Heian period names female

The confessions of lady nijo pdf

A vast, international and unrivalled collection of diary extracts - from over 1, diarists. Post a Comment. Nijo came from a well-connected family, but as a young girl was fostered by the Prime Minister and Lady Kitayama who was to be a mother and grandmother to emperors. While still a teenager she was given to the emperor Gofukakusa to be his courtesan.

She also took other lovers. By the age of 25 she had had four children, only one of which was fathered by Gofukakusa. Eventually, she left, or was expelled from, the palace and became a wandering Buddhist nun. They were not rediscovered until the s, by a scholar named Yamagishi Tohukei. According to Branislav L. The book can be previewed at Googlebooks ; and The Gloss has a good set of extracts including the following.

Having born a son to Gofukakusa, she gave birth to a second child, by one of her lovers, and this birth had to be kept secret. It was my own child, and naturally enough I thought it was adorable. As I looked on, [he] took the white gown beside me and wrapped the baby in it, cut the umbilical cord with a short sword that lay by my pillow, and taking the baby, left without a word to anyone.

I did not even get a second glimpse of the child's face. I wanted to cry out and ask why, if the baby must be taken away, I could not at least look at it again; but that would have been rash, and so I remained quiet, letting the tears on my sleeves express my feelings.