Kagayaku Hinomiya (輝く日の宮)
Kagayaku Hinomiya (Kakayaku Hinomiya) (The Shining Princess) is the title of a chapter of "The Tale of Genji." There are several theories about it.
It is an alternate chapter title for the present Kiritsubo (The Paulownia Court).
It was the title of the second half of the present Kiritsubo when it used to be a separate chapter.
It is the title of a chapter that is thought to have existed once and had been placed next to Kiritsubo, but was later lost. A detailed explanation is below.
It is a nickname of the fictitious character Fujitsubo in "The Tale of Genji."
It is a work by Saiichi MARUYA on the theme of the circumstances behind "The Tale of Genji" being written.
Kagayaku Hinomiya is the title of a chapter of "The Tale of Genji" that is said to have once existed but was later lost.
Summary
It is said to have been placed between 'Kiritsubo' and 'Hahakigi' (The Broom Tree) (The Tale of Genji).
It is also thought to have probably included the following contents;
The scene where Hikaru Genji and Fujitsubo first had intimate relations. The beginning of the love between Hikaru Genji and Rokujo no Miyasudokoro (The Rokujo Haven, widow of a former crown prince). The part where Asagao (The Tale of Genji) appears for the first time. In addition, there are some people such as 'Lady Gosechi' who are described as if they had already appeared before, even though their first appearances were in 'Hahakigi' or other chapters afterwards. It is thought that there were descriptions of them as well.
The evidence for this chapter's existence
As grounds for this chapter's existence, there are two types of reasons: philological reasons and structural reasons.
Philological reasons
Some manuscripts from older periods mention the title of this chapter.
For instance, FUJIWARA no Sadaie wrote in 'Okuiri' (Genji commentaries) that 'This chapter doesn't exist in the first place' after writing the name of this chapter next to 'Kiritsubo.'
In addition, there are some manuscripts that cite a number of chapters greater than those which have survived, even if they do not mention the explicit chapter title; for instance, the "Mumyo Zoshi" (Story Without a Name) records that 'The Tale of Genji has sixty chapters.'
Structural reasons
The present text has some episodes which are unwritten even though they deeply involve the development of the later story and are therefore important. If they existed, it is reasonable to assume that they were likely placed between 'Kiritsubo' and 'Hahakigi'.
Reasons for this chapter being lost
There are several theories on why the 'Kagayaku Hinomiya' chapter doesn't exist now, as follows:
Although the 'Kagayaku Hinomiya' was once written, it was deleted at some point by the will of the author herself or by consultation between the author and someone she knew.
There is a legend about the chapter 'Kumogakure' (literally, vanishing behind the clouds), which described the death of Hikaru Genji, that says, 'although it was once written, it was destroyed on the order of the emperor at that time due to its overly sad story.'
The 'Kagayaku Hinomiya' was also written once and then also destroyed on orders of someone else (according to Saiichi MARUYA, it occurred at the request of FUJIWARA no Michinaga).
It was lost at some point because the existing 'Kagayaku Hinomiya' was missing when copying manuscripts or for similar reasons, although this was not done intentionally.
The theory that 'Kagayaku Hinomiya' never existed
There is a deeply ingrained theory that the 'Kagayaku Hinomiya' chapter never existed in the first place. The following is the evidence for it.
It would be strange for the text not to survive at all.
The naming of 'Kagayaku Hinomiya' is completely different from the way other chapters of "The Tale of Genji" are named.
Considering the scenes that are regarded as the contents of this chapter, there are no particular inconsistencies even if we suppose that the author purposely omitted them for structural reasons.
In the case that this theory was adopted, it would mean that a 'Kagayaku Hinomiya' which did not exist originally came into being at some later point.
Other 'Kagayaku Hinomiya' chapters
There are also other theories about the chapter of 'Kagayaku Hinomiya' as follows:
The theory that holds that 'Kagayaku Hinomiya' is another name for the present 'Kiritsubo'. The theory saying that the second half of the 'Kiritsubo' chapter was once separate from it and was called 'Kagayaku Hinomiya'.
Supplementary works
Some works to supplement the (supposed) omission of this chapter have been written by scholars and authors in later ages.
Tamakura (Pillowed upon His Arm) by Norinaga MOTOORI (1763, one volume in all)
Kagayaku Hinomiya by Saiichi MARUYA (2003, one volume in all: the last chapter is equivalent to the supplement.)
Fujitsubo by Jakucho SETOUCHI (2004, one volume in all)