The emperor’s boil was not getting any better. His Majesty worried over what was going to happen. Despite his condition, the banquets for New Year’s Day proceeded as usual [1045]. Some days passed without any change, so the doctors advised, “His Majesty should take a bath of cool water,” which was then readied. His Majesty partook of the bath, but in this cold season, it seemed difficult to endure. When Jōtōmon’in entered and saw her son in that frigid bath, what must she have felt? There was no way to describe her feelings. It was distressing enough that His Majesty was suffering, yet one could hardly bear merely seeing him suffering in the cold bath. The sight that met the retired empress’s eyes was therefore horribly shocking. Besides Lord Yorimichi, her brothers and various other nobles gathered in the palace to serve His Majesty.
Whenever Palace Minister Norimichi thought about his daughter, Consort Seishi, he felt a pain in his heart. He had long hoped that she would be promoted as empress, and His Majesty’s precarious state made him anxious about what might happen. With his daughter, Enshi, expecting a child, Major Captain Yorimune, too, could not help being deeply disappointed. As the days passed, the emperor seemed hardly able to bear the pain. Many worried for His Majesty from the bottom of their hearts. Thus, with new urgency, the palace minister requested that Seishi be promoted to empress. For the emperor’s part, he was very eager, but seemed to find the prospect difficult to realize.[1] The palace minister frantically asked for the retired empress’s support.
On the 10th of the 1st month, the emperor’s condition deteriorated considerably. The palace minister’s Consort Seishi was therefore going to move out of the palace,[2] the emperor heard, so he summoned Chamberlain Nagamune and, while reclined, wrote a letter to her. It was terribly affecting. “My life is presently drawing to a close. Yet you will not be nearby to see me to the end?” Confronted with such words, Seishi decided to remain. Commoners stay with their spouses until the very end, but why is it that everyone says high-born wives should leave for their parents’ home?
Empress Teishi also requested, “I wish to go up to the palace and attend to His Majesty.” But the emperor responded, “What will the other consorts think?” so she did not go. As the emperor’s condition declined, the palace minister desperately asked that his daughter be promoted. What will happen, the people in the minister’s household wondered with trepidation. The second prince, Takahito, entered the palace. His gloomy expression as he was carried by various attendants made one’s heart ache.[3]
On the 14th, there was an imperial decree granting the Ise priestess, Princess Ryōshi, equality with the three empresses and the revenue from the associated offices and ranks. People speculated that there just might be another imperial announcement regarding the Umetsubo Consort as well, but the day ended without any such news. The palace minister was tremendously disappointed.
Seeing her father’s frustration made the consort feel helpless and upset. The regent was really acting without an ounce of sympathy, she felt with resentment towards Yorimichi. The lord had declared: “There has been no precedent for one who is not a daughter of a regent and has not borne any imperial children to become an empress.” He thus prevented Seishi from being promoted.[4]
The emperor went to bed thinking about Seishi’s predicament. Despite continual prayers, even while he was asleep, His Majesty had only foreboding dreams, so he summoned the night vigil monk, Meikai, and said, “Pray no longer for worldly benefits. I have long cherished hopes to be reborn in the Tusita Heaven.[5] Please make sure that I do not turn my back on this constant aspiration, that I do not thwart my true intention to be reborn in the Tusita Heaven.” Meikai thus prayed earnestly while ringing the bell. Those nearby who heard this exchange could not restrain their tears. His Majesty seemed to have an ill-boding premonition, for he then said, “Whatever happens to my body does not matter, since I am not bound to feel any pain. Yet, for those I will be leaving behind, I cannot think recklessly….” Indeed, for all the talk that had spread in this world of how His Majesty had entertained a certain wish for his Umetsubo Consort, having thought of her with great affection, it now seemed now that His Majesty would fail to realize this desire, people thought with some dissatisfaction. One had to conclude it was His Majesty’s fate.
In Kantoku 2 [1045], the 16th of the 1st month, there was to be the transfer of rule, the accession ceremony, so the crown prince visited the palace. He came in a string-decorated carriage. His Majesty appeared much weaker than the prince had expected, causing him much sorrow. His Highness was weeping so profusely that His Majesty tried to comfort him, saying, “Don’t cry so much. Take care of your grandmother. Don’t neglect the second prince; look after him, too.” Hearing these words, the prince brought his sleeves up to his face. “It is time to leave,” his attendants soon told him, but he could not immediately move.
When the handmaids, with their hair drawn upwards for duty, received from the emperor the box containing the imperial regalia, they could not restrain their tears. “Stop, it is inauspicious,” scolded His Majesty. When they assisted him with his cold bath, he cried out, “I can’t bear it anymore. Let me rest a little, even in this world.” It was extremely pitiful.
The new Emperor Go-Reizei assumed the throne very late at night. All the nobles attended to serve His Majesty. The rites and customs were always the same. Still, when the prince, who had come by carriage, left by palanquin, one heartily celebrated his new status. How much happier would this occasion have been if the abdicating emperor were not at all related to the prince?[6]
To the new emperor, His Eminence pressed his concern for the Ise priestess, Princess Ryōshi. “What will become of the second prince?” His Eminence also quietly bemoaned. The late Retired Emperor Go-Ichijō and His Eminence had the same family ties with Retired Empress Shōshi (their mother) and Regent Yorimichi (their uncle). Although their relationship was cordial, some of their lower-ranking people began to say some uncivil things, and naturally, with the change in reign, some rivalries developed. In this case, however, the second prince was born of a different mother from the new emperor, so their support came from different families.[7] What will happen, the His Eminence worried. He also thought about Empress Teishi and his other consorts. He must have left some final instructions for them, but since there is no one who heard His Eminence’s will, I cannot record it here.
On the evening of the 18th, Retired Emperor Go-Suzaku suddenly passed away. However one tries to describe the sorrow, it was beyond the ordinary. Jōtōmon’in bewailed the death of her son in a manner hardly recordable. To live so long only to meet such tragedies,[8] what must people be thinking of me, the retired empress painfully ruminated, lost in such thoughts. The brothers, the lords, were also terribly shocked. The palace minister sobbed along with feelings of resentment. Ever since she was just a little sprout, he had carefully raised his daughter to become an empress, with never a doubt as to their success, so Norimichi naturally felt both sadness and regret. Major Captain Yorimune also lamented with much regret that the emperor had not lived for a few more months, at least until the 4th month, when Consort Enshi, his daughter, was expected to give birth.
Although the present Emperor Go-Reizei could not celebrate his own accession or think of anything else when he thought of his father’s extreme suffering, his wet-nurses rejoiced without bounds that their long-awaited day had come, despite wondering what would become of the retired emperor.[9] The moon shone brilliantly. The prince had come in a carriage, but he returned as emperor. So, as he rode his palanquin with an entourage of a hundred officials, the procession and its accompanying rites were auspiciously magnificent, though this was only normal for such occasions. If only the former emperor had not abdicated in such a state, how freely would His Majesty have been able to celebrate, free from concerns about his father?
The extreme sorrow with which the current emperor met the news of his father’s death was entirely natural. As for his daughters, it was very unfortunate that the Emperor Go-Suzaku passed away before he had been able to meet his daughters, the Ise and Kamo priestesses [Ryōshi 良子 and Enshi 娟子 respectively]. That such august personages, too, suffered so, was pathetic indeed. As for Empress Teishi, she could not forgive the former emperor,[10] yet when she recalled how, just this past winter, he had said, “You will no doubt remember me often when I am no longer of this world,” she felt particularly miserable.
Umetsubo Consort Seishi could not even get up, oppressed by the weight of her loss. She was wearing light gray mourning robes, but her tears had discolored not just their sleeves, but everywhere in an appalling manner. Though they would eventually dry, she looked most pitiful indeed. Was she crying out of sorrow, or out of bitterness? Since her father continued to bear the former emperor a grudge, she must have felt both embarrassment and resentment. Yet how could she be offended by merely one failure, an act which seems not to have been so destined? His Eminence had indeed harbored a deep affection for her, and kept her constantly in the apartments close to his place. He treated her with great respect, making their relationship a most intimate one. How could the consort not remember how the emperor’s love for her did not fade over time, as was so usual, people said to each other, imagining how she must be feeling.
Her father’s resentment embarrassed her, but when she realized how he must think she had forgotten her pride, simply wallowing in her loss, she eventually got up and performed Buddhist devotions from dawn to dusk. She had always had a deep abiding faith. There was not a single scripture she would not peruse. Thousands did she read and copy, again and again. Presently she focused on copying the sutras, spending entire days in this devotional practice. Upon completion of each transcription, she also sponsored an appropriate dedication service that was always magnificent. Though she would have liked to take the tonsure, her father was not likely to approve, so she quietly began to prepare herself spiritually. Thus did she spend her time in mourning.
In the 4th month, Reikeiden Consort Enshi gave birth to a princess.[11] On the 8th of the 4th month, the emperor ascended the throne.[12] Everybody came to watch the festivities. The commotion of the various carriages competing to enter through the palace gate was almost frightening.[13] With jeweled hats, the courtiers sat on their chairs to make for a scene with the atmosphere of a Chinese painting.[14] For this occasion, the female attendants changed out of mourning into propitious garments.
Ben no Menoto[15] become the assistant handmaid, and served trays of food to His Majesty. Though it was splendid, needless to say, it was only customary for such events. Other wet-nurses of this new emperor were Tanba no Menoto, who was the daughter of Middle Captain Masamichi, and Saishō no Menoto, who was the granddaughter of the late seventy-year-old major counselor, Minamoto no Shigemitsu, and the daughter of Bizen Governor Nagatsune. Appropriate people were permitted to ascend into the palace, where the gorgeous scene was as flowery as though one had broken off branches of flowers, scattering their petals.
What must have been the feelings of these wet-nurses as they waited for the palanquin to take His Majesty to the Daigokuden? They must have felt as though they were watching the brilliant morning sun rise above the horizon. The emperor was twenty-one this year. His consort, Princess Shōshi of the first rank, was twenty. Though she was expected to become empress, it must have been decided to wait until the mourning period ended, and when the various religious rites associated with the accession were completed. Ten of the palace ladies and the female chamberlains were wearing red Chinese jackets with wide sleeves as part of their formal Chinese attire. The other ten were wearing robes with printed patterns, and had lined up with their hair pulled up for duty. The roles of the prince of ceremonies and the princess for the raising of the curtains were fulfilled as usual.[16]
At that time, the emperor resided in the Kyōgokudono. The main hall was the Shishinden, and the western wing functioned as the Seiryōden. In the north wing resided the princess of the first rank. Another section of the north wing served as the Naishidokoro. The covered walkways of the middle gate to the west served as the guardhouse. The Kyōgokudono appeared truly magnificent. After all, three emperors and three empresses hailed from this residence.[17] And the princess of the first rank will probably be promoted here as well.
About the time of Emperor Go-Suzaku’s death, Shijō Middle Counselor Sadayori composed the following poem, seeing some traces of snow that had not yet melted.[18]
Hidden beneath a tree, a vestige of snow, vanishes from the bottom,
imparting a feeling like the ephemeral wait for dawn.
木隠れに残れる雪のした消えて日を待つほどの心地こそすれ
Shortly after composing this poem, the middle counselor passed away.[19] It was very affecting. Since I had forgotten this episode, which should have come earlier, I record it here.
Upon the death of Emperor Go-Suzaku, Gen Sanmi received a poem from Empress Teishi’s Ben no Menoto.[20]
Over which field’s mists did our pitiful sovereign
become one with the clouds of an empty sky?
あはれ君いかなる野辺の霞にてむなしき空の雲となるらん
In response:
Think of my feelings! Not being able to disappear along with the smoke,
I remain here like the dallying spring mists.
思ひやれおなじ煙にまじりなで立ちおくれたる春の霞を
In the 3rd month, when the cherry trees were blooming at their peak, Princess Shōshi’s Idewa no Ben uttered:
Though winds may blow, they hardly cause a rustle in the branches—
may this reign bloom in a flowering that has no end.
風吹けど枝も鳴らさぬ君が世に花の常盤をはじめてしがな
Another person:
The evanescence of life I contemplate in viewing the cherry blossoms,
but people may think I know not when to enjoy them properly.[21]
はかなさによそへて見れば桜花折知らぬにやならんとすらん
In the 4th month, on the day of the Kamo Festival, the retired empress’s Chūnagon no Naishi no Suke attached a poem to a leaf of heartvine, and sent it to Princess Kenshi 娟子, who had resigned as the Kamo priestess upon the death of her father, Emperor Go-Suzaku.
Last year today, did you pray for this? Your leaving of the sacred mountain
where you long collected the heartvine is too regrettable for words.
去年の今日かくや祈りし神山につみし葵のかけまくも惜し
Ben no Menoto, in the service of Empress Teishi [Princess Kenshi’s mother], responded:
Do I dare to say that I reverently prayed thusly—
though brief was her time with the heartvine.
