[1] In the writings of the ladies of those days _World_ (yononaka) is
often used as a synonym of love-affair; i.e. their relations with men.
[2] In those days noblemen's houses were surrounded with an embankment,
instead of a wall.
[3] Prince Tametaka, the third Prince of the Emperor Rezrei who reigned
968-969. The Prince died on June 13, 1002. He had been Izumi Shikibu's
lover.
[4] Tachibana: a kind of orange.
[5] The cuckoo sings when the tachibana is in flower. In this instance
the "cuckoo" means the young Prince. Thus there is a suggestion here if
he chooses to take it.
[6] The period of mourning was to end on June 13, 1003.
[7] The cuckoo sings with low note in early spring, but when April is
passed his voice grows clear and loud. It is a favourite bird in Japan.
[8] The meaning of the poem is vague. _Ayame_ may mean _Iris
sibirica--rain-stop, darkness_--these are homonyms in Japanese. The
fifth day of the fifth month was a festival day, and people adorned
their houses with _iris sibirica_, so the last line might mean that she
wanted to prepare for the festival. If we take the word _ayame_ in the
meaning of rain-stop, then we can understand the poem as follows: "It
is the wet season now, and it is raining within my heart. To-night I am
going to the temple to pray that the rainy season will be over (and to
chase away the darkness from my soul). After that I wish you to come."
[9] Ukon-no-Zo, an officer in the Bodyguard. He seems to have been an
attendant of the late Prince Tametaka, before he served the present
Prince.
[10] Prime Minister Fujiwara-no-Michinaga, the most powerful man of the
age. (See the Introduction and the Murasaki Shikibu diary.)
[11] In the Japanese Matsu, _n_.=pine-tree; Matsu, _v_.=to wait. This
poem refers to a famous one:
_If my heart grows faithless, and beat for another man,_
_May waves pass over the hill of pines, where I pine for my beloved!_
[12] For the Festival of the stars on the seventh day of the Seventh
month see the notes on pages 23, 24 of the Sarashina Diary. On this
evening it was customary to write letters or pay visits in memory of
the heavenly lovers.
[13] Ishiyama Temple is some five miles to the east of Kioto. To reach
there one must rise over the ascent of Osaka, and the barrier of Seki
at the foot of Mount Seki, where travellers were stopped and examined.
The temple commands a fine view of Lake Biwa, still more distant.
[14] This group of poems have as their base the play upon words of two
meanings, or place-names whose meanings make the necessary suggestive
idea. Omi is the name of the province in which are Ishiyama and Lake
Biwa. Here the word is used as the homophon of meeting. Mount Nagara is
near the Ishiyama Temple. _Nagara_ is the homophon of "while being (on
the mountain)."
[15] Law of Buddha.
[16] The waning moon is called the morning moon because it can be seen
after dawn.
[17] Wild geese visit Japan in Autumn and fly away northwards in the
early spring. They are never alone, and their cries calling to each
other make the solitary woman feel loneliness more keenly.
[18] It is the Japanese way to say _night opens_ instead of _day
dawns._ The word _little_ means nothing but a feeling of endearment.
[19] The Japanese lady in her dwelling where the light was softened by
her window-panes of white silk, or her sudaré, dwelt always in a sort
of twilight probably very becoming to beauty.
[20] Mayumi--_Evonymœus europus_. In Autumn the leaves of the tree
become purple or red, and they are so pretty that people call them
"mountain brocade."
[21] According to an ancient fable, En-no-Shokaku, a great magician who
could command even gods, once summoned gods of many mountains to make a
stone bridge at Kumé on Mount Katuragi in the Province of Yamato. The
goddess of Mount Katuragi was very shy, and, working only at night,
never showed herself before others. The magician grew angry with her,
and punished her by unveiling her. That was the cause of the failure in
the work. (The inmost soul hides itself and works in the dark. If you
try to bring it into clear consciousness, you will fail in your work.)
[22] The Godless month--the Tenth month; so called because in that
month all the gods left their abodes and went to the High Plain of
Heaven to hold counsel together.
[23] In those days they believed in lucky and unlucky directions. Those
who went in an unlucky direction might have some unfortunate incidents.
This belief still holds in the country life of the people. The writer
was once deprived of a good servant who wanted to come to her, but
could not because her house was in an "unlucky direction!"
[24] In 997 she had Koshikibu-no-Naishi (she was also a poetess and
court lady). Her husband was Tachibana Michisada, to whom she was
married before she knew Prince Tanetaka.
[25] The pine-tree at Suminoye is famous for its age.
[26] Yamato-nadeshiko--Japanese pink; the homonym means the caressed
girl of Yamato.
[27] See plan of palace or nobleman's house.