Regent Morozane was busy with the consecutive preparations for the putting-on-of-the -trousers ceremonies for the prince, princesses, and Tadazane, the young lord. With all of these blessings, Morozane had long wished to make a pilgrimage to Tennōji, but one affair or another kept on preventing him from going. Finally in the first year of Ōtoku [1084], on the 12th of the 9th month, he was able to leave the capital to pay his respects at the temple. He also brought along Shijō Empress Kanshi. His wife, Reishi, also rode with the two of them in the same carriage. There were three additional carriages full of the lord’s female attendants, and three more with the empress’s attendants. Their diverse outfits, which they changed every day, wove a tapestry of colors beautiful as flowers and fall foliage. One chilly day, they wore robes made of stiff, thin silk, filled with cotton wadding.[1] Some attendants had on gradated robes in vermillion, in a reddish yellow of the wax tree, or in hues of autumn leaves, with various colored linings. Others had on combinations of burgundy chrysanthemums. Regarding the rest of their attire, the reader may very well imagine it. What was beyond words was how they changed every day, making for a splendid show. Senior nobles and courtiers joined the procession in droves; there were few who did not come. Their attire, too, I will leave for the reader to imagine.
Some entertaining diversions had been planned for along the route, but Empress Kenshi took ill, so anything lively was cancelled.[2] But many wonderful poems were composed by attendants to the lord, the empress, and others. Since Empress Kenshi’s illness was quite serious, they rushed back to the capital on the 17th. Empress Kenshi was in a grave condition. With each passing day, she grew worse, and on the 22nd of the 9th month, she passed away. To say her death was shocking would be too banal. There is no way to describe everyone’s grief. Just imagine the heart-wrenching despair of her birth mother, Minister of the Right Akifusa’s wife, and her adoptive mother, the regent’s wife. Though death came as the natural course of life for all, His Majesty fell into a deep, unparalleled sorrow. The emperor’s state of shock concerned everyone from the regent below to further bewail this tragic misfortune. Master Sanesue of the crown prince’s household also lamented the empress’s demise without restraint. The prince and princesses were taken out of the palace to the regent’s residence. The Ise priestess, Princess Teishi, resigned.
Ignorant of the passing days and months, the emperor could not even take a sip of a medicinal draught, so low had he sunk into a gloomy stupor. He did not even step out of his bedchamber. For his attendants, he only kept those ladies who had been very close to him over the years. At the regent’s residence, it was very pitiful to see the children longing for their mother. They had various rites performed, more so than necessary, to grant the empress the blessings of the gods and Buddhas in her afterlife. Even among the commoners, people regretted the empress’s passing and greatly mourned her loss. This year, the emperor did not view the Gosechi dancers.[3]
The new year [1085] seemed a completely different world. Though the days and months had passed, the emperor would not even take a sip of a medicinal draught, and remained shut up in his bedchamber. Every month he had a sixteen-feet Buddhist image made, and had a hall built to house the image, praying for the late empress’s repose in this extraordinary fashion. Between the emperor and the late empress, one could detect a deep bond from a previous life. Even among commoners, people were moved to pity by the emperor’s sorrow. Someone apparently composed:
No chance did I ever have of seeing the light of this moon,
yet how sad it is that she has gone hiding into the clouds.
およびなく影も見ざりし月なれど雲隠るるは悲しかりけり
In the 9th month after Her Majesty’s death, Major Controller of the Right Michitoshi sent a poem to his female attendants.
What should I do with my sleeves, rotting from the teary autumn rains,
now that fall, replete with distressing memories, has come again?
しぐれつつ朽ちにし袖はいかがするあはれうかりし秋は来にけり
In the midst of such grief, how could he keep on living, His Majesty thought, yet even such sorrow seemed to have a limit.
