knotted letter musubi-bumi—A love letter, written on a piece of thin paper, then folded up very tightly and knotted.
Kokiden—A residential pavilion in the palace compound, normally occupied by an Empress, an Empress Mother, or a Consort.
Koma—Koguryo, an ancient Korean kingdom.
Koma flute komabue—A six-hole flute, shorter and thinner than the plain “flute” (yokobue).
Kōrōden—A residential pavilion in the palace compound, just west of the Seiryōden. It was normally occupied by a Consort or another imperial lady.
“Kōryō”—A musical piece traditionally identified as the “secret” Chinese piece “Kōryōsan.”
koto—A term that in the tale may refer to any stringed instrument, including the biwa (see entry). More usually it designates one of a class of long, zitherlike instruments that rest on the floor before the player. These include the kin, the sō no koto, and the wagon (see entries for each).
ladies' paintings onna e—Colored paintings with a generally romantic, narrative content.
lanterns tōrō—Lanterns of wood, bamboo, or metal that hung from the eaves of the house and held oil lamps.
late-night devotions, prayers goya—Regular devotions that lasted roughly from midnight to dawn.
lattice shutter kōshi, also shitomido, hajitomi—Shutters or half-panel shutters made of square latticework backed by thin wood or paper; when down they acted as walls, particularly on the outside of buildings, but also sometimes between the chamber (moya) and the aisle (hisashi). They were hung horizontally from the upper lintel beam (nageshi) and were lifted open and hooked up; or they could be removed entirely. In some cases they folded in, as along the south side of the Emperor's residence (Seiryōden), and in some cases they folded out, as they usually did when they bordered the veranda (sunoko). Originally a single, hinged shutter panel filled the entire expanse between posts; later the half-panel shutter (hajitomi) filled the upper part, and a removable lattice panel (also kōshi) filled the lower part.
laurel katsura—Cercidiphyllum japonicum, a kind of tree with heart-shaped leaves, resembling a laurel and believed in East Asia to grow in the moon. Its leaves, with those of heart-to-heart (aoi), were used as decorations for the Kamo Festival.
Leech Child Hiru no Ko—The first offspring of Izanagi and Izanami, the primordial pair in the creation myth. It was defective, since it had no bones, and in its third year it was sent drifting out to sea.
Library Funnotsukasa—An office of the Emperor's personal household that looked after books, paper and brushes, and musical instruments.
light refreshments mizumumaya—See water stop.
lintel nageshi—Structural timbers set horizontally over and between posts in the framework of a building at floor level and overhead. In post-and-lintel construction, light and movable partitions may be used between spaces instead of walls.
lintel curtains kabeshiro—Curtains hung from the lintels of a building, often inside blinds (misu, sudare). They normally had simple decorations, but they could be gray or black for mourning or pure white for a birth.
lodge bō, sōbō—The buildings inhabited by the monks of a temple community.
long bridge nagahashi—The bridge between the Emperor's residence (Seiryōden) and the Shishinden.
Lotus Sutra Hoke-Kyō—The central text of Tendai Buddhism and one of the most important in Japanese Buddhism. It is rich in parables that became almost part of the language.
Lustration Buddha Kanbutsu—A statue of the Buddha as a baby that figured in the Lustration Rite (Kanbutsu-e) held on the eighth day of the fourth month to honor the Buddha's birthday. The rite involved lustrating (pouring water or sweet tea) over the statue.
lustration stream mitarashigawa, misogigawa—A stream near a shrine, used for purification.
