一の皇子みこは、右大臣うだいじんの女御の御腹にて、寄せ重く、「疑ひなき儲まうけの君」と、世にもてかしづききこゆれど、この御にほひには並びたまふべくもあらざりければ、おほかたのやむごとなき御思ひにて、この君をば、私物わたくしものに思ほしかしづきたまふこと限りなし。

The First Prince was born to the Minister of the Right’s Consort, and had strong backing; “Without doubt, the one in preparation” is how he was treated also by the world, but since there was no way he could compare with this beauty, he had [the Emperor’s] peerless thoughts, and [the Emperor] privately treated this child without limit.

おもほし　　おぼほし（大系)

語釈

右大臣の女御

The 右大臣 (“Minister of the Right”) is one of the top positions in the government. In theory he was lower than the 左大臣, but in practice this was not necessarily the case. The woman described here is normally referred to by readers as Kokiden, after her residence in the palace. The expression 右大臣の女御 might seem ambiguous, but since the term 女御 refers only to an Imperial consort, the phrase can only be interpreted as “A Consort who is the daughter of the Minister of the Right.”

寄せ重く

寄せ is similar to 後ろ見, but may suggest the Chinese term 長寄. It is ambiguous whether this refers to his family support or the support of the general nobility, or perhaps both.

おほかたのやむごとなき御思ひ

The term やむごとなし, as in the opening, is used to express a public or political status. This is contrasted with the private (私物) love that the Emperor has for Genji.

儲の君

This is a term for the Heir Apparent (one who has been officially designated as the future Emperor). It derives from the kundoku reading of the Chinese term 儲君. The term 君 in the Genji is often used in its sense here (an exalted lord), but by extension it also occurs as a term that women use towards their lovers.

もてかしづききこゆれど

The two uses of かしづく in this passage contrast the treatment of Genji and the First Prince — here it can be interpreted with a lot of commentaries as 大切に思う, but there is the suggestion of a public “rearing” of the First Prince in contrast to the Emperor’s private treatment of Genji. 聞ゆ is a humble suffix, used of the people towards the Prince.

この御にほひ

この refers to Genji. The word にほひ can mean “scent,” but in the Genji it usually refers instead to beauty or brilliant color.

並びたまふべくもあらざりければ

べく (possibility) も　あらざり　ければ (the “because” ば)

おほかたのやむごとなき御思ひにて

This expression of the Emperor’s thoughts towards the First Prince seems to be a contrast to his thoughts of Genji, but there is not complete agreement on exactly what the phrase means. やむごとなき, as elsewhere in this section, can be associated with the public/official sphere, indicating the Emperor’s respect for the First Prince as the next Heir Apparent. Many editions include a だけ or ばかり in their translations, making a contrast more explicit. The 河内本 texts and some of the 別本 texts read 御思ひばかりにて. However, given the base text’s reading, it may be more appropriate to interpret this as a counterpart rather than a contrast — the Emperor supports the First Prince publicly and gives Genji his private affection.

限りなし

This is the first appearance of the word 限り, which becomes a leitmotif in the chapter. It often refers to things that constrain or block the Emperor from doing what he wants, but here, he is able to privately lavish affection on Genji without any of the 限り that would limit his public treatment or recognition of the child.

評

This sentence introduces the political rivalry that will be a key element of the first 14 chapters of the tale. The First Prince (later Emperor Suzaku) is described entirely in terms of his family backing, using a number of Chinese or Chinese-sounding terms. Genji, on the other hand, has both the personal qualities that the First Prince lacks, and the Emperor’s love. The First Prince himself has little direct role in the narrative until later on, the early chapters focusing more on his mother and grandfather.

We can infer something of the overall situation of the court from this sentence along with later details. The highest possible office in the government is 太政大臣 (Chancellor); there seems not to be a Chancellor until some time later in the narrative. This office was in theory supposed to be filled only by a wise and capable man, and to be left open if no such man was available. By Murasaki Shikibu’s day the office was essentially another prestige sinecure for the Fujiwara clan, but even then it was not always occupied. There was about a 45 year period where there was no Chancellor; this included the entire reign of Emperor Daigo, who is thought to be one of the historical models for the Emperor.

Another question is why the First Prince has not already been named Heir Apparent, an appointment that doesn’t happen until several years later. We are told in 葵 (Chapter 9) that the Rokujo Lady was married to the “Former Heir Apparent”, identified as a brother of the current Emperor. If we want to harmonize the narrative as much as possible we can say that the Emperor’s brother is currently Heir Apparent, and that what the 世の人 are saying is that the First Prince will be the next Heir Apparent. Whether Murasaki Shikibu actually intended this situation is unclear; it’s certainly possible that a story introducing the Rokujo Lady was among her earliest narrative efforts (thus explaining why it never made it into the final Genji), but if that is the intent here it’s hard to know why there is not even a mention of the death of this person. Regardless, the long delay in the appointment of the First Prince as Heir Apparent increases the anxiety of Kokiden and her father that Genji will be appointed in his stead.