That year, there was an epidemic of the measles. Children and the young were particularly affected, including Crown Prince Sanehito, who passed away on the 8th of the 10th month, Ōtoku 2 [1085]. It was extremely shocking, especially since one had not heard of a crown prince dying in recent times.[4] That his mother, Consort Kishi, and his half-sister, Princess Sōshi of the first rank, should be experiencing terrible sorrow was entirely natural. There was nothing one could say. His Highness’s attendants and relatives felt like a mountain peasant whose time has passed, bewildered in a state of shock.[5] For the emperor as well, the prince’s passing was unbearably heart-wrenching. It was indeed a year of continuing misfortune.
The days and months went by, and while all lamented the empress’s death, the emperor remained the most bereft, indifferent to governing, as he was still mired in grief. For some reason, though, around Kujō in the south of the city, in an area called Toba, His Majesty had a lake dug and hills constructed over a huge swath of land in an interesting manner. People gossiped whether this signaled that he was thinking of abdicating, when on the 26th of the 11th month [1086], Emperor Shirakawa did in fact abdicate in favor of Taruhito, his second prince. His Highness was eight that year.
Ever since the death of Empress Kenshi, the Gosechi and Special Kamo Festivals were not the same as before. The emperor did not come out for their viewing. Instead, His Majesty disregarded everything as being hatefully transient, not worthy of any notice. His attitude was very affecting. Moreover, the emperor no longer went to the Kamo Shrine on the day of the Miare Festival, as was the custom. The position of the Kamo priestess had inexplicably remained vacant, but now one understood the uncommon thoughtfulness of the emperor, for he must have been thinking of abdicating, as he was sunk deep in sorrow. There did not seem to be any other example of such a personage. Viewing His Majesty’s state, Minister of the Right Akifusa thought how exceptional the emperor’s grief for his daughter was, and he must have then felt tears welling up in his eyes.
Then Tsuchimikado Minister of the Right Morofusa’s wife, Sonshi, passed away, so the regent’s wife, as well as the left and right ministers, changed into mourning. Her fortune had been splendid indeed. Though she herself did not become an empress, she lived for over eighty years, having ministers (Toshifusa and Akifusa) and the regent’s wife (Reishi) as her children, and the palace minister (Moromichi) as her grandson. To have such progeny deserved celebration.
The 16th of the 12th month was the day of the ascension ceremony.[6] Upon seeing the new emperor with his youthful hair style as he was alighting the palanquin, one felt tears welling up despite the auspicious occasion. How much would Empress Kenshi, more than anyone else, have wanted to see her son become emperor? Her absence was poignant indeed. The wet nurses were felicitously promoted as handmaids. Lord Morozane became regent.[7] Though the lord’s appointment was naturally expected, its realization was nonetheless truly splendid.
As a retired emperor, His Eminence was contentedly able to do as he pleased, going on excursions to various places, and undertaking pilgrimages without much hassle. His position was thus truly wonderful.
As the Ise priestess, Princess Zenshi 善子 was selected. She was the retired emperor’s daughter by Consort Dōshi, the daughter of Yoshinaga, the late palace minister. Her mother lamented that she would not be able to see her anymore. The previous Ise priestess, Princess Teishi 媞子, returned to the capital, and as in the past, Lord Morozane took good care of his granddaughter. The princess lived with the retired emperor, and hardly left her father’s side. His Eminence stopped at no bounds in raising her, for she meant everything to him now. His constant visits to the princess were indeed a reflection of how there was not a single moment in which he forgot her mother, Empress Kenshi. He could recall only the past with much emotion, as he spent time next to their daughter. His Eminence’s unparalleled capacity for love was profound indeed.