“Magic of Wine” “Kansuiraku”—A “Korean” bugaku piece that seems not to have survived beyond the mid-fourteenth century.
maid miuchiki no hito—A woman charged with helping the Emperor to change clothes; or shimotsukae—simply a young female servant.
maidenflower ominaeshi—Patrinia, a plant of the valerian family that puts forth clusters of small, muted yellow flowers.
main house shinden—The central structure of a Heian house, normally linked by bridgeways (watadono) on either side to more or less symmetrical wings (tai).
mantra shingon—A series of syllables, sometimes meaningful in the original Sanskrit and sometimes not, that encapsulates in sound the nature of a Buddhist deity.
mat tatami—A mat woven of rice straw.
mayfly kagerō—A long-winged fly that hatches in swarms, generally near water, in summer. It dies only a few hours later, after mating and laying its eggs.
meal stand dai, kakeban—The modern o-zen, a sort of small, individual meal table.
memorial rites—Rites to guide the soul toward a happy rebirth or, ultimately, toward rebirth in paradise. They were held every seven days during the first forty-nine days after death and at widening intervals thereafter. New paintings of the principal Buddhist divinities involved were made for each service during the initial forty-nine-day period. During this period the spirit wandered in a “transitional state” (chūu), then went to its future rebirth, according to its karma, in one of the six realms of transmigration: celestial beings, humans, warring demons, beasts, starving ghosts, or hell.
Michinokuni paper Michinokuni-gami—A white paper made especially in northern Japan (Michinokuni, Michinoku) from tree bark and used for practical, businesslike purposes.
middle gate chūmon—One of the two symmetrically placed gates in the galleries that extended south from the wings of a residence. They afforded access to the area between the main house and the garden lake.
Mid-God Nakagami—A yin-yang (onmyōdō) deity who moved in a regular sixty-day cycle. After sixteen days in the heavens the deity descended to earth and circled the compass, spending five or six days in each of the eight compass directions. One shunned (imu) travel in a direction thus “blocked” or “closed” (futagaru). In “The Broom Tree,” Genji's intention of spending the night at his father-in-law's violates this taboo, and he must “evade” (tagau) the closed direction by taking refuge elsewhere, in some other direction from his point of departure, the palace.
Minamoto—See Genji.
Miroku—The future Buddha who is to descend into a transfigured world many eons from now. The site of his descent was believed to be the Holy Mountain (Mitake).
modal prelude kaki-awase, chōshi—A short piece played on a stringed instrument (kaki-awase) or by an orchestra (chōshi) to verify the tuning and establish the musical mode.
moorhen kuina—A kind of moorhen or water rail, the cry of which, in summer, sounds like someone knocking lightly on a gate. In poetry the hearer thinks of a young man on a secret visit to his love.
morning glory asagao—See bluebell.
morning salutation chōhai—A ceremony in which the assembled courtiers saluted the Emperor on the morning of the first day of the New Year.
“Motomego”—One of the pieces from the Eastern Dances. The words of its song appear not to have been stable.
Mountain, the—See Hiei.
mountain ascetic yamabushi—A low-ranking Buddhist practitioner, often a healer, who might not be fully ordained and whose practice took him to sacred mountains.
mountain rustic yamagatsu—The general term for an uncouth inhabitant of a “mountain village” (see entry), as seen from the City.
mountain village yamazato—A country locality, which because of Japan's topography was bound to be either in hills or mountains or below them along a river or on the sea. Examples in the tale include Suma, Akashi, Ōi, Uji, and Ono.
mourning, close of ōn-hate—The end of a period of formal mourning. The length of such a period varied according to the relationship between the mourner and the deceased.
mourning confinement ōn-imi—A ritual seclusion, generally of thirty days, to
avoid spreading the pollution due to contact with death.
mourning retreat imi—The period of the first forty-nine days (see entry) after death.
mudra in—A set posture of the hands and fingers that invokes the presence of a Buddhist deity in a ritual.
mulberry-cloth streamer yū—A streamer cut in a zigzag pattern from mulberry-bark cloth or from paper and used in yin-yang or Shinto rites.
mumming otoko tōka—A regular New Year observance at the palace. On the fourteenth day of the first month, six song leaders (katō, of Left and Right), as well as dancers and musicians chosen from among the privy gentlemen (tenjōbito) and the lesser ranks (jige), would appear before the residence of the Emperor, the Empress, the Retired Emperor, and so on, dancing and singing saibara songs. The practice lapsed in 983. Women performed mumming, too, but not in the tale.
murasaki—A plant (Lithospermum erythrorhizon) the roots of which yield a purple dye; also, the dye and its color. The color stands for relationship and lasting passion.
musical ground hyōshi awase—A ground against which the rhythm was played.
