5 moments

  1. Buddhist ceremony at Fujiwara no Naritoki’s palace

    · Palace of Fujiwara no Naritoki, Heian-kyō (Kyoto), Japan

    Buddhist ceremony at Fujiwara no Naritoki’s palace
    Wikimedia Commons · Public domain; faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional public-domain work of art (CC PDM 1.0) · file

    Before entering Empress Teishi’s service, Shōnagon attended a Buddhist ceremony at the palace of Fujiwara no Naritoki. This is one of the few securely dated recollections from her early adult life. The palace’s exact archaeological site is not established in the source; coordinates represent central Heian-kyō.

  2. White Horses procession at the Imperial Palace

    · Heian Palace, Heian-kyō (Kyoto), Japan

    White Horses procession at the Imperial Palace
    Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (released into the public domain by its author) · file

    Shōnagon recalled travelling by carriage to the Imperial Palace on the seventh day of the first month to watch the White Horses procession, an imperial New Year observance. The source dates the recollection approximately to 986; the seventh day is in the Japanese first month, not converted to a Gregorian date.

  3. Poetry exchange before Emperor Ichijō

    · Heian Palace, Heian-kyō (Kyoto), Japan

    Poetry exchange before Emperor Ichijō
    Wikimedia Commons · Public domain; faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional public-domain work of art (CC PDM 1.0) · file

    During a spring palace scene, Emperor Ichijō asked Shōnagon and other gentlewomen to write classical-poetry passages; Shōnagon mixed ink and submitted an adapted poem. Only the year is used because the source gives the season, not a Gregorian-calendar date.

  4. Cuckoo excursion toward Kamo

    · Kamo Shrine area, Heian-kyō (Kyoto), Japan

    Cuckoo excursion toward Kamo
    Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication · file

    Shōnagon joined Empress Teishi and other ladies on a carriage excursion from their palace quarters toward Kamo, undertaken in hopes of hearing a cuckoo. Arthur Waley’s footnote dates this fifth month to 995. The text does not identify which Kamo shrine or the bridge visited; coordinates are a representative point in the Kamo shrine area.

  5. Return to Empress Teishi at the Small Palace

    · Small Palace in the Second Ward, Heian-kyō (Kyoto), Japan

    Return to Empress Teishi at the Small Palace
    Wikimedia Commons · Public domain; faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional public-domain work of art (CC PDM 1.0) · file

    After Empress Teishi moved from court during her pregnancy, Shōnagon returned to her household at the Small Palace in the Second Ward and described entering the empress’s presence after a period of estrangement. The Small Palace’s exact site is not identified in the source; coordinates represent central Heian-kyō. The date is autumn 996, so year-level precision is retained.

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