The lustration services were held on the 21st of the 10th month.[8] The acting consort was a daughter of Regent Morozane. Her mother, who used to serve Grand Retired Empress Shōshi, was the daughter of the Mino governor, Motosada, a son of Yorimune, the late minister of the right. From earlier times, daughters of the regent, even if their mothers were of average birth, still served as acting consorts for the lustration services, so in this case, with her pedigree, there was no reason why she should not take on this role. The ladies’ attire consisted of various colored robes, over which they wore a bombycine upper robe dyed in spring green, with a grape Chinese jacket. In the past, the late Empress Kenshi and Senior Empress Kanshi had also decided upon one set of colors for their costumes, a precedent which they must have thought to follow. Beginning with Regent Morozane, all the senior nobles and courtiers came without exception to serve. The lord’s wife, the princesses, the retired emperor, and the former Ise priestess, all watched from the stands. Yōmeimon’in and Fourth Princess Tokushi also observed the ceremony. Umetsubo Consort Kishi must certainly have been remembering the late crown prince. Her other son, Third Prince Sukehito, had his coming-of-age ceremony.[9] He had truly matured into a handsome young man. The Gosechi Festival took place as usual. The Great Thanksgiving Service was also held in an impressively magnificent fashion—with the days speeding away.
Takahime, the wife of the late Uji lord, passed away.[10] She must have been about ninety. One could not dismiss the sadness of the loss by merely saying that it was bound to happen. Minister of the Left, Minamoto no Toshifusa, took care of the many funeral arrangements.
A new year arrived [1088], and the usual ceremonies occupied the court. The presentation of the meal trays and the emperor’s partaking of the herbs for longevity was magnificently festive. On the 19th, Emperor Horikawa went to visit his father, Retired Emperor Shirakawa. The imperial procession was auspiciously lavish. When even outsiders saw the emperor with his youthful hairstyle descending from this carriage, they could not restrain their tears at the sight of the emperor’s beauty, nor could the retired emperor, who must have been moved beyond words. Courtiers in the service of the retired emperor and the regent received promotions—how splendid indeed!
On the 22nd of the 2nd month, the Retired Emperor made a pilgrimage to Mount Kōya. Commoners bustled about to see His Eminence’s procession. Regent Morozane, the left and ministers, and the palace minister came to the palace. The regent and the palace minister only saw the emperor off and then they departed, but the left and right ministers accompanied the retired emperor on the pilgrimage. When they approached the foothills of Kōya, His Eminence made his way by foot.[11] Since he had always traveled around in a palanquin, pitifully, he seemed to be in great pain as he climbed up the steep mountainside. Snow began to fall as they were making their ascent. It was quite moving. His Eminence left Kōya on the 29th.
For the Iwashimizu Special Festival, Palace Minister Moromichi’s young son, Tadazane, took the role of the dancer. Tadazane had been raised by his grandfather, Regent Morozane, and on the 21st of the 1st month, he had his coming-of-age ceremony, entering the attendants office as a lesser captain. When Moromichi was a lesser captain, he, too, performed as a dancer at the Kasuga Special Festival. On the day of the Iwashimizu Special Festival, Minamoto no Yoritsuna sent a poem to Lord Morozane’s Table Room.
From the sprig of flower beginning to bloom upon the dancer’s head,
the shadow of that tree, growing tall over a thousand generations, I await.
咲きそむる挿頭(かざし)の花の千代を経て 木高くならん陰をこそ待て[12]
The regent achieved the pinnacle of grandeur in sending off his grandson.
Towards the end of the 3rd month, there was an imperial pilgrimage to the Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine.[13] On the way back, Emperor Horikawa stopped by the retired emperor’s Toba palace. The grounds covered over twenty-five acres, and the lake alone took up twenty-five acres.[14] It looked like the ocean spreading in all four directions. Boats floated on the water in a delightful fashion.
After Empress Kenshi passed away, the retired emperor avoided seeing any of his children, for fear that encountering them while he was still in terrible grief would only cause more tears to flow. Thus, for two or three years, His Eminence had not seen the impressive manner in which his children had grown, until the time of the lustration services. That was when he met the former Ise priestess, Princess Teishi, and Emperor Horikawa. Afterwards, there were many imperial visits and His Eminence also had the chance to meet with Princess Reishi.
At the Toba palace, the retired emperor spent the entire day entertaining the emperor, doing all of the amusing things one could do there. When His Majesty left, His Eminence must have found himself longing for the past, for he spent all of his time with Princess Teishi.
