of the Left, this will be their first grandchild.
Numerous prayers are being offered, and exorcisms performed for her safe delivery.
There is hardly a place at the house for me to rest my mind.
I really do miss the refined features of your place.
If you indeed do,
you may come and leave anytime.
My warm bedchamber is always here.
You are a poor, poor soul...
for being binded to such an unloving wife.
And yet,
why was she still conceived with your child when there is hardly any love?
Why she, and not me.
Expel!
Expel all evil spirits!
Lady Aoi.
Please hold your steps.
Lady Aoi! Lady Aoi...
Father!
No matter what we do, the spirits are not going away!
Lady Aoi.
Aoi!
Everything will come right. Please relax.
I will be right here with you.
My dear...
We will soon become true husband and wife.
It was a long, roundabout road,
but soon, you, I and our child will live a happy life.
We shall lead a contented and quiet life together.
What do you wish to say?
Please release me...
Are you in pain?
Release me...
Please...
release me from all those exorcisms.
That voice is...
Why did you abandon me?
Am I...
Am I no more than a woman whom you merely have pity for?
That could be no further from the truth.
Compared to Ogishi's works, this is...
It's screaming.
Drink up.
The demon inside her is screaming.
Inside me, there's a barren, wicked heart.
And the person who awoke it was...
you.
Why did you provoke me so?
The only thing I ever wished...
was to keep my dignity and live in peace.
So despicable.
I am so despicable for ending up in this wretched state.
Aoi?
Aoi.
Lady Aoi.
Princess! Princess!
Princess.
Lady Aoi!
Princess!
"Purify heaven, earth, in and out."
"Purify all six organs."
"Purify heaven, earth, in and out."
"Purify all six organs."
Who on earth are you?
Hm?
Where has Seimei gone?
Rin, byou, tou,
ja, kai, jin, retsu,
zai, zen,
ja, kai,
Unforgivable.
I will not forgive anyone who is in my way!
Rin, byou, tou,
ja, kai, jin, retsu,
zai, zen, rin, byou, tou,
ja, kai, jin, retsu,
zai, zen...
So this is the wickedness you have been harboring in your heart...
Princess is about to deliver.
Princess is about to deliver!
Please relax.
Princess.
Princess!
Please breathe slowly.
The woman whom you favor, Sir Michinaga...
The novelist...
Her wickedness will one day slip out of her tale.
When that time comes, even we might not be able to suppress it.
We must stop Shikibu from writing.
There is no other person who can stop her other than you, Sir Michinaga.
That I cannot do.
Why not?
Because of my wish.
Because I want to see...
what Shikibu can accomplish as a writer.
I want to witness with my own eyes...
the depth of her craft and talent.
Even though it may put yourself at a great risk?
That's right. It is my responsibility.
For it was me who awoke her talent as a writer.
Here, take your medicine.
Thank you.
It won't wear off.
Why wouldn't it wear off?
This smell... of poppy seeds.
It won't wear off.
It is not wearing off.
Is it painful?
I have been in much greater agony.
Much, much greater.
I have suffered all this time.
Wake up!
You have not yet tasted true agony.
Wake up!
Ame no minaka nushi.
One. One yields two. Two.
Two yields three. Three.
Three yields all things.
Three times three is nine.
Nine times nine is eighty-one.
From North to South, first forward Tousha.
Second forward Suzaku.
Third forward Rikugo.
Fourth forward Kojin.
Fifth forward Seiryu.
The heavenly generals of the East.
Resentment will only go back to destroy yourself.
Lady Rokujo, it's time you stopped.
What do you know?
What meaning would there be in life...
if I'm no longer loved by him?
I would not care if I have to I die and atone for my sins.
He is my life.
Mine only.
Will you...
let me end it here?
My- my dear...
Some... someone!
Lady Aoi... Lady Aoi has passed away!
Aoi!
Just how many women...
were driven insane by your worthless husband?
Why are you keeping quiet?
Is it your kindness?
Everything...
must be clear to you by now.
I am...
the despicable woman whose soul has turned evil.
No matter... no matter how many times I change my robes,
no matter how many times I wash my hair, it will not wear off.
My whole body reeks of the smell of poppy seeds.
I...
I cannot help feeling terrified of myself.
I am at fault for everything.
It was me...
..who has put you into such despair.
The fact that you have lost your sanity...
is evidence of the profound love you have wasted on me.
It was entirely my fault for having treated you so crudely.
Please...
do not blame yourself.
With those words of yours,
I could finally garner the resolve to leave the capital.
What are you talking about?
Through a relative, I have arranged to retreat to Ise.
There...
I intend to spend the rest of my life in peace.
You will leave me here alone?
If I stay here,
I will only revert to being a woman who tortures you.
You still have youth going for you.
