Ukifune's Sin : On "the Sin of Loving Obsession" in the Volume of Yume no Ukihashi (The Floating Bridge of Dreams)

Abstract

Since the "Sen" in Mingonitsuso, the "sin of loving obsession" mentioned in the letter of Priest Yokawa has commonly been ascribed to Kaoru. In the narrative, however, Kaoru is accused of the sin by no one, and the Priest is chiefly concerned with Ukifune. Moreover, Ukifune herself undergoes such critical experiences as her own attempt at suicide by drawning, her encounter with a ghostly apparition, and her meeting with the Lieutenant-General, to realize the hitherto unknown "sin of loving obsession" and deepen the sense of her own sinfulness that makes her wish salvation from the fear of the Hell. Women's "loving sinfulness," which has been avoided as a conscious topic in the main volumes of The Tales of Genji, is pursued in the supplementary volumes, unrestricted by the problems of sovereignity. In other words, Ukifune is a displacement of Fujitsubo; ascribing what the Priest names "sin of loving obsession" to Ukifune, one can reveal the central theme of the supplementary volumes.