光源氏が須磨に隠棲していた折の寂寥たる日々のことである。都を遠く離れた海辺の暮らしは、栄華の極みにあったかつての彼には想像もつかぬほどにわびしいものであった。毎夜のごとく吹きすさぶ海風の音に耳を傾けながら、源氏は都に残してきた愛しい人々の面影を偲ばずにはいられなかった。都への郷愁の念は日に日に募るばかりであった。
These were the lonely days during Hikaru Genji's period of seclusion in Suma. Life by the seaside, far from the capital, was more desolate than he, who had been at the peak of prosperity, could have ever imagined. Listening to the sound of the sea breeze that raged almost every night, Genji could not help but cherish the memory of the dear people he had left behind in the capital. His sense of nostalgia for the capital grew stronger day by day.
ある暴風雨の夜、激しい雷鳴とともに天と地が揺れ動いた。自然の猛威を前にしては、いかなる高貴な身分の者であろうと成す術がない。源氏はこのまま辺境の地で朽ち果てるのではないかという深い絶望に囚われた。しかし、都の政争に敗れ、自らの意志でこの地へと退いた手前、今さら泣き言を漏らすようにも漏らせない状況にあったのである。
On a night of a rainstorm, heaven and earth shook along with intense thunder. In the face of nature's fury, no matter how noble one's station might be, there is nothing one can do. Genji was seized by a deep despair that he might rot away in this remote region just as he was. However, having retreated to this land of his own will after losing a political struggle in the capital, he was in a situation where he could not bring himself to voice complaints now.
そのような苦境にあっても、源氏の周囲には彼をしたって従う数名の家臣たちがいた。彼らは自らの不遇を顧みず、ひたすらに主君に忠義を尽くしていた。源氏はその誠実さに触れるにつけ、彼らをこのような不便な地へ巻き込んでしまったことを心苦しく思い、ただ彼らの行く末を案じては「まことに哀れに忍びない」と涙をこぼすのだった。
Despite such hardships, there were a few vassals around Genji who followed him out of admiration. Heeding not their own misfortune, they devotedly served their lord with loyalty. Whenever Genji touched upon their sincerity, he felt pained at having involved them in such an inconvenient place, and could only worry about their future, shedding tears and saying, "It is truly pitiful and unbearable."
ある夜、源氏の夢の中に今は亡き父帝が現れた。父帝は「お前は海の底に沈むべき運命ではない。速やかにこの地を去るがよい」と厳かに告げたのである。夢から覚めた源氏は、これが神仏のお告げであると直感し、再び都へ戻る希望を抱くに至った。絶望の淵に立たされていた彼にとって、父帝の言葉はまさに一条の光にほかならなかった。
One night, Genji's late father, the Emperor, appeared in his dream. His father solemnly told him, "You are not destined to sink to the bottom of the sea. You should leave this place promptly." Awakening from the dream, Genji intuitively felt that this was a revelation from gods and Buddhas, and came to harbor hope of returning to the capital once again. For him, who had been standing on the brink of despair, his father's words were nothing other than a ray of light.
やがて、明石の入道という者が源氏を自らの館へ迎え入れたいと申し出てきた。その案内により、源氏は須磨のひなびた住まいから少しばかり離れた明石の地へ移ることとなる。そこで彼は新たなる運命の女性、明石の君と出会うことになるのである。都を離れてもなお尽きることのない源氏の数奇な運命は、ここに新たな局面を迎えたのであった。
Before long, a man named Akashi no Nyūdō (the Novice of Akashi) offered to welcome Genji to his own manor. Guided by him, Genji moved from his rustic dwelling in Suma to the land of Akashi, a short distance away. There, he was to encounter a new woman of destiny, Akashi no Kimi (the Lady of Akashi). Genji's extraordinary fate, which did not end even after leaving the capital, reached a new phase here.