Please find a kind-hearted lady...
with whom you can live...
laugh and cry together.
When the night falls,
please be careful...
of women with strong passions like me.
You can...
You can start over from scratch.
Time might pass,
but there is no chance I would encounter another
person who loves me as deeply as you do.
No matter how many times I start over, things will be the same.
We will only repeat the same mistake over and over again.
You have given me plenty.
You allowed me to taste the happiness, sorrow and anguish of love...
It was all because of you.
Farewell...
my dear.
Lady Myobu! Lady Myobu!
Please. Please stop, Sir.
Please stop, Sir.
Will you stop, please?
Please stop, Sir. I beg of you.
Please stop, Sir.
I beg of you...
Please stop.
Lady Fujitsubo, I...
I understand.
Let me have a talk with him.
Prince Genji.
Your conduct is troubling not just me,
but her as well.
Do you not understand that?
I finally came to realize just now...
the reason why I have these feelings for you.
I could now recall...
the first time I met you at the old palace.
We used to read books together until the night wore on.
We played and danced.
It was during that time that I started to think...
that if I could stay a child like this,
I could be with you forever.
When I am wrapped up in your warm smiles,
to me,
there is no one who can replace you.
Although we may never be together, it is my destiny to keep on loving you.
If I had had the strength to carry that agony alone,
I would not have hurt anybody.
Aoi,
Yugao,
and Lady Rokujo too.
I came here today to tell you that.
I shall not show such improper conduct ever again.
My dearest.
I cannot let you fall into the abyss of Hell.
I am already falling.
Will this nightmare...
end after tonight?
Or will it lead to another nightmare?
I am truly grateful to you.
After I lost Genji's mother, you saved me from my despair.
You will even give me a new life.
You are the light that illuminates me.
There is no one who can replace you.
Look, is he not a beautiful child?
He is.
Truly beautiful.
He bears a strange resemblance to you when you were small.
I am honored.
I suppose beautiful things must resemble each other.
After he turned the reign over to his son Emperor Suzaku,
and named the young son he has with Lady Fujitsubo the Crown Prince,
the Emperor fell ill, as if he had been waiting for that moment.
No need to worry.
My time is up.
That is not true.
I am exhausted.
Father.
I have no regrets about anything...
Hikaru.
Except for you.
Among all my children, you were the most accomplished one.
However, it was due to my incompetence...
that I could not appoint you as my successor.
I am not that capable of a person.
If I could have put you on the throne, none of us would have had to suffer.
Both you and me.
Please...
look after the young Crown Prince for me.
This is my last wish.
I...
cannot help thinking that...
the deceased Emperor knew everything about our sin.
And yet he still made our son the Crown Prince.
I will look after him and protect him.
I heard you were returning to your hometown.
Yes.
My daughter is waiting for me.
She lost her father at a young age.
Due to my court duties, I could not be by her side.
I have left her feeling lonely for such a long time.
I see.
But it is going to get lonely around here.
Why are you laughing?
You do love to joke, sir.
That's how I truly feel.
When I can no longer to read any more of your tales,
I hardly have anything else worth doing each day.
Be in good health.
I will.
So what happens to Genji afterwards?
Does he realize the vanity of the palace and find a retreat somewhere?
No, sir.
None of that will happen.
The life of Prince Genji has just started.
From then on,
he will meet a lot of people, part ways with them,
taste many different kinds of happiness,
let his tears flow again and again, and like that, he will go on living.
That is most certainly a tough life.
Yes, it is.
Just like yours.
Just like mine?
I will be watching you from afar.
I will be watching you experience...
the numerous splendors of this world.
That's true.
My name is Hikaru.
The light that shines...
all over the world.
A beautiful moon, indeed.
I wonder how many more times I could admire such a beautiful moon like this.
Oh? You are quite the faint-hearted, aren't you?
Tell me, Seimei.
How much longer can I live?
That...
I do not know.
You are as disobliging as ever.
Kozei.
Drink with me.
There, there. Hold your glass properly.
Yes...
It seems that you have been completely bewitched by her tale.
Sir Michinaga.
You are indeed a very lucky man.
She withdrew herself before letting her soul turn evil.
It's beautiful.
Care for a poem?
"This world, I think, Is indeed my world."
"Like the full moon I shine, Uncovered by any cloud."
Are you sure this is what you want to do?
Please let me through.
I have to talk to Lady Fujitsubo.
That we cannot allow.
No one may walk past this door.
I am from the capital, working for the government councils.
In front of the Buddha, you are just another ordinary person.
No one may touch those who have been taken in by the Buddha.
When will...
you stop torturing me?
Do you still not understand?
You have charmed the hearts of so many people.
The remaining happiness...
you will have to earn it with your blood.
That is...
your life.
Translated by melkarie and yuizaki_libra@livejournal