BY THE end of the twelfth century, certain copies of the text of Genji monogatari contained a chapter that was entirely blank except for its title, Kumogakure, which means “Hidden by the Clouds.” The evocative image of radiance obscured suggests the death of Genji, but there is no depiction or description of the event itself. Niou miya, the chapter that follows, picks up the story eight years after Genji has passed away and focuses on his descendants,
