To the Shining You Episode 35 "Tears of the Empress" Synopsis & Whatever I Want to Say This Week
The story that Mahiro is writing seems to be manipulating both the Emperor and Akiko! Michinaga is surprised by Mahiro's confession!

This week's episode is N-san. Last week's episode, "Awakening," had everyone wondering, "Is Genji really me?" or "Could it be that person?", and there were a series of characters and episodes that everyone could relate to, and it was exciting to see how Mahiro's stories started to become popular in the Imperial Court, and this week was also interesting!

Speaking of pilgrimages to Mount Kinpu, I remember Nobutaka.

This week, the show started with Michinaga and his party setting out on a pilgrimage to Mt. Kinpu, also known as Mitake Mairi. I was surprised at how difficult the journey to Mt. Kinpu was. The mountain path was steep, their feet got stuck in the mud, and clambering up the rocky mountain was just like rock climbing. Perhaps it was Michinaga's gamble on the difficulty of the pilgrimage to Mt. Kinpu, his determination to go despite it, and the miracle that he might receive from that. Michinaga made the pilgrimage to Mitake in the hope that Empress Shoshi would become pregnant.

However, I didn't expect the trip to be such an ordeal. When I heard that N-san was going to Mt. Mitake, I remembered the very cheerful figure of Mahiro's late husband, Nobutaka-san.

When Mahiro was still a young girl, Nobutaka came to show off his flashy outfit, saying, "What do you think of this outfit? Doesn't it suit me?", and he said he was going to make a pilgrimage to Mt. Mitake as an envoy from the Imperial Court. I can't imagine he could have made a pilgrimage to Mt. Kinpu in that outfit...

Ishu is a stubborn guy who never gives up... the more he resists, the more he steps on the accelerator towards his downfall...

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ise, who is plotting to assassinate Michinaga, heads to Mount Kinpu with his warriors, aiming to catch Michinaga on his way there. Even though his younger brother Takaie tries to dissuade him from his plan, Ise's rampage cannot be stopped. Still, Takaie, who cares for his brother, prevents the surprise attack on Mount Kinpu, saving the lives of Michinaga and his party.

Ise doesn't understand why Takaie is trying to stop him. The direct cause of their downward spiral was Takaie's shooting of an arrow at Kazanin, and the death of his sister, Empress Sadako, who was their last hope. Ise confronts him, saying, "It's your fault that this happened!", but Takaie is surprisingly calm. After admitting his own mistakes, he urges him to change his way of life. I don't think his words reach Ise's ears, though...

Ishu's rampage will continue from next week onwards, so keep an eye out.

Educating the Emperor and Empress Akiko about their memories and emotions...is Mahiro's story a kind of therapy?

Emperor Ichijo has come to Mahiro's office! He wants to ask about the development of Hikaru-kimi's story. Why did the woman in the house where the white evening primrose flowers bloom have to die? Mahiro answers that it was the work of a living spirit. He adds, "Maybe someone became a living spirit because of the pain they felt."

"What is the Left Minister's feeling? What is the Left Minister's feeling that he went to Mt. Mitake to pray for Akiko's pregnancy..." Emperor Ichijo changed the subject of Michinaga's visit to Mt. Kinpu. Mahiro answered that it was out of parental love, but no, no, this was political pressure from Michinaga!

The story of Yugao, who died because of a living spirit, and the pilgrimage to Mount Kinpu to pray for the pregnancy of the daughter of the Minister of the Left, Michinaga, Akiko. If this were all there was, the story would not make sense, but in the story, the emperor seems to be superimposing himself and Lady Sadako onto Hikaru no Kimi and the ladies who passed away.

What he is suggesting is that excessive favoritism towards Sadako may have caused unrest in the Imperial Court, including among the Left Minister Michinaga, and may have hurt not only Sadako but also the people around her, causing stress and friction.

