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ssss1 Goddess of Beauty.

ssss1 A poem by Po Chü-i pointing out the advantages of marrying a poor wife.

ssss1 There is a reference to an old poem which says: ‘I know that to-night my lover will come to me. The spider’s antics prove it clearly’ Omens were drawn from the behaviour of spiders. There is also a pun on hiru ‘day’ and hiru ‘garlic,’ so that an ordinary person would require a few moments’ reflection before understanding the poem.

ssss1 The irises used for the Tango festival (5th day of 5th month) had to have nine flowers growing on a root.

ssss1 The ‘Lord of the Centre,’ i.e. the planet Saturn.

ssss1 I.e. people with whom one can be quite at ease. It was usual to unharness one’s bulls at the gate.

ssss1 Ki no Kami’s step-mother.

ssss1 We learn later that Genji courted this lady in vain from his seventeenth year onward. Though she has never been mentioned before, Murasaki speaks of her as though the reader already knew all about her. This device is also employed by Marcel Proust.