Fireflies at Uji River

This painting by Suzuki Shōnen, showing only a handful of fireflies above a rushing river, is a subtle reference to chapter 45 of The Tale of Genji. In this chapter, 22-year-old Kaoru—who was raised as Genji’s son despite being the product of a love affair between Genji’s wife and his friend Kashiwagi—visits a stepbrother of Genji in the nearby town of Uji through which the Uji River flows. One autumn night, Kaoru hears the man’s two daughters playing music and sneaks off to listen to them, but the sound of the rushing Uji River prevents him from doing so. Later in the chapter Kaoru becomes acquainted with the daughters and their teacher, who, in a twist of fate, knows the reality of Kaoru’s paternity and reveals the true identity of his father.