1 They were not allowed to leave the palace.
2 The bird that sings in Paradise.
3 See above p. 19.
4 In allusion to a boy-prince of seven years old whom the jealous gods carried off to the sky. See the Ōkagami.
5 Those who stand in a circle round the dancers while the latter change their clothes.
6 Reading ‘Sadaijin,’ not ‘Sadaishō.’
7 Another illegitimate son of the Emperor; Genji’s step-brother.
8 Fujitsubo’s brother; Murasaki’s father.
9 Another name for the nadeshiko, ‘Child-of-my-heart,’ see p. 58.
10 Shū-i Shū 967.
11 A sō no koto.
12 That hate kills is a fundamental thesis of the book.
13 ‘So withered is the grass beneath its trees that the young colt will not graze there and the reapers do not come.’
14 ‘So sweet is its shade that all the summer through its leafy avenues are thronged,’ alluding to the lady’s many lovers.
15 The headquarters of the Ladies of the Bedchamber.
16 An old folk-song the refrain of which is ‘At the melon-hoeing he said he loved me and what am I to do, what am I to do?’
17 The poem referred to is not the famous Lute Girl’s Song, but a much shorter one (Works x. 8) on a similar theme. O-chou is the modern Wu-ch‘ang in Hupeh.
18 In the song the lady says: ‘The door is not bolted or barred. Come quickly and talk to me. Am I another’s bride, that you should be so careful and shy?’
19 The rank of Empress was often not conferred till quite late in a reign. It was of course Fujitsubo whom the Emperor chose in this case.
20 And therefore debarred from taking part in political life.