Every spring and fall, when the flowers or the foliage were at their peak, many delightful poems were composed at the Toba palace. There was much music, too, to divert and comfort the retired emperor’s spirits. His Eminence also devoted attention to the Buddhist path, cultivating virtue and doing many good works. Able to pursue anything he wished to pursue, His Eminence was truly splendid. He only regretted the absence of Empress Kenshi.
In the 4th month, the retired emperor and the former Ise priestess, Princess Teishi, were thought to be going to view the Kamo Festival, so the princess’s attendants busied themselves in preparing outfits for the pretty girl attendants, small and big. Seeking to outdo each other, the ladies reached the pinnacle of extravagant beauty in dressing the girl they each chose. Their upper robes were made of damask decorated with painted illustrations or embroidery. Their trousers were made of brocade. The magnificence of their attire cannot possibly be described with justice. At Regent Morozane’s place, they also reached the heights of luxurious beauty.
On the day of the festival, the retired emperor’s carriage was parked overlooking the regent’s viewing stands. It was about noon, when the retired emperor arrived with Princess Teishi riding in the same carriage. His Eminence allowed the princess to sit up front, while he sat in the back, a very gracious and moving gesture on his part.[15] The faint outlines of His Eminence’s sleeves were also very awe-inspiring to see. The attendants were wearing robes of “kerria yellow” with especially flowery Chinese jackets, looking very modern. One was tempted to say, “Who is your owner, robe of kerria yellow?”[16]
From the regent, the left and right ministers, the palace minister, the major counselors, and courtiers on below, everyone without exception accompanied the retired emperor. Except for the regent, all the courtiers, including the ministers, rode on horseback. Huge masses of commoners had gathered to see the procession: This year’s Kamo Festival roused the crowds a great deal. When the Kamo priestess was the daughter of a Fujiwara empress, the festival was bound to be impressive; still, it was never quite like this year’s.[17]
On the following day, the retired emperor observed the ceremony for the priestess’s return. After standing by to let His Eminence’s carriage pass through, all the carriages then went racing to Murasakino—a scene that recalled the poem, “the entire carriage reverberating did they rush ahead.”[18] In previous generations, even after their abdications, emperors could not leisurely come and observe the festival as Retired Emperor Shirakawa did this year. Having been a long time since the last imperial visit, His Eminence’s presence was especially worth celebrating, people were saying. When the Kamo priestess arrived at Murasakino, she did not immediately enter the Saiin after stopping her carriage. Instead, she remained outside to see off the retired emperor, a thoughtful act on the priestess’s part which people praised. Everything else went by without a hitch.[19] The retired emperor had his children move to Toba, where they amused themselves with music. With such amusing diversions did His Eminence comfort his mind.
The Nijō Retired Empress Shōshi had another temple hall constructed at the gravesite of her father, Retired Emperor Go-Ichijō. It was called Bodaijuin, located in Higashiyama. The new hall was built next to the meditation hall. Eight and Fifty Expositions on the Lotus Sutra took place. By having these ceremonies close to where her parents were resting in peace,[20] “may their sins be lessened,” the retired empress hoped, a truly admirable desire. Indeed, to be so considerate of her late parents and her husband was extremely honorable. The rites reminded one of the occasion in The Tale of Genji, in which the Shining Genji’s mother, Fujitsubo the nun, dedicated the readings for the repose of her parents and husband.[21] Inside the hall, a portrait of Retired Emperor Go-Ichijō was hung. It did not resemble His Eminence very much,[22] but his figure in formal robes reclining against an armrest filled its viewers with deep emotion. A daughter of the retired emperor called Chūnagon, whose mother once served the consort,[23] composed:
How was his likeness captured, when he went into the clouds,
like the ever captivating light of the obscured moon?
いかにして写しとめけん雲居にて飽かず隠れし月の光を
Ubagimi:
Though I know not the time His Eminence shone brightly above the clouds,
how movingly captured is his light like the moon’s.