かけまくはかしこしとこそ折りしかはかなかりける葵草かな
The Mt. Hiei Abbott, Meikai, who served as the night-vigil monk, uttered:
Above the clouds, just after the light has just gone out,
in just a few nights, to be able to see the moon![22]
雲の上に光消えにしそのままに幾夜といふに月を見つらん
Since the court was still in mourning, even the blinds had a distressing color. All of the nobles wore dark brown mourning clothes. The female attendants serving the princess of the first rank were somberly attired in grays and light browns.
Empress Teishi listlessly longed for the past while performing religious devotions. Her attendants began to yearn for life at the palace. Crown Prince Takahito was twelve, and lived with his mother at the Kan’in. Princesses Ryōshi and Kenshi resigned from their roles as the Ise and Kamo priestesses. Their appearance in mourning was pitiful indeed. Being seventeen and fifteen, they were both mature ladies with pretty, delicate features. It was said that they looked truly marvelous.
As for the palace minister, the Umetsubo consort was still his favorite among his many children. No matter morning or afternoon, he came to visit constantly to see to her needs. Seeing her radiant beauty and her dignified elegance, her father wondered incredulously how she could ever be deemed inferior to anyone. How did she end up quietly devoting herself to religion like this? Her still bountiful hair almost reached end of her sleeves, densely flowing down with hardly a gap to reveal her back. She was just thirty-two or three, at the height of womanhood. The late Retired Emperor Go-Suzaku had been thirty-seven that year. His reign had lasted ten years.
For the retired empress, the world had become an onerous place, filled with sorrow. Seeking refuge within a rock-encircled cavern, she moved to the Shirakawadono.[23] The Kyōgokudono, Her Eminence handed over to the princess of the first rank. Hearing of the retired empress’s move, the Umetsubo consort composed:
Thinking the world a despicable place, you left your house behind—
why did I return home without taking vows?
憂しとては出でにし家を出でぬなりなどふる里にわれ帰りけん
Her dazed expression was very painful to observe. As it turned to autumn, hearing the sounds of the insects, the retired empress recalled the verse, “reverberating among the leaves,”[24] and recited:
From night to dawn will they cry—the insects’ voice:
hearing it makes me feel like a friend will come to visit.[25]
夜もすがら鳴き明かすらん虫の声聞けば友来る心地こそすれ
On the 7th of the 7th month:
Today may be the date, but when the entire world makes one feel entangled,
difficult it is to hurry with the Tanabata threads.[26]
今日とても急がれぬかななべて世を思ひうみにし七夕の糸
So did such thoughts occupy Her Eminence’s dazed mind. It was very pathetic. The autumnal scenery of Shirakawadono was thus sad enough, but as the season progressed into the 10th month, when the late autumn rains intermittently fell, and the scattered leaves whirled about, it became all the more difficult to restrain one’s tears. The master of the palace table office, Norinaga, sent a poem to Tonomori no Jijū:
Longing for the past, you will surely be more frequently awakened by
the unfamiliar sounds of the storms raging in the peaks.[27]
古を恋ふる寝覚めやまさるらん聞きもならはぬ峰の嵐に
Many, many tears were called forth, and those attendants by her side were also painfully affected.
In the 4th month of the following year, seeing that the flowers in the garden had completely scattered, the retired empress composed:
What is dear, the flowers on the small branches, has all been scattered,
leaving behind what is despised, the green leaves.
惜しまれし梢の花は散り果てて厭ふ緑の葉のみ残れる[28]
To see Her Eminence tormented by such thoughts was heartbreaking indeed. The present emperor, like his forebears, regarded the retired empress with tremendous respect from the bottom of his heart. The scene by the mountain village was thus not at all lonely, with visitors, messengers, and attendants, coming and going. Courtiers such as Tajima Governor Takafusa (who was the son of the retired empress’s wet-nurse), Mino Governor Motosada, or Ōmi Governor Norisuke, gathered to serve Her Eminence. Besides these gentlemen, there was no one who would not be willing to assist the retired empress. Nobles, officials, chamberlains, all ensured that Her Eminence’s court did not in any way decline. Besides the two emperors who were her sons, the present emperor also seemed nothing less than her own, though they might naturally have felt a little more distant.[29] Therefore, everyone saw Her Eminence as a most impressive figure, but she considered herself pitiful beyond compare for outliving her two sons. Meanwhile, her attendants leisurely passed away their time in many elegant amusements with flowers and autumn leaves.
There was a directional taboo from the Kyōgokudono towards the newly rebuilt palace, so in the 12th month, the emperor moved to the dining hall of the senior nobles[30] of the imperial palace.[31] Back at the Kyōgokudono was Princess Shōshi. Early one morning, her attendants stepped out of the main hall just as snow happened to be falling. They confused the snowflakes with scattering flowers. The frozen lake looked like a mirror. Even the stones appeared to have sprouted blossoms. It was all so delightful. If one looked towards the Hōjōji, the scene composed of the various temple buildings imparted the feeling of a Chinese painting. The snow on the garden grounds had partly disappeared, but the snow caught on the tips of the branches made the trees look like they were at the height of bloom. Senji uttered to Idewa no Ben:
What a waste, that only his lowest vassals see this morning scene!
If only His Majesty would “fall” back to see the snow.[32]
賤の男は見るにかひなき朝かなまたたち還るみゆきならなん
Idewa no Ben:
Since words fail to “fall” far enough,
rather than say “how wonderful,” I simply look.
言の葉のゆきもやらねばなかなかにおもしろしともいはでこそ見れ
Other people recited:
On stones and on pines the flowers have bloomed;
has there ever been such a snow viewing?
巌にも松にも花ぞ咲きにけるかかる雪見しをりはありきや
Though we arose before sunrise to go out and see,
it had already disappeared to our regret—this morning’s snow.
茜さす日よりさきにも出でて見で消えてくやしき今朝の雪かな
The attendants were wearing robes of various colors. Among them, some had on pink robes of graduated intensity, while a few still had on mourning robes of gray. Their appearance as they watched the snowy landscape was also quite charming.
The year changed [1046], and the princess moved to the dining hall. Her attendants had on color combinations of willow and cherry blossoms. For the princess’s visits to the emperor, they had to walk right past the designated courtiers’ hall. With the courtiers’ eyes upon them, they could hardly relax along the route.
Princess Keishi 敬子, the daughter of the minister of the ceremonial, Prince Atsuhira, became the Ise priestess.[33] Her mother was the daughter of Minamoto no Norimasa, the governor of Tajima. Lord Yorimichi’s second princess, Baishi 禖子, became the Kamo priestess.[34] She was actually the fourth princess of Emperor Go-Suzaku. The third princess, Yūshi 祐子, was also called the First Princess of the Takakura.[35] Princess Shōshi of the first rank was supposed to be promoted as empress, but it was delayed until the priestesses were decided.
The palace minister’s middle daughter, Shinshi 真子, had for some reason been ill for many years. She sometimes did not even seem to be conscious. Twenty years had passed without any improvement. Norimichi could only continue caring for her in her present state. Another daughter called Kohimegimi (Kanshi 歓子) was living in the residence that used to belong to her late mother, Kintō’s daughter. Kohimegimi had filled the role as the acting consort in the Great Thanksgiving Service in the first fall of Emperor Go-Suzaku’s reign.
At the end of the 3rd month, the dining hall of the senior nobles burned down.[36] Since the emperor had just recently moved there, he was truly distressed. His Majesty moved to the palace minister’s Nijō residence. Since Lady Takatsukasadono was living at Norifusa’s house on Konoe Street, the princess of the first rank moved there. Once people calmed down from the fear the fire had provoked, they noticed that the cherry blossoms were gloriously at their peak. When the emperor had been a crown prince, he had lived at Norifusa’s for quite some time, and whenever the flowers bloomed, people gathered for ball games and other amusements. Idewa no Ben recited:
No heart could fail to be comforted by these cherry blossoms,
even if gazing upon the moon over Mount Obasute does not.[37]
慰まぬ心はあらじ桜花姨捨山の月を見るとも
The princess of the first rank moved to the Nijō residence after the 10th of the 4th month.
In the 6th month, the princess of the first rank was going to be promoted as empress, it was said, and Lord Yorimichi assigned people to begin preparing the various things needed for the ceremony. Meanwhile, the princess was afflicted with a rampant illness. Since she remained in terrible anguish, not improving even after several days, after the 10th of the 6th month, she moved to the nearby house of Sanmi. Innumerable prayers were recited. Nobles, starting with Norimichi, left nothing even remotely possible undone. The emperor constantly sent emissaries to inquire after her. From about the 20th, she began to get somewhat better, and on the 25th, the imperial decree proclaiming her promotion was handed down. A grand banquet was to be held on the 10th of the 7th month. Although these events were not at all surprising given her lineage, they still made one tremble in joyful excitement.
At the beginning of the 7th month, the princess traveled to the Kyōgokudono, and on the 10th, she became empress. As spacious as the mansion was, extra temporary rooms for attendants filled the grounds, leaving hardly any space. The staff busily worked in their assigned roles in the food storage and preparation areas. The Kyōgokudono did not appear at all inferior to the time when the retired empress lived there. Blinds hung everywhere in all the halls. The rivulets trickled pleasingly; the grounds had not a single speck of dust. The pine trees were verdant. Indeed, the mansion was truly wonderful. It felt like the scene from The Tale of Genji, in which Captain Yūgiri and the palace minister’s daughter, Kumoinokari, happily lived in the Sanjō residence, not inferior at all to the past when her grandmother, the old princess, lived there.[38]
In the light of the lamps, one could see the attendants with their hair raised as they sat displaying their robes from underneath the blinds. The lord and the palace minister went inside the blinds, and instructed those attendants who had been in the service of Empress Ishi to perform the necessary preparations. “Tell the handmaid in charge of trimming Her Majesty’s hair to come,” they ordered. Ben no Naishi thus went to the day chamber, where Her Majesty sat in the chair for her haircut. She looked as though she were from a different world. She wore pink unlined robes with a Chinese jacket made of white bombycine. Her train was also white. With jeweled decorations dangling before her forehead, she looked marvelous. With someone lacking, too tall with not enough hair, for instance, the picture of her sitting on the chair would have surely been unsightly. However, with Princess Shōshi, her figure in dim light of the oil lamps was stunning.
Also magnificent was the greeting by the nobles. In the lake, lit all around by torches, white birds stood with their long legs dipped in the water, imparting the atmosphere of a reed painting.[39] The professor palace ladies[40] arrived, writing the attendants’ names on cards, or assisting in raising the hair of their mistresses and of each other. It was a very special scene.
That night, the lord’s wife, Takahime, presented the tray of food to Empress Shōshi. Six female chamberlains with their hair pulled up also waited upon Her Majesty. The attendants on this occasion were wearing unlined robes the color of autumn leaves under a light purple, bellflower-hued robe. Their Chinese jackets were the color of maidenflower; the trains were like lespedeza. The following day, they again had on pink robes, but under a maidenflower robe, with a lespedeza Chinese jacket, and an aster train. The next day, six attendants each had on unlined bombycine robes the color of bellflowers, fallen leaves, maidenflowers, and asters. The uppermost robe was of the same color, and their trains and Chinese jackets were different from one attendant to another, though of a suitable matching color. In the woven patterns, each of the ladies competed with one another. Those who were not permitted to wear the restricted colors used gold or mother-of-pearl on their Chinese jackets, or painted illustrations, or embroidered to adorn their garments. The array was dazzling. Some of the wardrobe variations consisted of gold threads, decorations on ends of the sleeves, golden objects placed on trousers which had been heavily starched, or embroidery on trousers of fulled silk. Some of the embroidery featured celebratory poems. They all competed with one another, loathing to be thought inferior.
The emperor’s messenger was Yoshimoto, the fourth-ranking, new minor captain.[41] After delivering the imperial message, he waited for an answer by the western eaves of the main hall, speaking with various people. Beginning with the lord and the palace minister, courtiers came for three days to pay their respects.
On the 17th of the 8th month, Her Majesty entered the palace. Iyo Governor Norikuni sent a poem to one of the attendant’s rooms.
I know it from before—the look of this sky:
as they have done of old, purple clouds soar.[42]
かねてより空のけしきぞしるかりしふるあとに立つ紫の雲
Besides this poem, they were many others just like it.
In the spring of that year, the Ononomiya Minister of the Right Sanesuke passed away.[43] It was as though he had been waiting until he had turned ninety. His passing was very affecting. One had to accept that, despite a long life, the end had to come sooner or later. When Ōmiya Minister of Popular Affairs Nagaie[44] heard the sad news, he uttered:
Even he, an example of a life, long like a string of jewels,
is no different than the evanescent dewdrop, once he disappears.
