Imperial Consorts XII

Empress Fujiwara (Kishi)

¶Emperor Go-Daigo's Empress, Fujiwara-no-Kishi, was a daughter of the Daijō-daijin, Chancellor, Sanekane (Note: following the Hanazono-tei Gyoki, the Masukagami, the Nyoin Shōden, the Rekidai Kōki, and the Taiheiki). When the emperor was still Crown Prince, he saw her and took a liking to her (Note: following the Masukagami), and in the end she entered the Crown Prince's household. She bore Imperial Princess Kanshi (Note: following the Masukagami and the Kōin Shōunroku). In the fourth month of the second year of Bunpō (1318) she was granted Third Rank, and in the seventh month she became Nyōgo, Consort (Note: following the Nyoin Shōden and the Kōkyū Ryakuden). In the eighth month of the first year of Gen'ō (1319) she was installed as Empress (Note: following the Kōkyū Ryakuden and the Rekidai Kōki. The Taiheiki says that the Empress did not win the emperor's favor and never attended him in her lifetime, but this is mistaken). In the first year of Genkō (1331), when the emperor went on progress to Kasagi, the Empress hid herself beside the Nonomiya, where Kanshi lived (Note: following the Masukagami). In the fifth month of the second year (1332), the Retired Emperor Kōgon presented her with the title Reisei-mon'in (Note: following the Nyoin Shōden, the Rekidai Kōki, and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). After bearing Kanshi, the Empress for a long time had no further children. The emperor was then plotting to strike down Hōjō Takatoki, and in the second year of Karyaku (1327) he announced that "the Empress is with child again" and had her moved to the Tokiwai Palace, where he gathered many monks and had them perform secret rites. It seemed as though they were praying for a safe delivery, but year after year passed without a birth; in truth the rites were meant to curse Takatoki (Note: following the Masukagami and the variant text of the Taiheiki). In the following year, the emperor was to be removed to Oki; the Empress went to Rokuhara to take leave of him, and, unable to bear her grief, composed a poem. In it she said that there was nothing left for her to grieve over beyond this, and asked how long her unfeeling life, which would not end, must be made to last. After this she was consumed with worry and grew ill (Note: following the Masukagami. The poem appears in Volume 4 of the Taiheiki), and in the end she cut her hair and became a nun (Note: following the Masukagami and the Nyoin Shōden). In the sixth month of the third year of Genkō (1333), when the emperor returned to the capital, an edict ordered her to let her hair grow again, and she became Empress once more. But her illness only grew worse, and the Godan-no-hō, the Rite of the Five Altars, was performed in prayer for her (Note: following the Masukagami). In the tenth month she died, and was styled Go-Kyōgoku-in (Note: following the Kōkyū Ryakuden, the Rekidai Kōki, and the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

Empress Junshi

¶The Empress, Fujiwara-no-Junshi (Note: the Rekidai Kōki writes the name with the character 恂 and the Kōkyū Ryakuden writes it as 祹, but these are probably mistaken. Note also: the character 祹 should properly be written with the jade radical), was the eldest daughter of Emperor Go-Fushimi (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku and the Nyoin Shōden). In the sixth month of the first year of Ōchō (1311) she became an Imperial Princess. In the second month of the second year of Bunpō (1318) she was granted First Rank (Note: following the Nyoin Shōden). In the twelfth month of the third year of Genkō (1333) she was installed as Empress (Note: following the Nyoin Shōden and the Kōkyū Ryakuden). She bore one princess (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku). In the first month of the second year of Enmei (1337) she was presented with the title Shin-Muromachi-in (Note: following the Kijosho, the Nyoin Shōden, and the Rekidai Kōki). In the fifth month she died (Note: following the Nyoin Shōden. Note also: the Kōkyū Ryakuden says she died in the first month and that the title was conferred afterwards).

