37. The Flute / The Flute(横笛)
Passage
It occurred to Yūgiri even in his dream that it had been unwise of him to play on it, for this had certainly drawn Kashiwagi’s ghost to his side.
‘Could I, like the wind among the reed-stems, blow where I would, then into the hands of a true heir should fall the music of this flute.’
Yūgiri received the flute of his late friend, Kashiwagi appeared in Yūgiri's dream. It seems he has something he wants to convey.
Summary
It is the first anniversary of Kashiwagi's death. Yugiri visits the widow and receives a Kashiwagi's bamboo flute. Kashiwagi appears in Yugiri's dream and says, 'There is someone else I want to give the flute to.' Later, Yugiri consults his father, Genji, who takes the flute into his care.
Comment
This chapter filled with sorrow, where Yugiri and the others remember the deceased.
Kaoru, the child left behind by Kashiwagi, also bears a tragic fate. This sorrow form the underlying theme of the latter half of The Tale of Genji.