玉の緒の長きためしに引く人も消ゆれば露になにかことなる
When the empress entered the palace in the 8th month, there was an imperial procession, which a female attendant saw. She then said:
Above the clouds, the moon palace glows brighter in autumn,
just as Her Majesty’s entrance imparts even more light.
雲の上ぞ思ひやらる秋の月光を添へて入ると見えしに
Wonderful without a blemishing cloud, how could the Fujitsubo be on par with any other hall?[45] Her attendants had on color combinations of various chrysanthemums, with dark pink, fulled robes, and brown Chinese jackets.
The Lustration Services and the Great Thanksgiving Service were held as customary. Palace Minister Norimichi became the minister of the right, and Major Captain Yorimune became the palace minister. Norimichi’s daughter, Kanshi, was the acting consort. The ceremonies in their procedures and their appearances did not differ from previous occasions; they were magnificent as usual. The Gosechi and Special Festivals ended without any departure from custom.
The arrival of a new year [1047] was cause for ample celebration. At the Shirakawadono, Retired Empress Shōshi still yearned for the past, and concentrated on performing her Buddhist devotions. Meanwhile, the residence became a frightening place when a tengu appeared.[46] Because of it, Her Eminence became afflicted with an illness and suffered immensely. Some of her attendants followed suit in becoming ill. Some even died. It was an eerie and ominous situation. Lord Yorimichi therefore asked Her Eminence, “Should you be staying here like this?” Time went by before Her Eminence would acquiesce to the lord’s advice, so she remained in pain for quite a while. “Should you die like this, it will go against all that you have been praying for your afterlife,” the lord pressed. Her Eminence thus finally made her way to the residence of Mimasaka Governor Motosada, which was on Shijō Avenue. Still, she remained ill for quite some time afterwards.
Minister of the Right Norimichi’s daughter, Kanshi 歓子, then entered the palace.[47] Since the Kyōgokudono was still being used as the palace, it was very cramped.[48] Despite this situation, Kanshi played the lute, and she painted marvelously. Indeed, she drew such wonderful “male pictures” (otokoe) that they put professional artists to shame.[49] She was very elegant and had the most wonderful taste. Her figure was also quite beautiful. She was endearing when her face dimpled slightly, and her frame was attractively petite.
I almost forgot to mention that there was a poetry contest at the palace.[50] Since Consort Kanshi had not yet returned to the palace, it was postponed to the 9th of the 11th month, though originally it had been planned for the end of the 10th month. The nobles were divided up into the left and right teams. The presentation stand of the left was composed of golden material, from which they had crafted five-needled pines with colorful climbing vines. It was very pretty. Moromoto, an assistant in the military guards, wrote out the poems. As for the right, they had prepared a carved, latticed box, which looked like a writing box, in which they had placed ten leaflets. In them, people had painted background illustrations appropriate to the spirit of the chosen poetic topics. The palace minister’s Inaba wet nurse wrote out the poems for the right. One of the leaflets had a brocade cover, another had one of silver leaf, polished as though one were looking at a distant landscape with vague outlines of mountains and running water. Another one had gold and silver tied threads on which jewels were strung in a pattern. Each of them exuded a refined allure. The inkstone was made of silver, the water dropper of lapis lazuli, and even the ink scaled the pinnacles of beauty. Both teams also devoted considerable effort in crafting their enchanting scoring stands.
The female attendants of the empress wore beautiful attire, befitting the season for picking autumn foliage. The fulled silk, the bombycine, the rustic splotch-dyed silk, all had their charm. With a translucent robe on top, one could see the fulled robes underneath, on which they had embroidered rivulets in silver with scattered autumn maple leaves. It was delightfully elegant. The curtains of Her Majesty’s dais were in the chrysanthemum color combination. Although her attendants did not sit with their sleeves showing, nearby the empress, a little further away, some sleeves were showing in just the right amount, captivating the eye. Other attendants had embroidered stems of chrysanthemums and the colored foliage of vines. A mirror represented water. The way that this picture, contrasted with the background luster of the fulled robe, showed through the upper transparent robe was truly lovely. Others had on layered pink, fulled silk in between the upper and lower robes, cutting out the outlines of vines. Thus, the green below showed through. Their Chinese jackets were of thin silk dyed with cloves, and the embroidery of maples leaves showed through enchantingly. Moreover, they tied their trains to their waist in a stylish manner. One could not help being pleasantly surprised by the way the moon rose through the maple leaves on their Chinese jackets. Other attendants had cleverly replicated the scenes around the Ōi River and the waterfall at Tonase, famed for its autumnal foliage.
As for the poems, I am not going to record them. I also did not extensively describe the presentation platforms or the fabric on which they stood, for I thought that would be repetitive. I only noted down what I saw, especially since one can find a more detailed description of such an event in the record of the Kayanoin poetry contest.[51] This reign was indeed full of wonderful events, like the time people made figurines of roosters on presentation trays for the “bird-matching” contest.[52] Emperor Go-Reizei was especially fond of music, and took an interest in amusements like the flower-matching contest or the chrysanthemum banquet, which he sponsored.[53] It was indeed a prosperous reign.
At the Muryōjuin, Lord Yorimichi had constructed a new hall.[54] The retired empress and Lady Takatsukasadono came for its dedication. The lord’s wife, Takahime, brought along First Princess Yūshi. Empress Shōshi arrived as well, coming directly from the palace in the afternoon. Her procession was like many of old and nothing new, but it nonetheless commanded much awe. Her Majesty had on bombycine robes the color of cherry bark, the reverse of which were fulled to bring out the luster of the silk. In addition to these six layers of robes, she had on a train and a Chinese jacket. Her appearance was splendid beyond words. In the back of her palanquin rode Sanmi, her attendant. She was wearing a pink fulled robe with a cherry-colored bombycine robe over it. Over those, she had a wisteria-colored robe with a pattern of cherry blossoms. Her Chinese jacket was also the color of cherries and fresh spring foliage. These were all made of two-ply silk, with the pattern of the cherry blossoms woven clearly into the fabric’s surface.
The other attendants of the empress had fulled robes of cherry blossoms and fresh spring foliage. Over these, they wore a yellow robe made of two-ply, globeflower bombycine, and a wisteria Chinese jacket. On their pale green trains, they drew some pictures, embroidered patterns, applied mother-of-pearl, or decorated the hem such that they dazzled the eye. Some minutely wrote out the poem, “those cherry blossoms my spirit visits daily,”[55] in gold paint, with a painting of overflowing cherry flowers to go along with the poem. Others delightfully echoed the poem, “piercing clear, white dewdrops—the willow tree in springtime.”[56] There were others still who drew pictures of furnishings, like the curtain dais, Chinese comb boxes, or the afternoon dais, as the pattern on their garments. “This stream that becomes a mirror”[57] was another theme, for which ladies cleverly used a mirror to stand for the lake. It was truly beyond words to describe completely. The trousers were all fulled and decorated at the hems.
The attendants of the lord’s Princess Yūshi wore three colors, five robes for each color, for a total of fifteen robes, gradually darkening towards the outermost layer. On top of these, they had on a pink, fulled robe, under a bombycine robe the hue of spring foliage. The silk of the uppermost robe was so lightweight that it was dizzyingly exquisite. This retinue was also thus very impressive, and the eyes were not equal to the task of seeing all the marvelous things.
The lord attended with his wife and the wife of the late Prince Atsuyasu.[58] The lord’s wife, Takahime, had on white robes under a pink Chinese damask. Princess Yūshi wore robes made of cherry-blossom bombycine, and pink, fulled robe, under a wisteria bombycine robe. Over all of this, she had a shorter-sleeved, spring-foliage robe. She looked very refined, glorious beyond words. The wife of the late Prince Atsuyasu was a nun.
Over on the other side sat Retired Empress Jōtōmon’in, Empress Shōshi, and Lady Takatsukasadono. The retired empress and Lady Takatsukasadono both were alike in having completely shaven off their hair. Since the two were attired in nun’s garb in contrast with the magnificence of the empress, the wife of the former lord, [Takatsukasadono], felt very embarrassed to be seen sitting with the empress. Thinking it rather chilly through the thin robes, she offered, “Please put on my robes,” to Her Majesty. She had not forgotten her great-granddaughter. Besides her advanced age,[59] they had not met in quite a while, so the retired empress had been worried what would happen. The various ceremonies were so splendid no words could do them justice. When the services were completed, they all returned. As for the gifts everyone received, I will let the reader imagine them.
It was about this time. Palace Minister Yorimune had been planning to introduce his third daughter, Shōshi 照子, to the emperor, and was making lists and preparing various furnishings for her move, when suddenly, Lord Yorimichi decided to have his daughter, Kanshi 寛子, enter the palace, too. The lord had not introduced Kanshi to the palace until now, not only because she had been immature until quite recently, but also because he had been deferring to his principal wife’s feelings.[60] She was growing up, though, and he decided he could not keep her hidden forever, so he came to this decision. When the palace minister heard this news, he abandoned his plans for his daughter, not wishing to compete.
Since the palace had burned down, the emperor had moved to the Kyōgokudono.[61] Many ladies of suitable lineage clamored around Kanshi, wishing to be selected as her attendants. It was very auspicious. Knowing how the lord lavished attention on her, there was not a single prominent family that did not send their precious daughter, sometimes sisters, to Kanshi’s service. There was no way one could adequately describe the attendants’ attire. A daughter of Tadanobu, the late Fujiwara minister of popular affairs, and the daughter of Kinnobu, the captain of the military guards, entered Kanshi’s retinue.[62] Other ladies were the daughter of Minamoto no Sanetomo, the middle captain and presently the Owari governor, or the daughter of Shinano Governor Tsunetaka, himself a son of Minamoto Minister of Popular Affairs Michitaka. Many daughters of high-ranking nobles thus gathered around Kanshi. There were many others, but I will not write them down. The daughters of the various fourth and fifth-ranking courtiers were too numerous to record.
Kanshi entered the palace in the 12th month. One could not possibly count how many garments and furnishings she brought with her. Her mother was called Lady Sanjō, and she accompanied her daughter to the palace. To say that the occasion called for celebration would, of course, be too commonplace.
In the 2nd month, Consort Kanshi 寛子 was elevated to empress.[63] Although the chūgū would have customarily been promoted to the kōgō, Shōshi pleaded, “I want to stay like this,” so the new empress instead took the status of kōgō.[64] Kanshi’s mother, the Sanjōdono, was quietly said to be the daughter of the late Prince Tomohira.[65] The honorable nun [Rinshi] had disliked her son’s association with her, which troubled Yorimichi greatly. As a way to alleviate matters, he simply confused everyone by placing her in the service of his mother, posing her as the daughter of Prince Tomohira’s son, the Inaba Governor Yorinari.[66] Now, however, there was no reason to continue exercising restraint and remain hidden. That Sanjōdono should have borne a daughter destined to be an empress was extremely marvelous, people all commented. As for Kanshi, she not only drew the respect and warm attention of society, but also the affection of the emperor himself, pleasing her father tremendously that he had indeed sent her to the palace.
On the day of her investiture, Kanshi left the palace for the lord’s Higashi Sanjōdono in a magnificent fashion, which I will not even try to describe. Higashi Sanjōdono was already quite impressive as it was, so imagine how it must have been all polished! It was truly marvelous beyond words. Because the lord himself went to and fro to direct everything, how could there be anyone who did not enthusiastically follow his wishes, just as the grasses bend along with the wind? The female attendants’ garments were customary for these occasions, so I will not describe them here, but they were boundlessly wonderful. When the nobles paid their respects to Her Majesty, seated on her chair with her hair pulled up, the scene was glorious beyond words. The same Naishi no Suke that had done Empress Shōshi’s hair also did Kanshi’s. Naishi no Suke would later talk about how perfectly the Chinese garments for the ceremony suited the new empress. Before long, Kanshi entered the palace with her new status.
The master of the new empress’s household was Minamoto no Takakuni the middle counselor. The provisional master was Tsunetō the middle counselor. The assistant was Sukemune the major controller. The third-ranking officials were Tanba Governor Takafusa, and Owari Governor Norifusa. The daughter of the late Minamoto minister of popular affairs, Michikata, acted as the imperial messenger. The daughter of the Fujiwara minister of popular affairs, Nagaie, acted as the mistress of the wardrobe. The sister of Taira no Sadachika, the major controller of the right, became a handmaid, among others. The daughter of Major Counselor Governor of Dazaifu Tsunemichi also came, but lost her eagerness and went home. As for the imperial messenger, she did not even present herself at the palace, but was remotely appointed to her role. She was the younger sister of Minamoto Middle Counselor Tsunenaga, a son of Michitaka. A mature lady of discretion, she declared, “I can’t imagine how I could serve you,” but the empress said, “Be my attendant, even from afar.” So did the empress’s attendants gather around Her Majesty. From then on, whenever the flowers bloomed, or on suitable moonlit nights, courtiers frequently came and composed poetry, or played music for amusement. To say that such moments were enchanting would be a platitude. The emperor held Her Majesty in deep regard.
