The house of weeds / Yomogiu

This is the fifteenth vignette in the 54-chapter series *Vestiges of Genji*.
Genji was a womanizer, flitting from flower to flower with no apparent help. He is a literary character whose libertine morals must be understood within the cultural context of his time. In any case, it must be said in his defense that Prince Genji never turned his back on any woman who crossed his path, accommodating them in different pavilions of his palace. He extended this consideration to Lady Suesumuhana, "the Safflower." This unfortunate woman, plain, old-fashioned, and utterly lacking in literary talent, had spent a decade waiting for another encounter with Genji. When Genji finally met her again, she was eking out a living in a dilapidated old mansion surrounded by an overgrown, neglected garden. Then Genji improvised these verses:

Through the undergrowth
I must forge a path
to find you,
unchanging heart
that still waits.

David Almazán. Exhibition "Prints of Prince Genji", Red Itiner 2023