II
THE DIARY OF MURASAKI SHIKIBU[1]
A.D. 1007–1010
As the autumn season approaches the Tsuchimikado[2] becomes inexpressibly smile-giving. The tree-tops near the pond, the bushes near the stream, are dyed in varying tints whose colours grow deeper in the mellow light of evening. The murmuring sound of waters mingles all the night through with the never-ceasing recitation[3] of sutras which appeal more to one's heart as the breezes grow cooler.
The ladies waiting upon her honoured presence are talking idly. The Queen hears them; she must find them annoying, but she conceals it calmly. Her beauty needs no words of mine to praise it, but I cannot help feeling that to be near so beautiful a queen will be the only relief from my sorrow. So in spite of my better desires [for a religious life] I am here. Nothing else dispels my grief[4]—it is wonderful!
It is still the dead of night, the moon is dim and darkness lies under the trees. We hear an officer call,
- ↑ This diary seems to have been jotted down in disconnected paragraphs and the editors have preserved that form.
- ↑ Tsuchimikado: the residence of Prime Minister Fujiwara, the father of the Queen.
- ↑ Priests are praying for the easy delivery of the Queen, who has gone to her parents' house before the birth, in accordance with old Japanese custom.
- ↑ The writer of this diary lost her husband in 1001.