雲居にてすみけん世をはしらねどもあはれとまれる月の影かな
The retired empress approached the front of the portrait to take a closer look. Since she had still been a child when her father passed away, she could not remember him very well, but after these many decades,[24] she felt a surge of emotion upon seeing even just his portrait. That her sister, Empress Keishi, should wish to view His Eminence’s portrait was quite natural.
The retired empress found living at the mountain village where Bodaijuin stood to be very forlorn. Since she was a child, she had been used to living at the palace, at a nine-fold remove from the rest of the world. So this rustic life was rather unexpected and lonesome. When she thought of how she had, in the past, gazed at the mountains covered in mists from within the imperial fence, she felt a wave of poignant emotions wash over her heart.
With the New Year [1089], the capital took on the completely renewed, moving atmosphere of spring. On a beautifully moonlit evening, Minister of Popular Affairs Minamoto no Tsunenobu visited Bodaijuin. He came as a former courtier of the late Retired Emperor Go-Ichijō. “How wonderful of you to come to revive old memories,” some attendant said. The next day, she sent him this spoken message:
Longing for the accustomed palace of old among the clouds,
parting the mists did you pay a visit to our sovereign.
古のなれにし雲をしのぶとや霞をわけて君たづねけん
The minister of popular affairs responded:
Whilst I long for the palace of the past among the clouds,
only the voice of the bush warbler do I hear from the valley.
あはれにも見えし昔の雲居かな谷に鶯声ばかりして
There were many other moving moments.
Senior Empress Kanshi 歓子 had also retreated to a mountain village, in her case, a place called Ono. As for Shijō Empress Kanshi 寛子, she had built a temple at Uji—Hōjōin, and resided there. One of Empress Kenshi’s daughters, Princess Shinshi 禛子, lived with the Shijō Empress. The great care with which she looked after the princess was not of the ordinary sort.
Since her mother, the Ruri Consort of Koichijōin, passed away, the Kamo priestess, Princess Seishi 斉子, resigned.[25] The daughter of Minamoto no Masataka, the Ruri Consort possessed a fine sensibility and was blessed in good fortune. Retired Emperor Shirakawa’s daughter, Princess Reishi 令子, who was staying with the regent, was selected to be the next Kamo priestess. She looked felicitously splendid.
Since it would be difficult to meet her father once she assumed the position of the Kamo priestess, Princess Reishi went to visit the retired emperor. Shijō Princess Shinshi came along. The young attendants were wearing unlined robes made of thin silk, damask, or stiff, thin silk, over which they attached a train and wore Chinese jackets. Numbering ten, they were truly gorgeous in their display of floral colors. The more mature attendants had on five or three layers of robes made of bombycine, while others had on brocade robes. The Shijō princess also brought along four attendants. She had chosen them especially for their attractive faces or figures. The attendants of the former Ise priestess, Princess Teishi, could not have been ordinary either. Their father, Retired Emperor Shirakawa, looked upon all his daughters with great affection.
Late in the 6th month, divination designated Princess Reishi as the next Kamo priestess. She initially went to a private home, and on the occasion of the lustration services in the following year, she moved to the Table Office in the palace. The services were magnificent. The retired emperor personally picked out even the “wearers of sandals.”[26]
The Ise priestess, Princess Zenshi, also began to make her way down to Ise to assume her post, accompanied by her mother, Consort Dōshi.[27] Although it had not been long since she had been chosen as the Ise priestess, both mother and daughter truly wished that “the past were today.”[28] The hearts of her attendants were heavy, too, not knowing when they might ever be able to return to the capital. Those who had lovers back in the capital must have been especially distressed. The lowly servants walked the journey, with various furnishings loaded on top of the horses. The procession was indeed a pitiful sight.