The emperor also continued to cherish Empress Shōshi, thinking her dear from the bottom of his heart, especially since she had been with him without any peer from quite a young age.[67] The lord, too, pitied Her Majesty for the situation in which he had placed her, and behaved towards her the same as before. Minister of the Right Norimichi shut himself in, terribly embittered that his own daughter, Consort Kanshi 歓子, had failed to be promoted as empress. Consort Kanshi lived at home, no doubt also severely disappointed in the relinquishing of her imperial aspirations.
To Crown Prince Takahito, Master of His Highness’s Household Yoshinobu presented his adopted daughter, Moshi 茂子, whose true father was Captain Kinnari of the left military guards.[68] She was famed for her beauty. They had one daughter, Princess Sōshi 聡子.[69]
I have almost forgotten to mention that, before Empress Kanshi 寛子 had entered the palace, Consort Kanshi 歓子 (the daughter of the Minister of the Right Norimichi) had found herself with child, so she moved to the Sanjōdono, the residence of Nagaie, the master of Empress Shōshi’s household. Her father and everyone else also moved, leaving Umetsubo Consort Seishi all alone at the Nijōdono. She uttered to herself:
Coming back, returning to my former self in my maiden home,
alone I gaze at the autumn evening.
ゆきかへりふる里人に身をなして一人ながむる秋の夕暮
Apparently Consort Kanshi’s young prince was born dead.[70] Both the emperor and the minister were extremely upset. There had been some talk of matching Takahime’s half-sister, Princess Senshi 嫥子, who was the former Ise priestess, to the minister of the right.[71] With Kanshi’s tragic birth, however, such plans were all put aside.
The minister of the right found the world to be a burdensome, distressing place, and thought of retreating to a mountain village. People talked of how he was making plans to take the tonsure. That he should feel this way was quite natural, though pitiful indeed. The Umetsubo consort, too, suffered greatly when Emperor Go-Suzaku’s reign ended before her intentions had been realized. The present emperor sympathized with her plight and thought her feelings quite justified, so he at least conferred to his Consort Kanshi equality with the three empresses and the income from the annual ranks and offices belonging to that rank.
A Root-Matching Contest was held at the Palace.[72] The captain of the left team was Suketsuna the head chamberlain and middle captain. The captain of the right team was Controller Tsuneie, the son of Sadayori the Shijō middle counselor. They were both young courtiers at their peak, carrying everyone’s great expectations. Twenty people were allotted to each team. By the miniature thatched fence of the presentation tray, splendid beyond words, there were roots of the sweet-flag dug up from a still unknown wetland. One was an astonishing four yards! I do not know how I could describe the presentation stands for the poems, the rugs, and the tables with legs decorated with floral carvings.
Empresses Shōshi and Kanshi attended. Empress Shōshi’s attendants were simply gorgeous, have gone to the trouble to wear robes dyed like sweet-flag, fulled to bring out their luster. Over these they had on bombycine robes colored like pinks, and Chinese jackets like mugwort. Their trains were light, chinaberry purple. Empress Kanshi’s attendants had on silk dyed in sweet flag, chinaberry, pinks, and irises. With gold and silver paints, they drew pictures of flowers and birds on their garments. They also decorated the hems of their sleeves, approaching the pinnacle of beauty in their attire. With each moment, there were so many wonderful things.
The Poetry Contest at the Palace on the 5th of the 5th Month, Eishō 6
Round One: Sweet Flag – a tie
Left Director of the Left Stables Minamoto no Tsunenobu
What has not changed through many reigns: the long summer rains—
that fragrance when their droplets wet the sweet flag.
よろづ代に変わらぬものは五月雨の雫に薫るあやめ草かな
Right Minor Captain Minamoto no Nobufusa
Tsukuma Marsh, remote tho’ it is, how deep is the bottom—
in pulling up these roots of the sweet flag, we know.[73]
つくま江の底の深さをよそながら引けるあやめの根にて知るかな
Round Two: Cuckoo – a tie[74]
Left Provisional Left Middle Controller Fujiwara no Sukenaka
Since the cuckoo flew away after a single cry,
once again must I be the one who waits for the its song?
郭公ただ一声に過ぎぬればまた待つ人になりぬべきかな
Right Right Bodyguards Middle Captain Minamoto no Akifusa[75]
Was it perhaps a brief slumber’s dream? The cuckoo,
not more than once did I hear before it passed.
うたたねの夢にやあるらん郭公またとも聞かで過ぎぬなるかな
Third Round: Rice Sprouts – a tie
Left Chamberlain, Palace Works Assistant Fujiwara no Koretsuna[76]
In the long rains of the fifth month, the sun is about set, tho’ far from home
in these mountain paddies, the rice sprouts are not yet planted.
五月雨に日は暮れぬめり里遠み山田の早苗取りも果てぬに
Right Minor Counselor Minamoto no Nobufusa[77]
You, farming maidens: down to the rice beds in the mountain paddies,
hurry for these sprouts ripen early!
早乙女(さおとめ)の山田の代に下り立ちて急げや早苗室のはや早稲
Fourth Round: Celebration – a tie
Left Master of the Ceremonial Fujiwara no Kuninari[78]
Just as the moon shines brightly in the autumn sky,
for a thousand reigns, may so the palace above the clouds.
秋の空出づる月日のさやかにもよろづ世すめる雲の上かな
Right Right Bodyguards Middle Captain Minamoto no Suketsuna
As many as the needles of the pines’ branches upon Kasugayama
does our sovereign’s reign number in the thousands.
春日山枝さし添ふる松の葉は君が千歳の数にぞありける
Fifth Round: Love
Left, the winner Sagami
From resentment my sleeves do not dry,
yet still more do I regret the ruin of my name from love.[79]
恨みわび干さぬ袖だにあるものを恋に朽ちなん名こそ惜しけれ
Right Right Bodyguards Minor Captain Minamoto no Tsunetoshi[80]
I wish to let her know only the anguish burning in my heart,
as proof of Takuhinokami’s[81] efficacy.
下もゆる嘆きをだにも知らせばや焼火神のしるしばかりに
And so the contest ended, having been full of captivating moments.
The younger brother of Empress Kanshi, Morozane, otherwise called the young lord, celebrated his coming-of-age ceremony.[82] In the 5th month, when there was talk of an imperial procession to go view a horse race, Sanjōdono Gishi suddenly passed away.[83] Though she had been unwell for quite some time, her death was still shocking and quite distressing. That night, Empress Kanshi left the palace. She obviously felt the terrible loss keenly. Recently, the emperor was staying at the Reizei’in.[84] The various rites associated with the funeral were quite magnificent. Even in matters like this, the lord’s thoughtfulness and his handling of the numerous arrangements commanded much respect. After the forty-ninth-day services, the empress returned to the palace. She often remembered her mother, and pitifully longed for her presence.
In the 7th month, the emperor suffered greatly from a chronic fever.[85] The 7th month occurred twice that year [1053], one being an intercalary month, and the long summer heat taxed His Majesty greatly. Esoteric rites and sutra readings were performed as many times as possible. Nobles, all the way up to the regent himself, stayed at the palace to attend to His Majesty. These rites succeeded in transferring malevolent spirits to the medium, who proclaimed their names—the former Minister of the Left Akimitsu, Retired Emperor Reizei, and others, who thrashed about with little restraint. “With your worshipping of the Iwagami,[86] it is difficult for us to stay here,” they exclaimed, appearing with vehemence usually seen with such spirits.
Since the emperor could not very well stay like this, it was decided that he would move to Kayanoin on the 20th. From the 16th and 17th, His Majesty began to feel a little better. Could such malicious spirits truly possess such an august personage as the emperor? His gradual recovery just before his departure seemed to suggest so. On the 20th, properly dressed, His Majesty moved with the usual, dignified decorum. It was quite surprising. That evening, Empress Shōshi came for a visit. Empress Kanshi 寛子 and Consort Kanshi 歓子 came two or three days later. The atmosphere at Kayanoin was bountiful in charm. As usual, the western wing was turned into the Seiryōden, and the main hall functioned as the Shishinden. Another hall, called the Koshinden, stood among the others in a pleasant manner. The artificial hills indeed looked like real mountains. Deep from within a thick grove of trees flowed a waterfall, and the lake’s waters were clear as far as the eye could see. The left and right pavilions over the lake possessed a singular charm. As the autumn progressed, the contrasting shades of the fall foliage appeared as though a rich brocade had been unfurled over the grounds.
That summer, Lady Takatsukasadono passed away.[87] The Gosechi Festival therefore passed without much fanfare. Empress Shōshi attended the Special Kamo Festival, but there was no display of the ladies’ sleeves from beneath the blinds, and it was not the same as usual.
With the arrival of a new year [1054], the observances of New Year’s Day were performed in customary fashion. However, in an awful development, the Kayanoin again burned down on the 8th of the first month. The emperor and empress moved back to the Reizei’in. Empress Kanshi lived in the hall at Reizei’in designated as the Shōkyōden, whereas Empress Shōshi stayed in the apartments of the so-called Seiryōden. During these “excursions” to various residences, the imperial bodyguards carried quivers on their backs in quite an interesting manner. The emperor deeply lamented these repeated fires.
After the 10th of the 3rd month, the emperor moved to the Shijōnomiya, the former residence of Fujiwara no Kintō. It seemed cramped, and the heat was unbearable. Creating a corridor through the middle of the northern wing, the empresses fashioned their rooms with Shōshi occupying the western half along with its eaves, and Kanshi, the eastern half.
At the time of the wrestling matches, Empress Shōshi watched from the Seiryōden. The ceremonies and the atmosphere were interesting in their own way. The way the naked men stood lined up was rather disgusting. Before the Seiryōden, a packed earthen ring was made, and mounds, posted with either the moon or the sun, demarcated the left and the right areas for the teams. One of the female attendants recited:
No matter how high the earthen embankment,
how could it ever reach the moon and sun?[88]
浪の上池の堤は高くとも月日にいかで近くなるらん
Empress Kanshi watched from the eastern hall. After a while, Their Majesties moved to the Kyōgokudono.[89]
On the 8th of the 12th Month, the Palace [the Kyōgoku] again burned down. Having happened so many times, there was nothing one could say. The emperor moved to the Sanjō residence of Nagaie, the minister of popular affairs, where the retired empress lived. Empress Shōshi moved to the Provisional Master Tsunesuke’s Ōinomikado residence, while Empress Kanshi went to her father’s place.
The Reizei’in was dismantled and rebuilt at Ichijōin, and the emperor moved there on the 27th of that same month.[90] In the eastern wing lived Empress Kanshi. In the northern hall, which stood for the Fujitsubo, lived Empress Shōshi. In the southern side of the western wing resided Consort Kanshi. The world thus went along in this rather chaotic manner. Empress Kanshi had been repeatedly afflicted by malevolent spirits. As many prayers as possible were commissioned to be performed.
Lord Yorimichi’s son, Lesser Captain Morozane, performed as a dancer for the Special Iwashimizu Festival. He performed with exceptional charm. Even those who just happened to look up casually found themselves with tears welling up in their eyes. For the lord and Lady Sanjō,[91] one can then understand how they must have been moved all the more at the sight of their precious child. For some reason, the lord watched from among the female attendants behind the blinds.
The emperor’s character was most impressive, with exceptional grace and refinement. He did not distance himself away from others, and all were struck by his august personage. He did not miss any suitable opportunity—moonlit nights or the blooming of various flowers—to have music performed. It was truly a splendid reign. Was His Majesty’s sophistication due to the education afforded to him by his wet-nurse, Ben no Menoto,[92] who herself possessed an exceptional sensibility?
Again, Ichijōin burned down.[93] Settling upon the newly reconstructed Kayanoin as the palace, the emperor and his court transferred there. The real palace had been rebuilt, but the emperor went there only for certain ceremonies.[94]
During that time, the lord’s son, Lesser Captain Morozane, also served as the middle counselor middle captain. He already showed quite an amorous personality, and wandered around many a lady’s chambers at night.[95] An attendant in the service of Empress Kanshi called Koshōshō eventually found herself in an unusual state, and she gave birth to a son.[96] When the lord heard the news, he held elaborate birth celebrations, since he was Morozane’s first child. The lord also saw the baby during the festivities.
I almost forgot to mention that the minister of the right finally began visiting the former Ise priestess, Princess Senshi, who was under Lord Yorimichi’s care. She was old, but she possessed a deep refinement.[97] The minister’s principal wife had died some years ago.
