The Emperor's Woman

Control of the central government eventually passed into the hands of a single large family, the Fujiwara. Through marriage politics, senior Fujiwara officials held all the highest positions and controlled the emperor. They became the fathers-in-law, uncles, grandfathers, and cousins of ruling emperors. By encouraging the early abdication of emperors in order to replace them with more easily controlled children, they protected their power. Perhaps the most powerful man of the time was Fujiwara Michinaga, who ruled for many years, either as chancellor or as regent, being the father or grandfather of chancellors, empresses, and emperors. By 1028, he had died, but his power had passed to four of his sons

We know a great deal about life in the imperial palace. The court ladies of the time were avid writers and produced novels, diaries, and an abundance of poetry depicting their lives and those of the courtiers. Lady Murasaki’s Genji is the most important of these works. It describes the events in the life of an imperial prince who was also a famous lover. Then there are the diaries which deal with real events and real people at court and around the person of the emperor. Among these are Sei Shonagon’s sharp-tongued commentary, Lady Murasaki’s account of her service as lady-in-waiting to one of the young empresses, diaries of women like Izumi Shikibu, the Kagero Nikki, and the Sarashina Nikki. We learn from these not only about court observances, but also about the ma

With the administrative power almost exclusively in the hands of the Fujiwara family, whose daughters were usually empresses and consorts, emperors tried to rule briefly before resigning under pressure from their in-laws in favor of sons who were minor children and ascended the throne under the guardianship of a Fujiwara grandfather. Political uncertainties about the imperial succession could ensue when there were several claimants to the throne. Invariably, the choice of a crown prince was in the hands of his Fujiwara relatives but affected all the lives and careers of officials. Hence, in this novel, the seriousness of the alleged plot by Prince Atsuhira and the efforts of Minamoto Maseie to introduce his daughter Masako into the emperor’s bed.

Marriages for the upper classes were polygamous, that is, a husband could have several wives in addition to casual lovers. The wives differed in status, depending on their backgrounds and the birth of sons. A marriage could be dissolved on the husband’s word. But women of the eleventh century could own property. That fact and the influence of their fathers protected upper class women to some extent. Lady Kishi in the novel has considerable power even though her husband prefers others over her.

A commoner had rarely more than one wife, and she was usually a hardworking partner in the business or on the land. Poverty put women at great risk as families struggled to feed all their children. The Confucian ideals of obeying and honoring one’s parents forced them to work in near-slavery or to sell their bodies to support them.

The Willow Quarter mentioned in some Akitada novels has no solid historical sources. This is probably largely due to the fact that contemporary accounts were written by the upper classes who rarely referred to prostitution. But noblemen do speak of taking pleasure cruises to the brothel towns of the Yodo River, and one of the diaries mentions how the writer met a group of female entertainers while on the road to the capital. Female entertainers were not only talented performers of dance and song, but they were also available for sexual services. It stands to reason that the capital would have had prostitutes, and that they would have occupied a specific part of the city. For an account of the sex trade in early Japan, see Janet Goodwin’s Selling Songs and Smiles.

The references to bathhouses, blind masseurs, and various treatments of wounds and diseases rely to some extent on later sources, though an early treatise on medicine (Yasuyori Tamba’s Ishimpo) mentions acupuncture and moxa treatments and all sorts of odd herbal concoctions. In general, medical knowledge was rather primitive.

By the end of the Heian period, a guild or association system developed for trades. This included some of the outcast (eta) such as beggars and certain occupations thought to be unclean in terms of Shinto taboos (those who touch dead people and animals). Such brotherhoods usually existed under the protection of a temple and conducted themselves by their own rules.

The references to shinobi, the shadow warriors and foreru

Law enforcement at this time was in the hands of a police force (kebiishi) and city wardens. Wardens supervised each ward of the capital and kept the peace in their own area. The imperial police investigated serious crimes, arrested criminals, and jailed them in two city jails. They worked closely with judges who heard the evidence and pronounced sentence. Flogging was a part of the gathering of evidence. Occasionally, mediums were called in to speak for the victim. Punishment consisted of incarceration or exile to labor camps. Executions were rare because of Buddhist laws against taking lives. Periodically, emperors would grant freedom to all prisoners to appease the gods in times of disasters and epidemics. Ranking police officers were trained warriors, and the top administrators, like Superintendent Kobe, belonged to the aristocracy.

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Table of Contents

The Author

Pronunciation of Japanese Words

Characters

Snow

A Dangerous Conspiracy

Genba’s Sweetheart

A Strange Case of Suicide

Murder in the Willow Quarter

Scattered Blossoms

Tokuzo’s Brothel

The Trouble with Women

The Beggars

The Grieving Father

The Wisdom of Women

Tora and the Cook

Good News and Bad News

Saburo Dismissed

Genba Takes the Blame

Out of Work

The Grand Lady

A New Ally

Tora Investigates

An Answer of Sorts

The Mountain Villa

Panic

Akiko Investigates

The Hungry Mountain

Bashan Returns

The Novice

Spies

The Journal

The Bathhouse

The Horse

Loose Threads

Historical Note

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