The palace minister’s son, Tadazane, a lesser captain, was now a middle captain of the third rank. He was without parallel in the world in his splendor. He married into the family of Minister of the Left Toshifusa. The minister had thought to give his daughter to the emperor or a prince, but he naturally accepted when Regent Morozane came with the marriage proposal for his grandson.
Soon this middle captain of the third rank was promoted to middle counselor. As a middle captain and counselor, he was then selected as the steward for the spring Kasuga Festival [1092]. He was accompanied by those allowed to enter the Seiryōden, and those not allowed alike (such as the chamberlains of the fifth rank), with not a single courtier remaining. Their hunting attire was delightful, for they all tried to look their best, dressing in panoply of colors. Since it was during the period when Shijō Empress Kanshi was residing at the Uji residence, impressive viewing stands were constructed in view of the Uji Bridge, from where Her Majesty could view the procession. The robes of her attendants poured over the stands in florid fashion—a scene that one would have liked to capture in a painting. The brilliance was truly blinding. Indeed, for those people crossing the bridge, like the handmaid sent as the court emissary,[29] to suddenly come across such grandeur in this unexpected hinterland was quite intimidating, making for a frightfully embarrassing traversal across the bridge.
When the procession reached the Kizu River, the scene of the people crossing the river was quite delightful to observe. Eventually they arrived at the Saho Hall,[30] and the festival was held in an extraordinarily impressive fashion. In the past, Great Lord Morozane had also come to direct the Kasuga Festival as its steward.[31] That his progeny should continue to prosper, with his grandson, Tadazane, now fulfilling the same role must be a demonstration of the favor shown to the Fujiwaras by the contented Kasuga Myōjin, people commented. Their awe overwhelmed their hearts, and even beggars found themselves lauding the family in the same spirit.
They left on the following day. Those accompanying wished they could loosen their robes a bit, taking time to contemplate this magnificence, for they thought one might never again see such splendor around Mount Mikasa in this world. In the midst of such rejoicing along the route of the procession, a passerby stopped his cart to take a look, and uttered:
Surely they will continue to flourish even more in the generations to come—
those little branches of the pines on Mount Kasuga!
行く末もいとど栄えぞまさるべき春日の山の松の梢は
Such must have been the thoughts of an old-fashioned person.
[1] The date called for clothing appropriate to the ninth month, but it was chilly, necessitating the cotton wadding.
[2] Kenshi’s serious illness is also recorded in Moromichi ki (17th of the 9th month, 1084).
[3] Hyakurenshō documents the cancellation of the festival and banquets and the end of Ōtoku 1 (1084).
[4] Indeed, the last time a crown prince died was during Emperor Daigo’s reign in the early tenth century.
[5] “Toki ushinaitaru yamagai” may be an allusion to a poem in Genji monogatari: “When will I again set my eyes on the City blooming in spring, / now that I am of the hills, a peasant whose time is past?” (Trans. Royall Tyler, 237).
[6] In fact, Emperor Horikawa ascended the throne on the 19th of the 12th Month, Ōtoku 3 (1086).
[7] Until then, Morozane had been kanpaku, but as Emperor Horikawa was still a minor, Morozane took on the appellation of sesshō.
[8] These lustration services in conjunction with the Daijōe actually occurred on the 22nd of the 10th month, Kanji 1 (1087).
[9] This ceremony occurred on the 2nd of the 6th month, Kanji 1 (1087). Prince Sukehito was the half brother of Emperor Shirakawa. According to Go-Sanjō’s wishes, Sukehito was to be the heir after Sanehito. With the death of Sanehito, then of Go-Sanjō and Yōmeimon’in (Go-Sanjō’s mother), Shirakawa was able to realize his wish to install his own son as the emperor, with him as the power behind the throne.
[10] Takahime died on the 22nd of the 11th month, Kanji 1 (1087). She was ninety-three years old.
[11] Retired Emperor Shirakawa took two days to climb Mount Kōya on foot, arriving at the central complex on the night of the 26th (Fusō ryakki).