The story of Mahiro was also read at Fujitsubo, the Empress Shoshi. The ladies-in-waiting were in a heated argument over Hikaru-no-kimi's words and actions. Shoshi secretly told Mahiro that Wakamurasaki was like herself, who had grown up in the palace at a young age. She even begged Mahiro to make Wakamurasaki Hikaru-no-kimi's wife.

Everyone in the palace is reading the story of Mahiro, identifying themselves with Hikaru-no-kimi and the ladies who appear in the story. The emperor also identifies with Hikaru-no-kimi, and Princess Akiko also identifies with Wakamurasaki.

Everyone projected themselves into the story, traced the world of the story, and let their imaginations wander.

Both the Emperor and Princess Akiko are no exception, and by identifying with the world of the story, they are able to heal their memories and emotions and are re-educated... It's a story that is almost like therapy!

Emperor Ichijo tells Michinaga, "I will visit Fujitsubo tonight." This is a declaration of his acceptance of the foundations of the regent system.

Mahiro also notices the change in Akiko. Because her heart is moved, she asks Mahiro to make Wakamurasaki your wife. Her own wish is expressed in that request.

Mahiro suggested that Akiko tell the emperor how she felt, and Emperor Ichijo came to her! Empress Akiko was so overwhelmed that she screamed out, "I love you so much!", leaving both Emperor Ichijo and Mahiro astonished. I was also astonished.

Emperor Ichijo was shocked. "I'll come again," he said, and left in a huff. Of course. Please, Lady Akiko. Let's write a poem or something like that and send it to her! Let's start from there! That's what I thought. But Michinaga also sent a straightforward poem to Mahiro... this is going to get bloody.

What surprised me next was that when Michinaga came to Seiryoden to report the news, he told him directly, "I'm going to Fujitsubo tonight." To Michinaga, you say! This could have been a miracle from Mt. Kinpu? ...But rather, N-san took it as a declaration from Emperor Ichijo that he would protect the regent's government and the political order in the Imperial Court.

What would happen if the emperor himself, who was the emperor, continued to love one woman without considering her political background? As the emperor continued to read Mahiro's story, he realized his mistake.

The basis of the regent system was that a daughter with strong political and economic backing would enter the palace, become the empress, and give birth to a child. A maternal relative would then serve as the regent or chancellor to govern the child, and would mainly control personnel decisions and advance the government.

First of all, he had to have children with a queen who was worthy of his rank. He couldn't get the ratio of love he shared wrong. As an emperor, there was really no room for personal feelings to get in the way of this.

Therefore, I believe that Emperor Ichijo told Michinaga directly, and not to Fujitsubo's ladies-in-waiting or his aide Yukinari, that he would "go to Fujitsubo tonight" - that he would accept and abide by this system.

Those days of playing in the snow at Sadako Salon are long gone. The snow signals the end of my fun youth.

The sudden arrival of the Emperor has the ladies-in-waiting of Fujitsubo in a frenzy! Ignoring everyone's commotion, Princess Akiko is leisurely getting ready, looking more charming than ever.

As Emperor Ichijo heads towards Fujitsubo, snow begins to fall in a light flurry. Emperor Ichijo suddenly stops, looks up to the sky, and watches the snowflakes falling. There are no lines, and no explanatory scenes. He simply stops and watches the snow falling.

Speaking of snow, it brings to mind the fun days we spent playing in the snow. "How's the snow on Mt. Korobine?" Sadako asked Sei Shonagon, and they smoothly lifted the blinds and looked at the snow that had piled up in the garden... In those days, I always had fun with my beloved Sadako, who has now passed away.

Those fun days of playing in the snow will never come back... Emperor Ichijo's youth was truly over. N-san interpreted the falling snow as a warning to Emperor Ichijo himself.

Huh? Michinaga, didn't you notice? The story of infidelity... Have you forgotten the night at Ishiyama-dera?

Immediately after returning from Mt. Kinpu, Michinaga came to visit Mahiro's office to check on the progress of the story. Amazing, he really relies on the story.

