The Tale of Genji. 3 - Yuko Yamashita;Murasaki Shikibu

The Rokujō estate stands complete, its four wings arranged for the four seasons, and the ladies of the house pass their days in quiet splendor. On New Year's morning, Genji makes his rounds of each consort, radiant as ever, offering the season's greetings. The glory of Rokujō has reached its very peak.

Into the west wing, Genji has brought Tamakazura, the daughter he has taken under his care - and the young noblemen who flock to the Shining Prince now turn their attentions her way, sending letter after letter. When a single glimpse of her face, lit by fireflies, becomes the talk of the court, even the Emperor finds his thoughts drawn to her. Genji watches over her as a father, yet cannot entirely still his own longing. Meanwhile, preparations for Akashi's daughter to enter the palace proceed quietly, and a new generation begins to make its way toward the heart of the imperial court.

One autumn night, a violent storm sweeps through Rokujō. Through a gap in the blinds blown open by the wind, Yūgiri glimpses his father's wife - the Lady Murasaki - and the image burns itself into him. He does not yet know what that moment has planted in his heart. Before long, Tamakazura is carried off to a marriage she did not choose, and the brilliant autumn of Rokujō begins, almost imperceptibly, to darken.

Written at the dawn of the eleventh century by a lady-in-waiting known to posterity as Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji has been read for a thousand years as the world's oldest full-length psychological novel. This volume contains chapters 23 through 33 - from "The First Warbler's Song" to "Wisteria Leaves."