Fujiwara-no-Renshi

¶Fujiwara-no-Renshi was a daughter of Kinkado, Ukon'e-no-Chūjō, Middle Captain of the Right Imperial Guards (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Taiheiki). She became an adopted daughter of the Daijō-daijin, Chancellor, Kinkata (Note: following the Nyoin Shōden). She excelled in wit and beauty and was skilled at waka. At first she served the Go-Kyōgoku-in, but the emperor saw her, took a liking to her, and summoned her into the palace (Note: following the Masukagami and the Taiheiki). In the third year of Gentoku (1331) she was granted Junior Third Rank (Note: following the Nyoin Shōden) and was called Naishi-no-Sanmi, Lady of Third Rank (Note: following the Masukagami). In the second year of Genkō (1332) she accompanied the emperor to Oki; when the rebels (the Hōjō) had been put down she followed him back to the capital, and was given the estates of Ōsaragi Sadanao as her yumoku-no-yū, bath-fief (Note: following the Masukagami and the Taiheiki). In the fourth month of the second year of Kenmu (1335) she became Jun-sangū, Honorary Equal of the Three Empresses (Note: following the Nyoin Shōden). Renshi was keen by nature and skilled at catering to the emperor's wishes, and she monopolized his favor. Even when the emperor was moved from place to place and held in confinement, she never left his side. Yet she arranged audiences in exchange for bribes and drew the influence of outsiders to herself. Whenever anyone had a petition, the officials hurried to answer her, and the hopes of those within and outside the court rested on her more than on the principal consort. As a result rewards and punishments fell into disorder, and the ministers were resentful and hateful. Ashikaga Takauji, who loathed the martial valor of Imperial Prince Moriyoshi and plotted to remove him, courted Renshi and fed her groundless slanders. Renshi relayed these to the emperor, and in the end the emperor's favor toward Prince Moriyoshi was cut off. That Takauji later rose in rebellion was the doing of Renshi (Note: following the Taiheiki). She bore the Crown Prince, Imperial Prince Kanryō, as well as Emperor Go-Murakami and Imperial Prince Nariyoshi (Note: following the Jinnō Shōtōki and the Kōin Shōunroku), Imperial Princess Shōshi, and Imperial Princess Ishi (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku and the Rekidai Kōki). In the twelfth month of the sixth year of Shōhei (1351) she was presented with the title Shin-Taikenmon'in (Note: following the Nyoin Shōden, the Entairyaku, and the Taiheiki. Note also: the Nyoin Shōden says that throughout the country she was called Empress, but the year and month of this are not clear. The Entairyaku has a phrase to the effect that the Empress Dowager concerned the office of the Empress Dowager's household of the former court, but the meaning of that phrase is unclear. Therefore it is not adopted here). In the fourth month of the fourteenth year (1359) she died at Yoshino (Note: following the prayer text of Minamoto-no-Michifuyu and the Nyoin Shōden. Note also: the place, Yoshino, follows the Taiheiki). She was fifty-nine years old (Note: following the prayer text of Minamoto-no-Michifuyu). Emperor Go-Murakami wore mourning for her and kept the three-year mourning period (Note: following the Shin'yō Wakashū).

Fujiwara-no-Eishi

¶The Nyōgo, Consort, Fujiwara-no-Eishi was a daughter of the Kampaku, Regent, Michihira (Note: following the Rekidai Kōki and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). In the twelfth month of the third year of Genkō (1333) she became Nyōgo (Note: following the Rekidai Kōki. That work puts it in the second year, but at that time the emperor was in Oki, and this event cannot have taken place then. Therefore the third year is adopted here).

Fujiwara-no-Chikako

¶The Naishi-no-suke, Handmaid, Fujiwara-no-Chikako, was a daughter of Munechika, Sangi, Counsellor. She was called Chūnagon-no-Suke. She bore Imperial Prince Mitsuyoshi (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the old-text Teiō Keizu).

Fujiwara-no-Tameko

¶Fujiwara-no-Tameko was a daughter of Tameyo, Gon-Dainagon, Provisional Major Counsellor (Note: following the Masukagami, the Reizei Keizu, the Taiheiki, and the Kōin Shōunroku). At first she served Emperor Go-Nijō (Note: following the Reizei Keizu), and when Emperor Go-Daigo was Crown Prince she was summoned into his household. She was greatly favored and was called Gon-Dainagon-no-Tsubone (Note: following the Masukagami). She bore Imperial Prince Takayoshi and Imperial Prince Munenaga (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku, the Reizei Keizu, and the Masukagami), Imperial Princess Keishi (Note: following the Sakusha Burui), Imperial Princess Kinshi, and one further princess (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku. Note also: the Masukagami says that Tameko bore three Imperial Princesses, but their names and the facts cannot be verified). She died young. When the emperor took the throne, she was posthumously granted Junior Third Rank by edict. Tameko excelled at waka, and when Tameyo compiled the Shoku Senzai Wakashū he included many of her poems (Note: following the Masukagami).