"What was your intention in writing this tale of iniquity?"

"...It happened to me."

Did Michinaga not notice at all? Kenko is the child of that one night at Ishiyama-dera! Kenko will become Akiko's wife and achieve great success, but does that mean Michinaga took an interest in her? It seems that way.

"A Theory of Reading the Tale of Genji Aloud" -- Reading in the Heian period meant reading aloud

I noticed something while watching the previous episode and this one: everyone reading Mahiro's story at the Imperial Court is reading it aloud. Last time, Kinto was reading it to his wife, and Nariyoshi was reading it to Shoshi's lady-in-waiting, Koshosho-no-kimi, and all the ladies-in-waiting at the Imperial Court were reading it aloud.

One aspect of this, as a TV drama, is to let viewers know what is being read, but in fact, during the Heian period, reading books meant reading aloud, or reciting the text aloud.

"Theory of Reading the Tale of Genji" is a paper published by a Japanese literature scholar named Takuya Tamagami in 25, just after the war. I think it is a must-read for university students studying Japanese literature, especially works from the Heian period. It is available in the Iwanami Gendai Bunko.

Stories were not read silently. They were read out loud. There were ladies-in-waiting who were skilled at imitating different voices or reciting aloud, and they would read to the princess. She might have unfolded a picture scroll and listened to the story while looking at the pictures. It seems that the stories were written with the assumption that they would be read aloud.

Professor Tamagami writes directly to the core of the matter.

The tales were a guide for the princess's life after she came of age. What other lessons could we find in the lives of women in the Heian period, who were aptly called "Yo" among men and women, other than in tales?

...Exactly. The Tale of Genji was the emotional education and life guide for Princess Akiko, who was a modest girl and grew up as a child, as depicted in "To You Who Shines!" Perhaps Oishi Shizuka also read "A Theory of Reading the Tale of Genji Aloud"?

By the way, the person reading to the wives in the 34th episode last week was Nishimura Chinami, the voice actor for Sakanoue Ojarumaru, the main character in the popular NHK anime "Ojarumaru"!

"To You, the Shining One" is a work that shows a deep respect for literature.

"To You, the Shining One" is a very literary piece. Of course, it is based on the novel "The Tale of Genji," so it can't be anything but literary.

When reading novels and the like, we say we "read between the lines." There are meanings, palpable presences, lingering impressions that are derived from them, and endings that can be interpreted in any number of ways, all of which exist between the lines in the world of the work.

There is also a gap between the lines in "To You Who Shines". I felt this especially in the scene where Emperor Ichijo announces to Michinaga that he will go to Fujitsubo, and then becomes lost in thought as he watches the light falling snow.

There are many films that have the characters explain too much, but "To You, Shining" is different. Explanations are kept to a minimum. The film expresses what is said between the lines in literary works. The depth and color of what each viewer perceives between the lines is diverse, which makes it exciting every time.

I was impressed by the carefulness and subtlety with which the story read between the lines. It really is a literary work in the form of images.

My wife saw it! The shocking ending will have me excited for next week too

At the end, Saemon's lady-in-waiting was peeking at Mahiro and Michinaga with a jeez. I'm sure she'll spread the word that the two are dating!

I wonder if Lady Noriko will be coming down for the first time in a while from next week onwards? She'll probably say something like, "Please take good care of my lord and empress!" with a relaxed smile.

Next week, Princess Akiko will give birth and The Diary of Murasaki Shikibu will be published. Things are moving faster and faster!

What is the review of “To Shining You”?

"Premium Japan Literature Club" (exaggeration) was formed by people who love literature within the Premium Japan editorial department. For literature lovers, the 2024 taiga drama ``Hikaru Kimi e'' was a perfect opportunity to discuss this and that. Volunteers from the editorial department will continue to freely review articles. Editor S and Editor N reviewed the differences between historical facts and dramas, a deep dive into foreshadowing, and more!