Jōtōmon’in presented the former Kamo priestess, Princess Keishi 馨子, to Crown Prince Takahito. The lord himself intervened and took care of the preparations for the ceremonies. Yorimune, the minister of the right and the palace minister, also came to serve. Their efforts must have stemmed from their deep reverence for the late Emperor Go-Ichijō, the princess’s father.
Meanwhile, Shigenoi Consort Moshi 茂子, the adopted daughter of Yoshinobu, gave birth to a prince and three or four princesses.[98] Her position was thus quite secure, and her future very auspicious indeed. She appeared to belong at the court, so serene did she seem.
Empress Shōshi was truly exceptional. Having stayed at the palace from long ago, Her Majesty was very accustomed to living there, and her attendants had an easy time serving her. The emperor treasured her and treated her with great deference. As for Empress Kanshi 寛子, many fine attendants came to serve Her Majesty, making for a gorgeous atmosphere. The emperor’s affection for her, too, did not stem just from the fact that her father was the regent, but from her special qualities. Princess Eishi 栄子, the daughter of Retired Emperor Koichjōin with Enshi (Minister of the Left Akimitsu’s daughter), also came to Her Majesty’s household. Although everyone these days served at court, it was startling to see a princess as an attendant.[99] That said, daughters of regents and chancellors had served the late empress as well as the senior grand empress.[100] Retired Emperor Kazan’s daughter waited upon Retired Empress Shōshi, but since she was born from a daughter of His Majesty’s wet-nurse, it had seemed all right. Regarding Princess Eishi, one looked in vain for other examples of such high-born ladies entering court service.
Consort Kanshi 歓子 was very dignified and highly cultured. At the Gosechi Festival, she had her attendants wear plum-colored robes layered under dark pink robes of fulled silk. In addition, they had on trains and indigo Chinese jackets. Even the low-ranking serving women adorned themselves and pranced around. Kanshi’s elegance may have been inherited from her grandfather, Kintō the late Shijō major counselor, people thought.
Her sister, Umetsubo Consort Seishi, had become a nun [in 1053]. She practiced her Buddhist devotions in a most admirable fashion. She overlooked nothing that might increase her merit. Having renounced this vulgar world, why would she still be concerned about her failure to be promoted to empress? When even commoners strive towards enlightenment, they must forego all attachments to things of this world. So for someone of her high status who had devoted herself to Buddhist works, the world must seem ephemeral and inconsequential. Her heart instead must have dwelt deeply on the nine levels of paradise in which she surely hoped to be reborn.
Major Counselor Morozane sponsored a Gosechi Dancer [in 1057]. To accompany her, he selected suitably attractive, lower-ranking female attendants in the service of Empress Kanshi. Those who only thought themselves to be the best (like some high-ranking ladies) were not chosen. The attire and appearance of those selected can hardly be described. On this occasion, there were austerity measures, so one could not have more than five layers of robes. These rules were not severely stringent, however, allowing for some extravagance in appropriate places here and there. (During Emperor Go-Ichijō’s reign did one encounter real opulence.) The attire of the female attendants, the palace girls, the serving women—they all had been assigned to various people, and no amount of effort would be able to express adequately their sumptuousness.
Empress Shōshi provided the garments for the palace girls. Over pink, fulled robes, they had on two-ply, patterned silk robes the color of chrysanthemums. Their waistcoats had a woven pattern of chrysanthemum stalks. Their loose coats were reddish brown; their upper trousers were gentian. These were all made of two-ply, patterned silk. Their lower trousers made of fulled silk were the same as usual. On their coats, they had applied pieces of lapis lazuli to form patterns, achieving the pinnacle of style. As a result, the dances had a rare quality for this age. Even for the palace girls, individuals of exceptional character were chosen. There were many splendid things in this reign, and His Majesty must have no doubt been very pleased.
Emperor Go-Reizei had a generosity of spirit and discernment that was truly splendid. Empress Shōshi had been with him since she was a child, and she received his deep affection. Moreover, she commanded his utmost respect, not only because of her imperial status, but because they had both been raised by the retired empress after the loss of their mothers.[101] When the other consorts entered the palace, the empress appeared completely unperturbed, not showing any sign of unhappiness. As far as she was concerned, this was all none of her business, she seemed to think. Her dignity and her insouciance moved the emperor immensely, and earned his gratitude. Whatever happened, she would be the first person in His Majesty’s heart.
As for Empress Kanshi, her position was splendid, too, for even if she did not enjoy the emperor’s favor, she had the backing of her father, the regent. Yet His Majesty was in fact truly fond of her, so her situation was all the more splendid. Furthermore, the empress’s character was not deficient in anything, and her attendants were also lively with quite a bit of charm. Even the slightest thing became something of interest there. Even among just the attendants, there were many amusing moments. Finally, Consort Kanshi possessed a rare modesty and gracefully attended upon His Majesty.
With all of these wonderful consorts, it may seem the emperor would have little space to spare in his heart for all of them. Yet he treated them all with gentleness—for instance, by not arising immediately when another of his consorts came to visit him. Realizing that they were all involved in the complicated relationship between men and women, His Majesty behaved with much thoughtfulness. His conduct was marvelous indeed.
Minister of the Right Norimichi’s son, Nobuie, married into the Takamatsu house, so he was called the Yamai major counselor.[102] His wife was Princess Kenshi 儇子, the daughter of Retired Emperor Koichijōin. She was an elegant, splendid lady with delicate features. When Nobuie would go off without telling her where, she did not seem to mind at all. Worried about her complete nonchalance, her wet-nurses urged her to be a little more forceful, but she let their words pass by, not expressing any displeasure at their presumptuousness. That said, Nobuie did not treat her lightly, considering her to be a precious lady worthy of much respect. Even when he did go visit some woman serving at the court, he would never stay the night. Besides, he was not one to settle down and enter into an extended relationship with his lovers.
Ever since she was a little girl, Nobuie had adopted and raised Reishi 麗子, a daughter of Minamoto Major Counselor Morofusa.[103] He had wished to marry her to the crown prince, but the former Kamo priestess, Princess Keishi, was, in accordance with her high-birth, already established as his consort. Also, Yoshinobu’s daughter, Moshi, had given birth to a large brood of children, earning her the emperor’s unusually strong attachment. There would hardly be an opening for Reishi to establish herself in the crown prince’s heart, Nobuie thought. No doubt it would only cause us more grief if she were forcibly pushed upon His Highness, he decided. So instead, he took the lord’s son, Major Counselor Morozane, as his daughter’s husband. The ceremony on the 20th of the 3rd month was hardly commonplace.[104] Reishi had on twelve layers of robes, two of each color, one lighter than the other. Then she had on a pink, fulled robe, over which she had a spring green bombycine robe, and a reddish brown Chinese jacket. She changed her dress every day, making for an extravagant three days for the wedding.
The wedding banquets were held on the 10th of the 4th month. One could see robes the color of wild carnations, dark pink robes of fulled silk, reddish brown bombycine over-robes, and Chinese jackets the color combination of green and fallen leaves. Indeed, everyone had dyed—in seasonal colors like sweet-flag and chinaberry—two-ply damask, fulled silk and bombycine, fashioning them to their own tastes.
Afterwards, in a splendid manner, Reishi went to see the procession for the Kamo Festival. The attendants all packed inside some carriages, but there was no place to park in the chaotic jumble of carriages, a scene that was actually quite beautiful in the florid panoply of colors. They pushed aside some carriages that had been there before, and were able to watch the procession. The scene was as impressive as Sei Shōnagon described.[105]
The following year, Major Counselor Morozane was promoted as the palace minister. In successive fashion, the ministers were promoted: Lord Yorimichi became chancellor, Minister of the Right Norimichi assumed the post of minister of the left, and former Palace Minister Yorimune became the minister of the right. Their ceremonial offerings of gratitude to the emperor were magnificent indeed.
Palace Minister Morozane again sponsored the Gosechi dancers [1060]. Unlike the previous occasion in which he presented the dancers in an unusually extravagant manner, this time the atmosphere was decorously beautiful. On the first day, they were attired in pink robes under gentian-hued robes of fulled silk, or the reverse combination.
Morozane was a very gentle and humble man, though he was handsome and truly impressive, with not a single flaw in his character. He also possessed much learning, and was accomplished in a myriad things. Although it was said in an earlier book of Eiga monogatari[106] that Lord Yorimichi did not have any sons, the birth of such a splendid scion, who would no doubt become the first pillar among all men to support the world, was truly marvelous. He did admittedly have some amorous tendencies, but who is not like that in his youth? It was because of such character that Morozane was able to orchestrate such wonderful, elegant effects as he did at the Gosechi Festival. An extremely serious individual can instead be rather tedious and even repulsive.
The emperor, too, was truly gentle and charming. The crown prince was very proper, and seemed somewhat harsh, but he was very learned and talented in poetry. He did not, however, turn a blind eye to his attractive female attendants. Ōmi Governor Sanetsune’s daughter entered His Highness’s service, and in fact bore him a son, but he died when he was four or five. Her feelings matched those of the poet Ise when she lost her son by Emperor Uda.
Palace Minister Morozane sponsored a grand banquet.[107] The female attendants were wearing robes of various colors, under two-ply patterned, spring green robes. Their Chinese jackets were also of two-ply patterned silk, but dyed in grape. They showed off their sleeves from under the blinds. There were forty or so other attendants who were wearing formal attire according to their respective tastes.
At the palace in the 3rd month, time passed as the court enjoyed a cherry-viewing banquet. In the 5th month, the emperor sponsored horse racing at the tracks of the Butokuden at the palace. It was wonderful that the Crown Prince came to watch. Wrestling also caused a stir, and thus time flew by.
On the 13th of the 9th month, when the moon was shining particularly beautifully, there was a night of musical entertainment. Middle Counselor of the Second Rank Toshiie played the thirteen-stringed zither, Controller Minamoto no Morokata the Japanese zither, and Lesser Captain Masanaga the flute.[108] It was absolutely delightful. As the night grew late, the clear moon rose higher in the sky. The water flowed more broadly than usual through the garden brook. The atmosphere enchanted everyone. Despite his youthful age, the palace minister demonstrated a quiet composure that embarrassed many an older courtier. His knowledge was also copious. Regarding rites in which even those with experience made mistakes, he managed effortlessly, earning the praise of senior nobles. He looked very handsome with elegant features. Middle Captain Toshiie had a flowery air about him, a model of beauty, he seemed. Indeed, Toshiie’s father, Yorimune the Horikawa minister of the right, had a reputation for his beauty, so it was no wonder that his sons should be attractive, too.
Palace Minister Morozane
Though not winter, the brilliant, cool rays of the moon have
silenced the waterfall, having turned it to ice.[109]
冬ならでさやけき月に滝つ瀬は音はせねども氷しにけり
Middle Counselor of the Second Rank Toshiie
How the brilliant, cool rays of the moon reflect upon the clear water—
the fame of tonight’s moon will surely flow to later generations.[110]
澄む水にさやけき影のうつればや今宵の月の名に流るらん
Middle Counselor Yoshinaga
For a thousand generations will the water flow clearly—
how serenely does the moon lodge there.
千代までにすむべき水の流れには月ものどけく宿るなりけり
Middle Captain of the Second Rank Sukeie
Shining upon the water tumbling down from between the rocks—
even the moon’s reflection seems chillingly brilliant.[111]
岩間より流るる水に月影のうつれるさへぞさやけかりける
As usual, I have not recorded the rest.
The days and months flowed by rapidly, and soon it was the time of the Gosechi Festival. The female attendants of Empress Shōshi attired themselves after the Chinese verse, “The plum holds ‘chicken tongue.’”[112] They wore a plum-blossom bombycine robe over a clove-dyed robe and a set of gradated pink robes. Others wore a variation on “waves showing emerald patterns.”[113] Some of the courtiers recited the Chinese poem to charming effect. A few ladies had tied copies of the poem to the cords of their Chinese jackets, colored in various hues, though all had a woven pattern of double plum blossoms. Empress Shōshi went up to the apartments in the Seiryōden and watched the departure of the emissary for the Special Kamo Festival. Empress Kanshi watched from her own hall, since it was close to the Seiryōden and she could directly see the ceremony.[114]
At the beginning of the 1st month, the two empresses alternated in presenting the New Year’s greeting to the emperor. The empresses also alternated every other year in sponsoring the New Year’s banquets of the empress and the crown prince.