Fujiwara-no-Saneko

¶Fujiwara-no-Jitsushi (Sanako) was a daughter of Saneo, Sadaijin, Minister of the Left (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku). At first she was in the rear palace of Emperor Go-Uda, and later she served Emperor Go-Daigo (Note: following the Entairyaku Keizu). She bore one princess and was granted Junior First Rank (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku).

Fujiwara-no-Moriko

¶Fujiwara-no-Moriko was a daughter of Saneyasu, Sadaijin, Minister of the Left. She was granted Junior Second Rank (Note: following the Entairyaku Keizu). She bore Genen Hōshinnō, Imperial Prince in Holy Orders (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku and the Shomonzeki-fu).

Minamoto-no-Chikako

¶Minamoto-no-Chikako was a daughter of Morochika, Gon-Dainagon. At first she entered the rear palace of Emperor Kameyama and bore a prince, whose name is not given. Later she served the Kyōgoku-in, and Emperor Go-Daigo saw her and favored her. She was granted Third Rank and was called Minbukyō-no-Sanmi, Lady of Third Rank, of the Ministry of Popular Affairs (Note: following the Masukagami, the Kōin Shōunroku, and the Taiheiki). She bore Imperial Prince Moriyoshi and Imperial Princess Hishi (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku). When the emperor was moved from place to place, Chikako remained in the capital. At that time Prince Moriyoshi had fled to Totsukawa, and Chikako, unable to bear her anxiety and distress, made a pilgrimage to the Kitano shrine and shut herself in prayer for seven days. She composed a waka, in which she asked the god, if he had not forgotten her, to take pity and understand her, for she was making the same exhausting journey as in times long past. In a dream an old man appeared, holding a branch of plum blossom and leaning on a staff. Chikako asked where he had come from, but the old man only clouded over and said nothing, and went away leaving the plum blossom. When Chikako looked at it, a poem was tied to it. It said that the moon, though it comes round and will in the end shine clear, is clouded for a while, and asked why she should grieve over that. When she awoke she marvelled at this and took it to be an auspicious sign. Later it turned out exactly so (Note: following the Taiheiki).

Lady Sugawara

¶The lady of the Sugawara clan was a daughter of Arinaka, of Senior Third Rank. She was called Shōshō-no-Naishi. She bore Shōjo Hōshinnō, Imperial Prince in Holy Orders (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku and the Shomonzeki-fu).

Lady Fujiwara

¶The lady of the Fujiwara clan was a daughter of Takasuke, Dainagon, Major Counsellor. She was called Shōnagon-no-Naishi. She bore the monk Sonshin (Note: following the old-text Go-Daigo Teikei).

Lady Fujiwara

¶The lady of the Fujiwara clan was a daughter of Tamemichi, Sakon'e-no-Chūjō, Middle Captain of the Left Imperial Guards (Note: following the Reizei Keizu). At first she was Senji, Court Communicator, to the Empress, but she received the emperor's favor (Note: following the Masukagami). She bore Hōnin Hōshinnō (Note: following the Masukagami, the Reizei Keizu, the Kōin Shōunroku, and the Shomonzeki-fu), Imperial Prince Kanenaga (Note: it appears that in this work the mother of the Prince of Aso is the same as the mother of Hōnin Hōshinnō, and the Prince of Aso is probably Imperial Prince Kanenaga. The variant Go-Daigo Teikei says that his mother was the same as the mother of Imperial Prince Takayoshi, but for the present the account of this work is followed), and one princess (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku). She was called Gon-Dainagon-Sanmi-no-Tsubone (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku and the Reizei Keizu). When the emperor was removed to Oki, she became a nun (Note: following the Masukagami).

Dainagon-no-Tsubone

¶Dainagon-no-Tsubone bore one princess (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku. Note also: the Entairyaku Keizu says that she was a daughter of Kintoshi, Gon-Dainagon, and was called Go-Daigo Dainagon-no-Tsubone, and she is probably this person).

Gon-Chūnagon-no-Tsubone

¶Gon-Chūnagon-no-Tsubone bore one princess (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku. Note also: this work gives her as Go-Uda-in Gon-Chūnagon-no-Tsubone but does not record whose daughter she was. According to the Entairyaku Keizu, she was a daughter of Fujiwara-no-Kinyasu, Gon-Dainagon, became a court lady of Emperor Go-Daigo, and later renounced the world and became a nun, and she is probably this person).

