三月、紫の上の中宮、匂宮らを連れて紫の上を見舞う。紫の上、匂宮に庭前の紅梅と桜をこの後も慈しんでいくれるよう頼む。

In the third month the Empress Murasaki visits Murasaki with Prince Niou and others; Murasaki asks Prince Niou to cherish the red plums and cherries in the garden hereafter.

夏、明石の中宮、匂宮らを連れて紫の上を見舞う。紫の上、匂宮に庭前の紅梅と桜をこの後も慈しんでくれるように頼む。

In summer the Akashi Empress visits Murasaki with Prince Niou and others; Murasaki asks Prince Niou to cherish the garden's red plums and cherries hereafter.

秋の夕暮れ、重病の紫の上、風に吹かれる前栽を見て、源氏・明石の中宮と歌を交わす。

On an autumn evening the gravely ill Murasaki, seeing the garden plants blown by the wind, exchanges poems with Genji and the Akashi Empress.

病の癒えない紫の上はたびたび出家を願うが、源氏は愛着の深さゆえに許さない。紫の上はせめてもの願いとして法華経千部供養を営み、明石の中宮や孫の匂宮に別れを告げる。秋風の立つ夕暮れ、露のように儚く息を引き取り、源氏は生涯最大の悲嘆に打ちひしがれ、後を追いたい絶望の中で野辺送りを営む。

Failing in health, Murasaki repeatedly pleads to become a nun, but Genji's passionate attachment refuses permission. She sponsors an offering of a thousand copies of the Lotus Sutra, bidding farewell to the Akashi Empress and young Niou. On an autumn evening, like vanishing dew, Murasaki breathes her last, plunging Genji into a despair so profound he longs to follow her into death.

minori

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