Empress Kanshi sponsored a poetry contest.[115] The team on the left stood for spring, the team on the right for autumn. They all wore garments appropriate to their represented season. It was the 1st month.[116] On the day of the contest, the left team attired themselves in all the possible colors of spring. Shinano[117] wore pink plum-blossom robes, under a vermillion fulled robe, and a spring-green Chinese jacket of two-ply patterned silk with the outline of plum blossoms in gold and sliver paint. Her train was light purple, made of two-ply patterned silk. Hahaki had on robes the color of pine needles, and of a blue-green fulled silk, under another one of the same hue but with a woven pattern of pine needles. Her Chinese jacket had a background of white overlaid with woven blue-green patterns outlined in gold and silver paint. Awaji’s upper robe was a three-ply plum-blossom bombycine. All her robes were fulled to bring out their luster. She also had on a vermillion robe and her Chinese jacket was made of a two-ply, plum-blossom silk. Tajima had on cherry-blossom bombycine, layered under a scarlet, fulled robe. Her uppermost robe was also dyed in the cherry-blossom hue. Her Chinese jacket was made of two-ply, patterned silk dyed in cherry bark. Her train of two-ply patterned silk was again in plum. Naishi no Musume had on three robes the color combination of reversed globeflowers. Her single-layered robes were all fulled. She also had on a spring-green robe, and an uppermost robe of two-ply patterned silk in globeflower. In the same color, she had on a plain Chinese jacket.
The following five attendants sat apart from each other in the southern eaves. Shikibu no Myōbu wore azalea robes with a spring-green Chinese jacket of damask. Gen Shikibu had wisteria robes with a vermillion, fulled robe, under a purple two-ply, patterned robe. Her train and Chinese jacket shimmered, covered by a thin, gossamer-like fabric. Shin Shōnagon’s robes were light wisteria. Her fulled robe was vermillion, and her uppermost robe was made of two-ply, patterned silk, again in wisteria. Her Chinese jacket was of the same color, except on plain silk. Instead, she had charming pictures drawn based on the poem, “Cascades of flowers….”[118] A lady[119] had on a fulled, globeflower robe, and a bombycine upper robe of the same color. Her train and Chinese jacket were also covered by the gossamer-like fabric. Morozane’s wet-nurse wore willow-colored robes, a vermillion fulled robe, and an uppermost robe of two-ply, patterned silk in willow. Her train and Chinese jacket were in the same fashion as her upper robe.
Ōmi no Sanmi wore robes all fulled and dyed in light plum blossom. Her uppermost robe, train, and Chinese jacket were all of two-ply, patterned silk. She sat near the empress’s curtain dais and waited upon Her Majesty. Naishi had on subdued robes in pale plum blossom with a red Chinese jacket. Ko Shikibu wore gradated plum-blossom robes. Her fulled robe was dark red, and her uppermost one was in pink plum blossom. Her Chinese jacket was spring green, and her train light purple.
The ten members of the right team sat by the southern door of the eastern eaves. Inaba had on robes of various colors, all fulled. On her blue-green uppermost robe, there were woven maple leaves in assorted colors. Over this, she wore a brown, two-ply patterned Chinese jacket. Izumo’s robes were all fulled and in the hue of fall maple foliage. Her uppermost robe was of red brocade. Her light blue-green Chinese jacket was made of two-ply patterned silk. Her trousers were also the color of red maple leaves, made of fulled silk. Her train was white. Tosa also had on the same fulled, fall maple-leaf robes. Her upper robe was of two-ply, patterned silk dyed with cloves. The pattern consisted of maple leaves of all the possible colors. Her train and Chinese jacket were made of two-ply patterned silk dyed in dark and light shades of red foliage. Her train depicted the Ōi River and its sandy shores, represented by mirrors, and one could see the many shades of various flowers along its banks. Her trousers illustrated the Tonase waterfall, over which autumn foliage scattered. It was very delightful. Another lady[120] had placed a mirror to look like the thin crescent moon of the third night of the month on her green, thin upper robe, on which the outline of waves were also embroidered. Mino had on robes of assorted colors made of brocade and lined with fulled silk. Her green train was decorated with gold and silver paint. Lapis lazuli decorated her Chinese jacket, on which the scenery of Ōigawa was again depicted. The hems of all her robes had ornaments. Her trousers were made of five-layered, fulled silk. She also had on an upper robe made of two-ply patterned silk. Chikuzen was wearing fulled, autumnal foliage robes under a yellow bombycine upper robe made of two-ply patterned silk. On a plain background the color of fallen leaves, the scenery of autumnal fields was depicted on her Chinese jacket. Her trousers were of the same pattern.
The five other members of the team were wearing robes in assorted colors of chrysanthemums. Tōtōmi had on robes that were white on the front and various hues on the reverse. Over a vermillion, fulled robe, she wore a white bombycine upper robe, and a Chinese jacket the color of maidenflower. Embroidered on her train were autumn grasses. Jijū wore robes light reddish brown on the front and backed with different colors. She also had on a vermillion, fulled robe, under a reddish brown bombycine upper robe, and a Chinese jacket the color of maidenflower. Her train and trousers, both the color of lespedeza, were fulled. Shimotsuke had chrysanthemum robes with a vermillion upper robe, a reddish brown Chinese jacket, and a purple train that was dyed light to dark. On the train, she had a mirror to represent flowing water, and jeweled droplets could be found illustrated among the plants in reed script. She also had on a purple upper robe and trousers. Hei Shōnagon had on robes in shades of various chrysanthemums and a purple upper robe, on which were illustrated pictures of books. These books appeared to be tied together in cords dyed in a rustic, dappled fashion. Trefoil knots at the top held jewels, and the titles “Gosen” and “Kokin” were woven into the covers of the books. Mino no Kimi had gold leaf spread over her Chinese jacket, on which she had printed a pattern themed after the poem, “hailstones must be flying.”[121]
With black thread, members of both the right and the left crafted flowers, which they attached on top.[122] The right did not have any silk wadding in their robes. The five ladies on the right with robes themed on autumnal foliage hid their faces with fans decorated with lapis lazuli. On their hair pins they tied abstinence tags shaped as autumn leaves or chrysanthemums.[123] The team on the Left had fans made of cypress. Since their robes all had wadding in them, they appeared to be made for winter.
The right team based their silver presentation tray on the theme of “people of the cherry blossoms,” a saibara song.[124] The poems were written in ten books, their covers superbly decorated in sliver, gold, damask, or outline illustrations in precious metals. There were two books of each type of ornamentation. Some volumes were tied together by silver and golden cords, through which jeweled beads had been threaded. Inside the books, there were pictures by professional male painters and pictures favored by women, which reflected the spirit of the poetic topics. Minamoto no Kaneyuki wrote out the poems. The members of the left team criticized, “The poems are our priority, so why have you chosen such an inappropriate calligrapher? The paintings, too, should be done by someone of talent.”[125] The scoring tray consisted of cranes in a pine grove.
The left[126] had written their poems in two scrolls, their exteriors covered in gold. They were tied with jewel-beaded cords. The illustrations reflected the poetic topics. The mother of Tsunetō, the middle counselor and provisional master of Empress Kanshi’s household, copied out the poems. (She was also the wife of Kanehira.) It was truly impressive that someone over ninety years old, as she was, could write over the thickly colored paintings without her ink strokes splintering. The charming scoring trays were meticulously modeled after the Tanabata Festival.
The left team’s captain was the minister of the left; the right team’s was the minister of the right, who concurrently served as the judge.[127] The minister of the left also attended.[128] The scorekeepers were the two sons of Toshiie: Tarō, who was a middle counselor of the second rank, and Jirō. Both had their hair tied in the mizura style.[129] The senior noble on the left was Minamoto Major Counselor Morofusa’s son: Head Chamberlain and Middle Captain Akifusa. On the right was Akifusa’s father-in-law: Head Chamberlain and Middle Captain Takatoshi. Minamoto Middle Captain Akifusa impressively judged the merits and deficiencies of poems, without ever receiving a retort. In old poems, it was like this or that, he would say, crushing Takatoshi. “What an effective orator he is,” the senior nobles observed with praise. Still, both the left and right sought to better the other and posed criticism of the other side’s poems. Minister of Popular Affairs Nagaie, Minister of the Right Yorimune, and Assistant to the Empress’s Household Kanefusa made the final judgment. Amusingly, because there was a poem by the emperor himself for the left team, they could not critique the poems harshly, since they did not know which one it was, or so it seemed from their comments.
Round One
Left, the winner Uchi no Shikibu no Myōbu
Guests at the New Year’s Special Banquet
With spring’s arrival, at once do various people all together gather round
that shelter that will last a thousand generations.
春立てばまづ諸人も引き連れて万代経べき宿にこそ来れ
Right Ise no Taifu
The Moon of the 15th Night of the 8th Month
In the cloudless sky it appears like a mirror—
long across the autumn night shines the moon’s rays.[130]
くもりなき空の鏡と見ゆるかな秋の夜ながく照らす月影
Round Two
Left, the winner Norinaga
The Kasuga Festival
As long as the gods of Mount Kasuga we worship today remain,
under these heavens our empress will surely flourish.
今日祭る春日の山の神ませば天の下には君ぞ栄えん
Right Tosa
The Tanabata Festival
For a thousand generations may our empress from above the clouds
look upon the Tanabata sky where the stars reunite.
万代に君ぞ見るべき七夕のゆきあひの空を雲の上にて
Round Three
Left, the winner Minister of the Right Yorimune[131]
Cherry Blossoms
Let’s get wet in this spring shower before we return—for these cherry blossoms
will be blown away by the stormy winds surely behind these clouds.[132]
春雨にぬれて帰らん桜花雲のかへしの嵐もぞ吹く
Right Shimotsuke
Meeting the Horses[133]
Horses other than those we were pulling along, we saw:
there at the pass in the pure spring were their reflections.
引く駒の数よりほかに見えつるは関の清水の影にぞありける
Round Four
Left Master of the Empress’s Household Takakuni
Bush Warbler
In the hedge of a mountain village, the arrival of spring must be clear:
even before the mists—the warbler’s song.
山里の垣根に春やしるからん霞まぬさきに鶯の鳴く
Right[134] Mino
Bush Clover
Shall I pick it, or leave it for viewing—the autumn bush clover,
but for its dew, too, I pay heed without dropping a single day.[135]
折りやせん折らでや見まし秋萩に露も心をかけぬ日ぞなき
Round Five
Left, the winner Head Chamberlain Middle Captain Akifusa
The Day of the Rat
Which ones shall I select and pull out at Kasugano,
there among all of the thousand-year-old, green pines?
いづれをかわきて引かまし春日野のなべて千歳の松の緑を
Right Ise no Taifu
Flying Geese
As the night grows late, the geese fly crying across their journey’s sky,
their beating wings fan winds that chill the night.
さ夜深く旅の空にて鳴く雁はおのが羽風や夜寒なるらん
Round Six
Left, a tie Sagami
Plum Blossoms
Plum blossoms sheltering in the water trickling from between the rocks—
no worries there about the wind among the branches.[136]
岩間もる水にぞ宿る梅の花梢は風のうしろめたさに
Right[137] Ise no Taifu
Mountain Paddies
In the autumn night, the hut among the mountain paddies—lightening:
its light alone protects, illuminates.[138]
秋の夜の山田の庵は稲妻の光のみこそもり明しけれ
Round Seven
Left Miya no Naishi
Green Willows
What everyone has on their mind to go and see:
threads of green willow sweeping like waves upon the shore.
皆人の心にかけてくるものは岸に浪よる青柳の糸
Right, a tie Minister of the Right Nagaie[139]
Autumn Leaves
The Ōigawa’s rapids have disappeared as autumn deepens,
turning into deep banks of fall leaves.
大井河滝つ瀬もなく秋深み紅葉の淵となりにけるかな
Round Eight
Left[140] Tajima
Vestiges of Snow
Not flowers – what I had wished to pick at Naniwa Bay:
young shoots of reeds with fallen white snow.
花ならで折らまほしきは難波江の葦の若葉に降れる白雪
Right Minister of the Right Nagaie
Chrysanthemums
Purple, not yet mature, the two-leafed sprout:
Since even then has my heart been full of this chrysanthemum.
紫のまだ飽かざりし二葉にも菊に心は染めてしものを
Round Nine
Left, winner Emperor Go-Reizei[141]
Celebration
Long beyond the number of grains of sand at Long Beach,
our empress’s reign appears without end.[142]
長浜の真砂の数もなにならず尽きせず見ゆる君が御代かな
Right Master of the Empress’s Household Takakuni[143]
At Suminoe, the branches of the pines growing thickly there
must each contain a thousand years to count our empress’s longevity.
住の江に生ひそふ松の枝ごとに君が千歳の数ぞこもれる
As dawn began to break, the contest ended. The ministers, the major counselors, and all the others went home bearing on their shoulders the many gifts. The bombycine trains, the Chinese jackets, children’s robes, regular robes—there were all wonderful beyond description.