Nakagawa—Said to be the Kyōgoku River north of Nijō.
Name (of Amida), the—The invocation to the Buddha Amida. See Amida.
Nara Heights Narazaka—A stretch of low hills north of Nara, between Nara and the Kizu River.
narrow chest hosobitsu—A somewhat long and narrow form of the legged chest (hitsu).
Nashitsubo—Also Shōyōsha. A pavilion in the palace compound. It had a nashi, or Japanese pear tree, in its garden.
near garden senzai—The part of the garden near a house, as distinguished from the park, farther away.
New Year archery contest noriyumi—A contest held on the eighteenth of the first month by the archers of the Gate Watch and the Palace Guards. (A month or two later the privy gentleman held a similar one.) A banquet (noriyumi no kaeri aruji) was given by the Commander of the winning side. By the author's time this event seems to have lapsed.
night attendance, night prayer duty yai—An important duty of a lord or lady's chaplain. The chaplain remained in attendance through the night, in a room close to where his patron slept, so that the patron should enjoy while sleeping the beneficent influence of his prayers. For the Emperor, priests performed this function in a small room (futama) separated from his pillow by a partition.
Ninefold Palace Kokonoe—One of the ornamental names for the Emperor's palace.
north gate kita no jin—Also referred to as sakuheimon, the north gate to the inner palace compound. This was the gate normally used by women for entering or leaving the palace.
Northern Hills Kita Yama—The mountains to the north of Kyoto.
“Nuki River” “Nukigawa”—A saibara song, the complaint of a lover who is barred by his girl's parents from seeing her.
nurse menoto—In principle, a woman who nursed a highborn infant in place of its mother, since such a mother did not normally nurse her child; although perhaps not all menoto nursed, since a child could have more than one. A highborn child's relationship with his or her nurse was lasting and intimate, and so was that with her own children.
obeisance (of thanks) butō—A dancelike gesture of formal thanks, performed on ceremonial occasions by the recipient of the favor of the Emperor or a great lord.
Office of Artisans Takumizukasa—An office under the Bureau of Central Affairs, responsible for making and maintaining the furniture and furnishings in the palace.
Office of Medicine Ten'yaku Ryō—A palace office in charge of medicine, medicinal products, and healing spells.
Office of Music Utazukasa—The palace office responsible for music and dance.
Office of Painting Edokoro—The palace's painting workshop.
Office of Staff Naishizukasa—A palace office staffed by women who were responsible to the Emperor for a variety of matters, especially those pertaining to the imperial ladies.
Office of Upkeep Suri Shiki—The office responsible for palace construction and repairs.
Oharano Shrine—The Kyoto counterpart of the Kasuga Shrine in Nara; it enshrines the same deities. Built at the end of the eighth century, just west of the City below Mount Oshio, it enabled the Fujiwara nobles to honor their family deities without going all the way to Nara.
Old Bamboo Cutter, The Taketori monogatari—Generally agreed to be the oldest surviving Japanese tale, dating perhaps to the eighth century. See Kaguya-hime.
orange tachibana—Citrus tachibana, a kind of ornamental citrus tree prized especially for its fragrant blossoms. Their scent recalled past loves.
Ōsaka Barrier, Pass Ōsaka no Seki—A low pass east of Kyoto, between the City and Lake Biwa. The road to the eastern provinces went that way, and to cross Ōsaka meant really to leave the City. The Ō of the name was often used to play on au (pronounced the same way), “meet.”
ōshiki mode—A musical mode said to be close to the key of A.
Ōshōkun—Wang Zhaojun, beloved of Emperor Yuan of Han, who was tricked into sending her as a gift to a barbarian chieftain.
Otagi—A burning ground, with its associated temple, probably northwest of the City as it was then, in the general area of present Kyoto University.