Minbukyō-no-Tsubone

¶Minbukyō-no-Tsubone bore one princess (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku).

Bōmon-no-Tsubone

¶Bōmon-no-Tsubone bore one princess (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku).

Saemon-no-Kami-no-Tsubone

¶Saemon-no-Kami-no-Tsubone was a daughter of Tametada (Note: the family name of Tametada has not been handed down. Note also: both the Reizei Keizu and the Kajūji Keizu show a man named Tametada, but it is not known which of the two he was). She served the Yūgi-mon'in. She bore one princess (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku).

Konoe-no-Tsubone

¶Konoe-no-Tsubone served the Shōkun-mon'in. She bore one prince (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku).

A Certain Lady

¶A certain lady was a daughter of Mototoki (Note: the family name of Mototoki has not been handed down). She bore one prince (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku).

¶[Emperor Go-Murakami]

A Certain Nyōgo

¶Emperor Go-Murakami's Nyōgo, Consort, whose name is unknown, was a daughter of a certain Kampaku, Regent. She entered the palace and became Nyōgo (Note: following the Shin'yō Wakashū. Note also: in examining this work, when the Lady was still a Nyōgo, a poem contest was held at the residence of the former Kampaku and Naidaijin of Fukuon-ji, with the topic "The Moon in the Imperial Palace," and the poem composed by the Kampaku carried the hope that the Nyōgo would rise to the rank of empress. From this, the Lady was probably a daughter of the Fukuon-ji Kampaku. But it is not yet known who the Fukuon-ji Kampaku was. No account of the Nyōgo becoming an empress is found in any of the sources). She bore Emperor Go-Kameyama (Note: the account appears in the Hongi, Imperial Annals). When the emperor died, she cut her hair and was presented with the title Kaki-mon'in (Note: following the Shin'yō Wakashū, the Kaki-mon'in Shū, and the Go-Kameyama Waka Daijo). The Lady was skilled at the biwa, but after the emperor died she could not bear her grief and longing, and never played it again herself. On the seventh day of the seventh month of the third year of Tenju (1377) a gathering of wind and stringed instruments was held at the temporary palace at Yoshino. The Lady watched it, and the performance came to an end. At night, Emperor Go-Kameyama repeatedly asked the Lady to play the biwa, and she consented and played one piece. The emperor, remembering the past and unable to contain his feelings, composed a poem. In it he said that he could hardly go on enduring in this way, and that the pine wind on the peak seemed to him to carry an impression of how things had been before. The Lady answered in kind. In her poem she said that the one who was listening with pity was her lord, and that the pine wind on the peak must by now be about to fall silent (Note: following the Shin'yō Wakashū and the Kaki-mon'in Shū. Note also: the wording of the poems given in these works differs slightly in each, and the Shin'yōshū is followed here). When Imperial Prince Munenaga was compiling the Shin'yō Wakashū, he asked the Lady for poems. She ordered Fujiwara-no-Sanetame, Dainagon, to copy out more than one hundred poems and sent them to Prince Munenaga. The Prince read them, marked those that should go in the collection, sent a letter in thanks, and added: "The exchange of the pine wind on the Tanabata night is astonishing to the eye and captivating to the heart; one cannot help being moved and sighing over it, and it is almost the equal of the imperial anthologies of past ages. How could one let it lie buried in the mountains and valleys together with the autumn leaves of Yoshino? I have asked for it repeatedly without fear of giving offense" (Note: following the Kaki-mon'in Shū).

Noriko

¶Noriko's family name has not been handed down. She was granted Junior Second Rank. She bore Imperial Prince Yoyasu. When Prince Yoyasu died, he was buried at Nyoirin-ji. In the following year Noriko went to Nyoirin-ji and performed rites for his repose. Emperor Go-Kameyama sent her a waka to console her. Noriko offered a poem in reply, and her grief only deepened (Note: following the Shin'yō Wakashū).

¶[Emperor Go-Kameyama]

A Certain Empress

¶Emperor Go-Kameyama's Empress was not recorded as the daughter of anyone. She entered the palace and became Nyōgo (Note: following the Shin'yō Wakashū) and was called Asa-dono (Note: following the Kaki-mon'in Shū). In the ninth month of the second year of Kentoku (1371) she presented a branch of autumn leaves to the Kaki-mon'in. The Lady thanked her with a poem. In it she said that the time when her lord would soon move to the autumn palace could be known by the color of the maple leaves. The emperor answered on her behalf. In his poem he wished that the maple leaves on the peak of Hakoya Mountain might not fall but go on adding color through a thousand autumns. When the emperor took the throne, she became Empress (Note: following the Shin'yō Wakashū. Note also: the wording of the poems differs slightly from that given in the Kaki-mon'in Shū).

