10

The victory banquet following the New Year's archery meet was to be at Rokujo~ this year. The preparations were elaborate, for it was assumed that the royal princes would all attend. And indeed those among them who had come of age did accept the invitation. Niou was the handsomest of the empress's sons, all of whom were handsome. Hitachi, the Fourth Prince, was the son of a lesser concubine, and it may have been for that reason that people thought him rather ill favored. The Left Guards won easily, as usual, and the meet was over early in the day. Starting back for Rokujo~, Yu~giri invited Niou, Hitachi, and the Fifth Prince, also a son of the empress, to ride with him. Kaoru, who had been on the losing side, was making a quiet departure when Yu~giri asked him to join them. It was a large procession, including numbers of high courtiers and several of Yu~giri's sons—a guards officer, a councillor of the middle order, a moderator of the first order—that set off for Rokujo~. The way was a long one, made more beautiful by flurries of snow. Soon the high, clear tone of a flute was echoing through Rokujo~, that place of delights for the four seasons, outdo-ing, one sometimes thought, all the many paradises.

As protocol required, the victorious guards officers were assigned places facing south in the main hall, and the princes and important civil officials sat opposite them facing north. Cups were filled and the party became noisier, and several guards officers danced “The One I Seek”.* Their long, flowing sleeves brought the scent of plum blossoms in from the veranda, and as always it took on a kind of mysterious depth as it drifted past Kaoru.

“The darkness may try to keep us from seeing,” said one of the women lucky enough to have a good view of the proceedings, “but it can't keep the scent away. And I must say there is nothing quite like it.”

Yu~giri was thinking how difficult it would be to find fault with Kaoru's looks and manners.

“And now you must sing it for us,” he said. “Remember that you are a host and not a guest, and it is your duty to be entertaining.”

Kaoru obeyed, but not as if to join in the roistering. “Where dwell the gods” —they were the grandest words of his song, but what went before had the same quiet dignity.

{The Rose Plum}