“Our Sovereign's Grace” “Gaōon”—A “Chinese” bugaku piece.
outer blinds hashi no sudare—The blinds between the aisle (hisashi) and the veranda (sunoko).
outside mother sotobara—A mother other than the father's formal wife.
padded mat uwamushiro—A thinly padded mat laid out for the occupant of a curtained bed (michōdai) to sleep on.
palace uchi, dairi—Not a single imposing building, but a large complex of smaller buildings, some residential, some administrative, and some ceremonial, linked by passages and galleries. The text often makes no distinction between the palace and its great resident, the Emperor. The dairi can also be called the “inner palace,” as distinguished from the “greater palace” (daidairi), a far larger compound containing such major buildings as the Great Hall of State (Daigokuden) and the Eight Bureaus (Hasshōin).
Palace Guards—See “Offices and Titles.”
Palace Mountain Ōuchi Yama—A literary term for the palace of a reigning or retired Emperor.
palanquin mikoshi—A conveyance consisting of a small cabin mounted on parallel poles and borne by porters.
palm-leaf carriage birōge—A kind of ox carriage covered with woven palm leaves and used by high-ranking personages.
Paper Workshop Kamuya—A palace workshop that made paper for the use of court.
parsley seri—Oenanthe javanica (dropwort or Japanese parsley), an edible plant that flourishes in low, damp places.
partitioned box warigo—A partitioned box of plain wood, used for carrying food.
passageway medō—A corridor built through the center of certain palace buildings.
penance tsutsushimi—Ritual abstinences performed to keep someone else safe from harm.
petition miakashi-bumi—A written prayer formally offered up by suitably commissioned priests.
physician kusushi—A specialist in medicines and physical treatments, as distinguished from a healer (a practitioner of healing rites).
pine cricket matsumushi—A kind of cricket with a melodious cry; perhaps the same as the bell cricket.
pink nadeshiko—See gillyflower and also the “Clothing and Color” glossary.
pitfall day kannichi—A day defined by the yin-yang (onmyōdō) almanac, on which all enterprises were destined to fail. There was one per month.
plume grass obana, susuki—Miscanthus sinensis a grass that puts forth a tall, nodding seed plume.
“Plum Tree Branch, The” “Umegae”—A saibara song: “To the plum tree branch the warbler comes, to sing all spring long, all spring long, yet snow is still falling, Look, how lovely! snow is falling.”
poem pictures utae—Illustrations in which a poem was written over a painting derived from the poem's meaning and done in fainter ink.
Precepts Imu Koto, Kai—The Buddhist rules of conduct. Especially the Five Precepts that prohibited killing, stealing, fornication, deceit, and drunkenness. These simple rules of conduct could be upheld by a layman or a novice (nyūdō), but for fully ordained monks and nuns there were many more.
privy banquet naien—A banquet given personally by the Emperor on the day of the Rat that fell on the twenty-first, twenty-second, or twenty-third of the first month. The guests composed poetry in Chinese.
privy chamber tenjō no ma—The room frequented by courtiers on duty to wait upon the Emperor, at the palace, or upon the Retired Emperor in his own palace. The Emperor's was in the Seiryōden, his private residence.
Purification Misogi—A preparatory rite for the Kamo Festival. The Festival took place on the middle day of the Bird in the fourth month, while the Purification took place on the preceding day of the Horse or day of the Sheep.
railing kōran—The railing along the outside of the veranda (sunoko) of a house.
Records of the Historian, The Shiji (Japanese Shiki)—The official history of China from the beginning up to the reign of Emperor Wu of the Early Han dynasty, completed by Sima Qian (Japanese Shiba Sen) in 91 B.C. It covers up to the Early Han dynasty and is the model for all later dynastic histories. A basic text at the Academy (together with the Hanshu), and essential reading for Heian officials, it left traces in the tale itself.
reception room idei—A room in the south aisle of the main house, used especially for receiving guests.
Rectification Naoshimono—A supplement to the regular announcement of official appointments (meshina) made at the appointments list (jimoku) ceremony twice a year.
red sandalwood shitan—The prized dark red heartwood of the sandalwood tree.
reed fence ashigaki—A screening fence made of woven reeds, typical of a waterside dwelling.
The Tale of Genji: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) (Junichiro Breakdown of Genji) Page 171