[12] By tradition, the dancer at the Iwashimizu Festival had a sprig of cherry blossoms in his hair. Yoritsuna here compares the flowers to Tadazane, expressing his wish to see him mature to a “tall tree,” under whose shadows he may rest.
[13] According to Chūyūki, this pilgrimage took place on the 9th of the 3rd month, Kanji 2 (1088). It therefore came before the Iwashimizu Special Festival. Emperor Horikawa visited the Tobadono on the 10th.
[14] An entry in Fusō ryakki presents a detailed picture of the Toba Palace. There, it records the palace as encompassing over 100 chō (245 acres), so the author of Eiga might have intended to say the grounds took up ten chō square. Fusō ryakki also states that the lake was eight chō by six chō (118 acres). The water was apparently eight feet deep (Fusō ryakki, entries in the 10th month of Ōtoku 3 [1086]).
[15] The front was the seat of honor in an ox-driven carriage.
[16] The quotations come from a poem by Monk Sosei, “Who is your owner, / robe of kerria yellow? / Your color has come / from the ‘no-mouth’ gardenia, / and so you do not answer” (Trans. McCullough, Kokin Wakashū, 228).
[17] At this time, the Kamo priestess was Princess Seishi 斉子, who continued in this position from the previous reign. She was the daughter of Koichijōin, and hence did not have the backing that would have presumably made for a lavish spectacle. Yet the presence of the retired emperor apparently made the festival of Kanji 2 particularly exciting (see the following narrator’s remarks).
[18] An allusion to an unidentified poem.
[19] This sentence may refer to the Kamo Festival, or may be speaking generally about the period as having been relatively peaceful.
[20] Shōshi’s mother, Empress Ishi, was also apparently interred close by, as was her husband, Emperor Go-Reizei.
[21] “The Eight Discourses were held a little past the tenth of the twelfth month. . . . The first day was dedicated to the former Emperor, the donor’s father, the second to the Empress her mother, and the third to His Late Eminence” (Trans. Royall Tyler, “The Green Branch,” 211).
[22] This observation suggests a narrator with memory of Go-Ichijō, and had proximity to his being, enough to claim the portrait’s lack of fidelity. In contrast, later, the narrator remarks how Ishi had little memory of her father. Such comments do corroborate Idewa no Ben (or someone of her position) as the author behind the narratorial voice. Idewa no Ben served Jōtōmon’in and then Ishi, so she would have such knowledge and perspective.
[23] The identity of this person, and “the mother” as well as “the consort” is unclear. Go-Ichijō had no other consorts apart from Ishi, so one manuscript’s interlinear note posits Jōtōmon’in as the nyōgodono, an error then for nyōindono. In Goshūishū, the following poem is attributed to Idewa no Ben.
[24] Shōshi was eleven when her father died, and it was fifty-two years since his death.
[25] In his entry for the 21st of the 4th month, Kanji 3 (1089), Munetada notes that on the 12th, the priestess left her residence at Murasakino, essentially resigning due to her mother’s death (Chūyūki).
[26] Haishi haki 屐子はき were lowly serving girls who accompanied the Kamo priestess during the lustration services or the Kamo Festival.
[27] Zenshi began her journey to Ise on the 15th of the 9th month, Kanji 3 (1089).
[28] A reference to episode 32 of Ise monogatari. “Is there no way / To make the past the present – / To be repetitious as the revolutions / Of a ball of yarn / Wound for the shizu cloth of old” いにしへのしづのをだまきくりかへし昔を今になすよしもがな (Trans. McCullough, The Tale of Ise, 93). They wish they could return to the days before her selection as the Ise priestess.
[29] This handmaid has been identified as Suō no Naishi by an entry in Tamefusa kyōki (7th day, 2nd month, Kanji 6 [1092]). This attribution has been used to speculate that the last three books of Eiga were composed by her.
[30] The Sahodono was the name of the building the Fujiwara clan chief used upon visiting Nara.
[31] Morozane served in this position in 1057 and 1062.