Having wished to show what had transpired in the world, people’s joys and tribulations, and their old stories, I have written this record so far, despite my incompetence. The more recent events, I have ironically forgotten, so there are many errors in the dating, too. I have written that Major Counselor Morozane had become a minister, for example, but he was only a middle captain at the time of this preceding poetry contest. Indeed, no one told me to write, and surely people will criticize me or become annoyed at my bumbling. Yet why did I persist in composing these books? The past and the present alike are all a muddle. It probably would have been better to have written nothing. Instead, to have haphazardly jotted down various happenings like this—it seems as though I were purposefully inviting scorn from others.
[1] It had been about five years since Seishi’s marriage to Emperor Go-Suzaku. All along, Yorimichi’s objections seem to have prevented his brother’s daughter from becoming an empress.
[2] Presumably to avoid the pollution posed by the emperor’s illness.
[3] Prince Takahito was twelve years old at this time, but the narrator depicts him as an infant, still carried about by his attendants.
[4] Yorimichi was correct, for the most part. There was Princess Shōshi, the daughter of Emperor Suzaku and the empress to Emperor Reizei. Yet her status as the only daughter of an emperor makes her an incomparable example.
[5] The Tosotsuten is the place where the bodhisattva Maitreya resides until the Dharma completely disappears from the world, at which time Maitreya will descend to the earth.
[6] Then the prince would not be mourning his father’s illness or the abdication.
[7] The mother of Emperor Go-Reizei (Prince Chikahito) was Fujiwara no Kishi, a daughter of Michinaga. However, Prince Takahito’s mother was Empress Teishi, whose mother was Kenshi, another of Michinaga’s daughters, but herself an imperial personage (Sanjō’s daughter). Therefore, Emperor Go-Suzaku was rightly apprehensive that, like Koichijōin, Prince Takahito might be forced to resign as crown prince should another male heir arrive, especially to Go-Reizei. According to Ima kagami, Gukanshō, and Kojidan, Prince Takahito’s major supporter was Fujiwara no Yoshinobu, Michinaga’s son by Meishi. Yoshinobu’s adopted daughter, Moshi, gave birth to the future Emperor Shirakawa.
[8] During her lifetime, Shōshi lost two of her sons, Emperors Go-Ichijō and Go-Suzaku, as well as a number of her daughters.
[9] The text suddenly skips back to Go-Reizei’s accession, just before the death of Go-Suzaku. The overlap with the earlier section suggests the remnants of assemblage and the editing process that went into the chapter’s composition.
[10] Earlier, the emperor had snubbed Teishi’s request to be by her husband’s side as he approached death. He may have been deferring to his Fujiwara consorts, particularly Seishi (Norimichi’s daughter) and Enshi (Yorimune’s daughter).
[11] Princess Seishi 正子 was born on the 20th of the 4th month, Kantoku 2 (1045).
[12] In the 1st month, the proper transfer of rule, the Accession Ceremony (senso 践祚), took place. This next ceremony in the 4th month is the Accession Audience (sokui 即位). For the differences between these two ceremonies, see FF 394–95.
[13] The emperor was then staying at the Tsuchimikado. So the courtiers and attendants are clamoring to follow the emperor and to get into the greater imperial palace, where the accession audience was to take place in the Daigokuden by the Hasshōin.
[14] The Accession Audience featured Chinese attire and decorations.
[15] The wet-nurse to Emperor Go-Reizei, otherwise known as Echigo no Ben, Murasaki Shikibu’s daughter.
[16] As both Matsumura and the Shōgakkan editors note, this section is not organized well. The time shifts back and forth, and the narrator does not seem to be able to decide what she wants to focus on, the ceremony itself or the wet-nurses.
[17] The emperors were Go-Ichijō, Go-Suzaku, and Go-Reizei. The empresses were Shōshi, Kenshi and Ishi.
[18] Because of illness, Sadayori had taken the tonsure on the 9th of the 6th month, Kantoku 1 (1044).
[19] Sadayori died on the 19th of the 1st month, only a day after the death of Emperor Go-Suzaku.
[20] Gen Sanmi 源三位 was a wet-nurse of Emperor Go-Suzaku. Ben no Menoto was a wet-nurse of Empress Teishi.
[21] In Goshūishū, the poem is attributed to Ko Sakon 小左近, about whom very little is known (SNKBT, poem 898). To paraphrase, she is worried that people will think she is enjoying herself by looking at the flowers, when in fact, she is contemplating the evanescence of life.
[22] The preface to this poem in Goshūishū (SNKBT, poem 977) explains that Meikai, who was the prayer monk for Emperor Go-Suzaku, was again appointed in the same position for Emperor Go-Reizei, and that he sent this poem to Jōtōmon’in. Meikai’s poem is essentially an expression of gratitude. “Above the clouds” refers to the palace, “the light that has just gone out” would be the former emperor, and the moon, the new emperor.
[23] “A rock-encircled cavern” alludes to a poem from the Kokinshū: “Within what manner / of rock-encircled cavern / might one seek shelter / to divorce oneself from news / of the sorrows of this world” いかならむ巌のなかに住まばかは世の憂きことの聞こえこざらむ (Trans. McCullough, Kokin Wakashū, 208). According to Fusō ryakki, Shōshi moved to Shirakawadono on the 15th of the intercalary 5th month, Kantoku 2 (1045).
[24] The phrase comes from a poem found in the Koshikibu Naishibon of Ise monogatari, and the Utsuho monogatari: “The sounds of the insects reverberate nosily among the leaves, yet it is I, who does not say anything, who feels the most” かしがまし草葉にかかる虫の音やらわれだにものをいはでこそ思へ.
[25] In Mandaishū, this poem is attributed to Seishi, yet in Eiga, the context is Sōshi’s move to Shirakawadono.
[26] On the night of the Tanabata Festival, various offerings were set out in the garden, by which there stood banners with five-colored threads. “Entangled” is not accurate for “umi” (倦み) which means more to “bore” or “become tiresome,” but I used it to evoke the pun with “spinning thread” (績む).
[27] Norinaga presumably sent his poem Tonomori no Jiju out of deference to the retired empress, to whom it is actually addressed. Because Shirakawadono was away from the center of the capital, and nearby Higashiyama, Norinaga suggests that Shōshi, sleeping fitfully in mourning for her son, will be awakened by the mountain storms.
[28] Shōshi is comparing herself to the green leaves. The beloved flowers stand for Go-Suzaku.
[29] In the original text, it states Shōshi was the mother of three emperors. In fact, though Go-Ichijō and Go-Suzaku were her sons, Emperor Go-Reizei was her grandson as well as her nephew.
[30] Aitandokoro, an hall in the Daijōkan complex of the greater imperial palace, where courtiers (sangi and above) met for banquets, as well as for matters of governance.
[31] The date was the 16th of the 12th month, Kantoku 2 [1045] (Hyakurenshō).
[32] The poems make use of the pun between “snow” and “to go,” which I have tried to render with “fall” that evokes the falling snow.
[33] In reality, divination first pointed to Koichijōin’s daughter, Princess Kashi 嘉子, as the Ise priestess on the 10th of the 3rd month, Eishō 1 (1046). In Eishō 6, when her father died, she resigned, and Keishi became the priestess. Her father, Atsuhira, was Emperor Sanjō’s third son by Seishi.
[34] Princess Baishi was the daughter of Emperor Go-Suzaku, but is associated with Yorimichi, because he had raised her after the death of her mother, Genshi, who had been adopted by Yorimichi.
[35] This passage about the various princesses hints of the inequality among them. Empress Teishi’s two daughters, the first and second princesses, are supplanted by Genshi’s daughters, who have other titles that number them as one and two.
[36] In fact, the fire occurred on the 28th of the 2nd month, Eishō 1 [1046] (Fusō ryakki).
[37] The poem refers to an anonymous poem from the Kokinshū: “Gazing at the moon / shining in Sarashina / on Obasute, / Hill of the Abandoned Aunt, / I searched in vain for heart’s ease” (Trans. McCullough, Kokin Wakashū, 192) わが心慰めかねつ更科や姨捨山に照る月を見て.
[38] “[Sanjōdono] had hardly changed since his parents had lived there, and it was extremely moving to see the young couple now happily installed amid these peaceful surroundings” (Trans. Royall Tyler, The Tale of Genji, 572).
[39] These birds may have been artificial. Their long legs resemble the hidden letters in the so-called reed painting, in which a poem, in reed-like script, was hidden in the illustration of a water scene.
[40] Hakase no myōbu were special handmaids that were in charge of the name cards of the female attendants, used to schedule and designate their assigned periods of duty. The appellation might refer to the fact they were required to write, and they may have been daughters of scholarly families.
[41] It is not clear why he is labeled as being new. He had been appointed as the minor captain of the right in 1040.
[42] Norikuni’s poem features diction clustered around the sky, clouds, and “to fall” (furu, also meaning “old”). Norikuni is referring to the fact that Shōshi, Kenshi and Ishi all were promoted to empress at this very same mansion, the Tsuchimikado, formerly owned by Michinaga.
[43] Sanesuke died on the 18th of the 1st month, Eishō 1 (1046). He had turned ninety that year.
[44] Ōmiya here refers to the street on which Nagaie’s residence was located.
[45] Shōshi is staying in the portion of the Nijōdono designated as the substitute Fujitsubo.
[46] A tengu is a supernatural creature, a cross between a human and a bird. Here it is blamed for a series of illnesses.
[47] According to Fusō ryakki, this occurred on the 14th of the 10th month, Eishō 2 (1047).
[48] In fact, in the 10th Month of Eishō 1, the emperor moved to the newly rebuilt palace, an event which Eiga does not record. Kanshi therefore entered the proper palace. However, this version, too, did not last long, consumed by another fire in the 11th Month of Eishō 3. It was then that Tsuchimikado became the provisional palace. Moreover, in an earlier section, it was stated that the emperor moved to Nijōdono, so there is some discrepancy even within the text.
[49] Otokoe were presumably pictures drawn by professional artists who were male.
[50] It took place on the 9th of the 11th month, Eishō 4 (1049). Eiga completely skips Eishō 3 (1048).
[51] The contest is described in Book 32, but it is not clear whether the narrator is referring to the account in Eiga or another text. Though the narrator omits the poetry, Hagitani Boku considers this record to be notable for several reasons: it was the first poetry contest at the palace since Emperor Kazan’s sixty-three years ago, and fourteen of the contest’s poems found their way into the Goshūishū (Heian chō uta-awase taisei).
[52] This event, a tori awase comes up later in this chapter.
[53] One cannot find a record of a hana awase but a kiku no en occurred on the 9th of the 9th month, Eishō 6 [1051], according to Hyakurenshō and Ima kagami.
[54] The hall was the seven-bay Kōdō to the north of the Kondō. It contained an image of Vairocana and six other deities. The dedication took place on the 15th of the 3rd month, Eishō 5 [1050] and is described meticulously by Sukefusa in Shunki.
[55] Ōshikōchi Mitsune’s poem from the Kokinshū: “So high the mountains / they seem afloat in the sky— / those cherry blossoms my spirit visits daily, / longing to break off a bough” 山高み雲居に見ゆる桜花心のゆきて折らぬ日ぞなき (Trans. McCullough, Kokin wakashū, 86).
[56] By Henjō, “It twists together / leafy threads of tender green / and fashions jewels / by piercing clear, white dewdrops / the willow tree in springtime” あさみどり糸よりかけて白露を玉にもぬける春の柳か (Trans. McCullough, Kokin wakashū, 19).
[57] By Ise, “Is it called clouded when petals dust its surface – / this stream that becomes a mirror for plum blossoms year after departing year” 年をへて花の鏡となる水はちりかかるをやくもるといふらん (Trans. McCullough, Kokin wakashū, 22).
[58] Prince Atsuyasu’s wife was a sister of Takahime, and the biological mother of Genshi, thus Princess Yūshi’s grandmother.
[59] Rinshi was eighty-seven at the time.
[60] Kanshi’s mother was Minamoto no Gishi 祇子, a younger sister of Takahime, probably of a different mother.
[61] This fire had occurred on the 2nd of the 11th month, Eishō 3 (1048).
[62] There is no other verification of this daughter’s existence. Her presence seems to contradict the earlier depictions of Tadanobu’s sorrow over the death of his then supposedly only daughter.
[63] 13th of the 2nd month, Eishō 6 (1051).
[64] This case contrasts with the earlier cases involving Teishi and Seishi. The fact that Shōshi was able to remain the chūgū testifies to the new political dynamics that show the weaker position of the Fujiwara. Of course, the fact that the previous empress was a princess sets this case apart from the earlier examples, but that, too, manifests the evolving relationship between the Fujiwara and the imperial line.
[65] This turn of phrase suggests that Sanjōdono, Gishi 祇子, was not Prince Tomohira’s child by his principal wife, and not equal in status to Takahime.
[66] The passage here is somewhat confusing, but as the narrator herself implies, the situation itself may have been puzzling. It is not clear why Yorimichi had posed Gishi as the daughter of Yorinari instead of Tomohira himself; it may have been because a proper daughter of a prince would not be waiting upon Rinshi.