¶[Emperor Go-Komatsu]

Fujiwara-no-Sukeko

¶Emperor Go-Komatsu's consort, Fujiwara-no-Sukeko, was a daughter of Sukekuni, posthumous Sadaijin, Minister of the Left (Note: following the Kijosho, the Sonpi Bunmyaku, and the Rekidai Kōki). She became an adopted daughter of her uncle Sukenori, Gidō Sanshi, and entered the palace. She bore Emperor Shōkō and the Ryūjuji Prince. She was granted Second Rank. In the seventh month of the thirty-second year of Ōei (1425) she became Jun-sangū, Honorary Equal of the Three Empresses. On the same day she was presented with the title Kōhan-mon'in (Note: the Sonpi Bunmyaku, the Sakkaiki, and the Kijosho were consulted. For the Ryūjuji Prince, the Kōin Shōunroku is followed). In the tenth month of the fifth year of Eikyō (1433) she shaved her head. She was then fifty years old (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

Lady Fujiwara

¶The lady of the Fujiwara clan was of a family and court dress that were genuinely their own, and had followed the temporary palace at Yoshino. Later she entered the palace, became a court lady, and received favor. A woman of the rear palace slandered her, saying: "That woman has not yet forgotten the Southern Court; she always keeps a blade hidden and will surely do harm to the imperial house." The emperor, hating her, drove her out. It is said that in a commoner's house she bore the monk Sōjun (Note: following the Ikkyū Nenpu).

Consorts of the Northern Court

¶[Appendix] Consorts of the Northern Court

¶[Emperor Kōgon]

Imperial Princess Jushi

¶Emperor Kōgon's consort, Imperial Princess Jushi, was the eldest daughter of Emperor Hanazono (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku and the Kōkyū Ryakuden). While still young she was adopted by the Eiyō-mon'in. When the Mon'in died, she inherited her fief (Note: following the Entairyaku). Later she entered the palace and became Hi, Consort (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku, the Entairyaku, and the Shigō Zakki). She had no children. When the Retired Emperor Sukō and the Retired Emperor Go-Kōgon were born, by order they were treated as this consort's sons (Note: the Kōin Shōunroku and the Entairyaku were consulted). In the fourth year of Kenmu (1337) she was given the title Kian-mon'in (Note: following the Kijosho and the Kōkyū Ryakuden). In the second year of Enbun (1357) she left the world and became a nun, and built a hermitage at Hagiwara where she lived (Note: following the Entairyaku). In the fourth month of the following year she died (Note: following the Jōraku-ki).

Imperial Princess Kanshi

¶Imperial Princess Kanshi was the eldest daughter of Emperor Go-Daigo (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku and the Kōkyū Ryakuden). In the second year of Shōkei (1333) she entered the palace and became Hi, Consort (Note: following the Rekidai Kōki). In the second year of Kenmu (1335) she was given the title Senzei-mon'in (Note: following the Kōkyū Ryakuden and the Rekidai Kōki. Note also: the Kijosho says the third year). In the third year of Ryakuō (1340) she left the palace, entered Hōan-ji, and became a nun (Note: following the Rekidai Kōki. Note also: the Yūshokuki-shō says this took place in the second year). She was then twenty-six years old (Note: following the Kōkyū Ryakuden and the Nyoin Shōden).

Fujiwara-no-Shūshi

¶Fujiwara-no-Shūshi was a daughter of Kinhide, Naidaijin, Minister of the Interior (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Nyoin Shōden). At the accession of Emperor Kōgon, the daughter of Fujiwara-no-Hidehira, Udaijin, Minister of the Right, was first summoned into the palace, but she did not win his favor, and Shūshi was summoned in her place. She was called Sanjō-no-Tsubone, after her father's house name (Note: following the Masukagami). Having won favor, she bore the Retired Emperor Sukō (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku and the Nyoin Shōden). In the third year of Kenmu (1336) she became Naishi-no-suke, Handmaid. In the following year she was granted Junior Third Rank (Note: following the Nyoin Shōden and the Entairyaku). After that she bore the Retired Emperor Go-Kōgon (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku and the Nyoin Shōden). In the first year of Bunna (1352) she became Jun-sangū, Honorary Equal of the Three Empresses, and was given the title Yōroku-mon'in. In addition to her original fief, a further fief of five hundred households was specially given. In the eleventh month, because of illness, she shaved her head. Soon afterwards she died, at the age of forty-two (Note: following the Entairyaku).

Lady Fujiwara

¶The lady of the Fujiwara clan was a daughter of Kinkage, Gon-Dainagon. She served the Kian-mon'in, was called Ichijō-no-Tsubone, and was also called Nochi-no-Tai-no-Ontakata. She entered the palace and bore Imperial Prince Yoshihito (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku and the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

¶[Emperor Sukō]

Lady Fujiwara

¶Emperor Sukō's Nyōgo, Consort, of the Fujiwara clan, was a daughter of Kinkata, Daijō-daijin, Chancellor. At first she served the Kian-mon'in and was called Higashi-no-Ontakata (Note: following the Entairyaku Keizu). She entered the palace and became Nyōgo, and was called Anpukuden-no-Nyōgo. In the second year of Enbun (1357) she became a nun together with the Mon'in (Note: following the Entairyaku). She changed her name to Ryōkaku and continued to serve the Mon'in, and was called the Umezu Bikuni, the nun of Umezu (Note: following the Entairyaku Keizu).

Minamoto-no-Sukeko

¶The Naishi-no-suke, Handmaid, Minamoto-no-Sukeko was a daughter of Shigesuke, Gon-Dainagon (Note: the character for "Dai" is sometimes written "Chū"). She entered the palace and became Naishi-no-suke (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Chinyōki). She was called Azechi-no-Naishi-no-suke (Note: following the Chinyōki). She bore Imperial Prince Yoshihito (Yoshihito of the Sukō line; Sakae-hito) (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku and the Chinyōki). She was granted Junior Third Rank and was called Sugi-dono (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Kōin Shōunroku).

¶[Emperor Go-Kōgon]

Fujiwara-no-Chūshi

¶Emperor Go-Kōgon's consort, Fujiwara-no-Chūshi, was a daughter of Kanetsuna, posthumous Sadaijin, Minister of the Left (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Kijosho). She entered the palace and became Naishi-no-suke, and was called Chūnagon-no-Naishi-no-suke (Note: following the Gogumaiki). She bore the Retired Emperor Go-En'yū (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku and the Kijosho), as well as Imperial Prince Hironaga and Gyōnin Hōshinnō, Imperial Prince in Holy Orders (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku, the Shomonzeki-fu, and the Ninna-ji Goden). She was granted Junior Third Rank (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Ingō Jōbu Ruiki). When Emperor Go-Komatsu took the throne, she became Jun-sangū, Honorary Equal of the Three Empresses, and was given the title Sūken-mon'in (Note: following the Kijosho, the Gogumaiki, and the Ingō Jōbu Ruiki). In addition to her original fief, a further fief of five hundred households was specially given (Note: following the Ingō Jōbu Ruiki). In the fifth year of Ōei (1398) she died, at the age of ninety-three (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). The Mon'in lived at Umemachi, and so was known in the world as Umemachi-dono (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Gogumaiki).

Lady Tachibana

¶The Naishi, Handmaid, of the Tachibana clan was a daughter of Mochishige, of Junior Third Rank (Note: the Tachibana-shi Keizu and the Kugyō Bunin were consulted). She was called Shōnagon-no-Naishi (Note: following the Gogumaiki). She bore Myōshō Hōshinnō, Imperial Prince in Holy Orders (Note: following the separate record of the Gogumaiki. Note also: the Tendai Zasu-ki says that Hōki-dono-no-Tsubone bore Myōshō). When the Retired Emperor Go-Kōgon died, she cut her hair and became a nun (Note: following the Gogumaiki).

Uemon-no-Tsubone

¶Uemon-no-suke-no-Tsubone's family name is not known. She bore Ryōnin Hōshinnō and Kakuzō Hōshinnō, Imperial Princes in Holy Orders (Note: following the Gogumaiki).