[67] She had married the then crown prince when she had been twelve. Until Kanshi’s arrival she had no other competition.
[68] The relationship between Kinnari and Yoshinobu, as well as the adoption of Moshi by Yoshinobu was detailed in Book 31. She entered the crown prince’s household on the 21st of the 12th Month, Eishō 1 (1046).
[69] She was born in Eishō 5 (1050).
[70] This happened on the 14th of the 3rd month, Eishō 4 (1049).
[71] Norimichi’s first principal wife was Kintō’s daughter, but after her death, he married Emperor Sanjō’s daughter, Princess Shishi 禔子. It was after Shishi’s death in Eishō 3 (1048) that Norimichi may have been looking for a new wife.
[72] According to Hyakurenshō, this event took place on the 5th of the 5th month, Eishō 6 (1051).
[73] In Ōmi Province by Lake Biwa, Tsukumae is a wetland known for its sweet flag. The poem is in Goshūishū, though attributed to Ryōsen.
[74] According to the Jikkanbon and the Nijikkanbon, the right team won this round.
[75] In the Jikkanbon, the surrogate poet is Gō no Jijū.
[76] The following poem is found in Goshūishū attributed to Fujiwara no Takayori, who was probably the surrogate poet for Koretsuna (SNKBT 71).
[77] Again there is some discrepancy in the attributed poet. The Nijikkanbon lists Fujiwara no Kuninari as the poet, but the Jikkanbon has Ryōsen as the surrogate poet.
[78] The true poet is Tsuneie, the captain of the right team, as recorded in the Nijikkanbon, Shin shoku kokinshū, and Mandaishū.
[79] A famous poem included in Teika’s Hyakunin isshu and the Goshūishū (SNKBT 261).
[80] According to Jikkanbon, the poem is by Minamoto no Takatoshi.
[81] A fire god residing in the seas around the Oki Islands.
[82] This is the first mention of Morozane in Eiga. The young lord (wakagimi) was a full brother of Kanshi, and born in 1042. His genpuku ceremony took place on the 21st of the 4th month, Tengi 1 (1053).
[83] From the anniversary services a year after her death, it can be deduced that Gishi died on the 23rd of the 5th month, Tengi 1 [1053] (Shunki). Gishi was the mother of both Kanshi and Morozane.
[84] According to Fusō ryakki, the emperor had moved to the newly rebuilt Reizei’in on the 19th of the 7th month, Eishō 6 (1051).
[85] Okori: in most cases indicating malaria.
[86] Apparently a deity of rocks at the Reizei’in, where the emperor was then staying. A shrine for this deity was built there in 1050 (7th month, 3rd day, Hyakurenshō).
[87] Rinshi died on the 11th of the 6th month, Tengi 1 [1053] (Fusō ryakki). She was ninety years old. It is notable that the account of her death is so terse, considering her stature as the principal wife of Michinaga and the mother of Jōtōmon’in. She was among the last of this generation. Perhaps her age meant that many of those most closest to her, such as Akazome Emon, had already gone. The earlier words about her memory also suggests that she may have been an invalid and her place in current society was already much diminished.
[88] The opening clause, “nami no ue ike no” is a semantically meaningless preface to the term for “tsutsumi,” the earthen embankment, in other words, the wrestling ring. Tsutsumi can also mean a body of water enclosed by the embankment, hence the water imagery of the opening.
[89] According to Hyakurenshō, the move occurred on the 22nd of the 9th month, whereas Fusō ryakki dates it to the 21st.
[90] The Hyakurenshō notes the rebuilding of Reizei-in on the 7th of the 6th Month, Tengi 3 (1055), and the emperor’s move on the 22nd of the 2nd Month, Tengi 4 (1056). The author may be confusing the emperor’s move to Shijōmiya on the 28th of the 12th Month (1054), about ten days after relocating to Nagaie’s Sanjō residence.
[91] Sanjōdono Gishi had died earlier in this chapter, so this moment seems to be returning to an earlier point in time.
[92] She was Murasaki Shikibu’s daughter. Could her mother’s reputation have added to her prestige?
[93] The fire occurred on the 8th of the 1st month, Kōhei 2 (1059). The move to Kayanoin took place on the 11th of the 8th month, Kōhei 3 (1060). In the interim, the emperor temporarily took shelter with Jōtōmon’in at Muromachi and with Yorimichi at Sanjō (Hyakurenshō, Fusō ryakki).
[94] This statement is not accurate. Reconstruction of the palace, which had been damaged in Eishō 3 (1048), began in the 4th month of Tenji 2 (1054), and seems to have been completed soon after. But there was no imperial procession, and in Kōhei 1 (1058), there was another fire, and the palace seems not to have been rebuilt and used all the way until 1071, during the reign of Emperor Go-Sanjō.
[95] From his rank, Morozane would have been fifteen to seventeen during this period.
[96] Koshōshō was the daughter of either Minamoto no Sadanari or Tomonari, sons of Michinari. Her son later took the name Ningen 仁源 as a Tendai abbot. He was born in Kōhei 1 (1058) and died in Tennin 2 (1109).
[97] She would have been about forty-six, and Norimichi fifty-six at the time (assuming the marriage took place in 1051). Norimichi’s previous wife had died in 1048.
[98] The future Emperor Shirakawa (Prince Sadahito) was born in 1053, Princess Sōshi 聡子 in 1050, Shunshi 俊子 in 1056, Kashi 佳子 in 1057, and Tokushi 篤子 in 1060.
[99] Eishi’s plight speaks to her lack of powerful backers; her father had died in 1051.
[100] Fujiwara no Michitaka’s daughter served Empress Kenshi; Michikane’s daughter served Ishi. However, these examples, too, are of daughters who had lost support after their fathers’ premature deaths.
[101] Paternally and maternally, their parents were brothers and sisters. Jōtōmon’in was hence their aunt (maternally) as well as grandmother (paternally).
[102] “Yamai” referred to the residence of Koichijōin and Kanshi. Takamatsu was the residence of Meishi (the second wife of Michinaga), the mother of Kanshi, and presumably where Nobuie’s wife lived.
[103] Reishi’s mother was Sonshi, a daughter of Michinaga and Meishi. Reishi was hence his niece. Morofusa was also related to the Fujiwara through his adoptive relationship with Yorimichi, his sister’s husband.
[104] The year cannot be determined.
[105] The narrator is referring to the “Nothing Annoys Me So Much” section (「よろづの事よりも、わびしげる車」), in which Sei Shōnagon describes the parking situation at the Kamo Festival. “Although the carriages were already squeezed together tightly, new ones kept arriving. The passengers were people of high rank, accompanied by numerous attendants who traveled in carriages behind them. I was wondering how they could possibly find room when I saw the outriders leap off their horses and briskly force the other carriages to move back. I was most impressed…” (Trans. Ivan Morris, The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon, 197–98).
[106] The term is “eiga no kami no maki.” Scholars disagree over whether it means simply an earlier chapter, or if it points to the seihen, the first thirty chapters as a whole. There are a number of passages that lament Yorimichi’s lack of an heir (Books 12 and 24; see note 23, SNKBZ 3:383).
[107] It is not clear for what occasion this banquet was held, but if the next section follows chronologically, it may have been the New Year’s banquet.
[108] Morotaka and Masanaga were brothers, sons of Sukemichi. Taught by their father, they were celebrated for their talent in musical performance, especially of the Japanese zither (wagon).
[109] Morozane observes that the gushing waters of the waterfall look as though they are frozen in the chilly, shining light of the moon.
[110] The most celebrated season to view the moon comes on the 15th of the 8th month. Toshiie claims this 9th month’s moon, too, will be celebrated in the future, its reputation no doubt flowing (echoing the water imagery) to later generations.
[111] A very similar poem attributed to Emperor Go-Reizei can be found in Goshūishū: “Though the water flows rapidly from between the rocks, the reflection of the moon shines serenely” 岩間よりながるる水ははやけれどうつれる月のかげぞのどけき.
[112] From a poem by Yüan Chen: “The plum holds ‘chicken tongue,’ / perfume with reddish vapor; / the river displays its jeweled blossoms, / waves showing emerald patterns” (Trans. Jonathan Chaves, Japanese and Chinese Poems to Sing: The Wakan rōei shū,” 49). “Chicken tongue” 鶏舌 is a type of incense.
[113] Again from the previous poem by Yüan Chen.
[114] Since they were at Kayanoin at this time, it is not clear in what hall Kanshi was staying.
[115] According to Fusō ryakki, it was held on the 30th of the 4th month, Tengi 4 (1056). It seems to predate much of the previously noted events, the dating of which are vague.
[116] Probably a mistake. Similar to the Fusō ryakki, Fukuro zōshi gives the date as the 20th of the 4th month, while Ichidai yōki offers the 2nd month. Late in the 4th month seems to be the most probable date.
[117] For information culled from various sources on the identities of Shinano and the other attendants named here, see Matsumura, Eiga monogatari zenchūshaku, 7:138–40.
[118] From the Kokinshū, “Cascades of flowers / bloom on the wisteria / by my garden lake. / When might the mountain cuckoo / come with his melodious song?” (Trans. McCullough, 40).
[119] Introduced merely as onna, the description of this lady may be textually corrupt.
[120] There also seems to be some textual corruption here.
[121] I have moved this sentence from the proceeding jumbled paragraph since there would otherwise be only four people instead of the five proposed at the opening. The poem is a kami asobi no uta (sacred songs): “Deep in the mountains / the hailstones must be flying, / for in our own hills, / close to men’s habitations, / the vines have turned to scarlet” み山には霰降るらし外山なる真拆の葛色づきにけり (Trans. McCullough, Kokin wakashū, 240).
[122] Beginning with this sentence, this section is textually corrupt and difficult to follow.
[123] Mono imi no fuda showed that the wearer was in abstinence. Here, they signal that the participants are concentrating on composing poetry.
[124] The record from a kanbun nikki (see Hagitani Boku, Heianchō uta-awase taisei) states that this suhama belonged to the left. The right based their tray on a scene of the Tanabata Festival.
[125] Fukuro zōshi and the kanbun nikki both state that Kaneyuki employed mana in writing out the waka. Though there is always some mana involved, perhaps his use was excessive. As for the paintings, the criticism may be directed at the onnae, which would not have necessarily been done by professionals.
[126] The original text does not state the shift to the left. There is probably some text missing.
[127] This information is also wrong. According to the Nijikkan, the judge was Yorimune, who was also the captain for the left. Nagaie was the captain for the right.
[128] Clearly a mistake of some kind, since the minister of the left is already mentioned. I have not supplied the names of these people since there are discrepancies.
[129] In this boy’s hairstyle, the topknot was parted to both sides of the head.
[130] Strangely attributed to Murasaki Shikibu in Shoku Gosenshū.
[131] At the time of the contest, Tenji 4 (1056), Yorimune was still the palace minister, but the narrator seems to think Yorimune was the minister of the right, having already recorded promotions that happened in Kōhei 3 (1060).
[132] This poem is also found in Kin’yōshū, and forms the basis for a chapter title, “At the Back of the Clouds,” of Imakagami.
[133] On the 16th of the 8th month, officials from the imperial stables would go to Ōsaka Pass to pick up the horses that were sent to the capital as tribute from the various provinces.
[134] The right is noted as the winner in the Nijikkanbon, though the winner is not labeled here.
[135] Beyond the viewer, the poet suggests she must be considerate of the dew which alights atop the bush clover in deciding whether to pick it or to leave it.
[136] The poet is observing how the reflections of the plum blossoms on the water are safe from the winds above.
[137] The author skips two poems of the contest here. In contrast to the account in Nijikkanbon, the poem from the right in the sixth round was by Nagaie on the topic of “deer.” The poem from the left for the seventh round was by Shōnagon on the topic of “young herbs.” This poem on “mountain paddies” is thus the poem from the right in the seventh round. In all, there should be ten rounds, but this record only gives nine.
[138] In Goshūishū and Shoku Gosenshū as a poem by Murasaki Shikibu.
[139] The three poems by Nagaie on this occasion (only two of which are recorded here) are all included in Tsunenobu shū. Tsunenobu may have been the surrogate poet for Nagaie.
[140] The winner according to the Nijikkanbon. The poem is listed as Fujiwara no Norinaga’s in Goshūishū. Norinaga was Tajima’s husband, and he may have been the surrogate poet.
[141] The poem might have been a surrogate composition by Gen Sanmi.
[142] Alludes to a poem in the Kokinshū: “Though someone may count / every tiny grain of sand / on the beach called Long, / there will not be a limit / to our lord’s glorious reign” (Trans. McCullough, 242).
[143] The poem is found in Shinkokinshū as composed by Takakuni, but is also found in Ise no Taifu shū as her work.