Lady Fujiwara

¶The lady of the Fujiwara clan was a daughter of Chōkai, Daibu Hōshi of the Enman-in (Note: following the Go-Shinshin-in Kampaku-ki. For Chōkai, the Sonpi Bunmyaku is followed). She was called Sakyō-no-Daibu-no-Tsubone (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku, the Gogumaiki, and the Go-Shinshin-in Kampaku-ki) and also Hōki-dono-no-Tsubone (Note: following the Gogumaiki and the Tendai Zasu-ki). She bore Kakuei Hōshinnō and Imperial Prince Kyūson (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku. Note also: the Gogumaiki, the Go-Shinshin-in Kampaku-ki, and the Tendai Zasu-ki were consulted). When the Retired Emperor Go-Kōgon died, she became a nun (Note: following the Gogumaiki).

Fujiwara-no-Gonshi

¶A lady of the Fujiwara clan. In his later years the Retired Emperor Go-Kōgon summoned the daughter of Sukena, Gon-Dainagon, and favored her; as nurse to the Retired Emperor Go-En'yū she was granted Second Rank and called Nihon-no-Tsubone, the Lady of Second Rank. Relying on that favor, she committed many unlawful acts. She once had a secret liaison with Fujiwara-no-Kanekuni, a samurai of the Northern Guard, and petitioned that he be appointed Governor of Bizen. Kanekuni, relying on her influence, slighted and disdained his colleagues. The Retired Emperor Go-Kōgon gradually came to hate them, and withdrew her fief and gave it to another. Only a little more than ten days after the Retired Emperor Go-Kōgon died, Kanekuni was killed, and the Lady of Second Rank, too, left the palace and became a nun (Note: the Gogumaiki and the Go-Shinshin-in Kampaku-ki were consulted).

¶[Emperor Go-En'yū]

Fujiwara-no-Kōshi

¶Emperor Go-En'yū's consort, Fujiwara-no-Gonshi, was a daughter of Kintada, Naidaijin, Minister of the Interior (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Kijosho). In the fourth year of Ōan (1371) she entered the palace (Note: following the Gogumaiki). She bore Emperor Go-Komatsu (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku and the Kijosho) and one princess (Note: following the Gogumaiki). When Emperor Go-Komatsu took the throne, she became Jun-sangū, Honorary Equal of the Three Empresses, and was given the title Tsūyō-mon'in (Note: following the Kijosho and the Ingō Jōbu Ruiki). In the twelfth month of the fifth year of Bunmei (1473) she died, at the age of sixty-nine (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). After the Retired Emperor Go-En'yū abdicated he gradually became dissolute and violent, and his suspicion also grew extreme. When the Mon'in first gave birth to a princess, she had withdrawn to her family's residence, Kintada's house. Only a little more than ten days after the birth, the Retired Emperor suspected that she was having a secret affair with another man, and urgently had her called back to the palace. Soon he summoned her, but the Mon'in had not yet put on the dress proper to a wife and could not appear at once. The Retired Emperor was furious, burst into the room with a blade, and slashed at the Mon'in, wounding her. The Sūken-mon'in, fearing the disasters that might follow, plotted with Kintada, took wine to the Retired Emperor, and drank with him together with the emperor. When she saw that the Retired Emperor was drunk and knew nothing, she sent a man running to tell Kintada, who sent a palanquin to carry the Mon'in out, and in this way she escaped the danger. The Retired Emperor also suspected that an official he favored was having a secret liaison with Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and dismissed him. At that moment an envoy from Yoshimitsu happened to arrive; the Retired Emperor, hearing of it, was alarmed and afraid, and, thinking that Yoshimitsu bore a grudge against him, planned to have himself exiled to an island. He went into the Buddha hall to take his own life, but the Sūken-mon'in admonished him and stopped him (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Kijosho).

Fujiwara-no-Imako

¶Fujiwara-no-Konshi was a daughter of Sukeyasu, Gon-Dainagon. She entered the palace and received favor, was granted Junior First Rank, and became Honorary Mother of Emperor Go-Komatsu (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Kijosho). Later she married Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku) and lived at Kitayama (Note: following the Go-Shinshin-in Kampaku-ki). When Emperor Go-Komatsu took the throne, she became Jun-sangū, Honorary Equal of the Three Empresses, and was given the title Kitayama-in (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku, the Kijosho, and the Ingō Jōbu Ruiki).

¶The Naishi-no-suke, Handmaid, Fujiwara-no-Konshi (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku) was a daughter of Takakyō, Gon-Dainagon (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Gogumaiki). She was granted Junior Third Rank (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku). She was called Sochi-no-Naishi-no-suke (Note: following the Gogumaiki). She bore Dōchō Hōshinnō, Imperial Prince in Holy Orders (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku and the Sonpi Bunmyaku).