Long long time ago,........
there's a Mikado (Emperor).
He had many wives of different (high/ middle/ low) classes.
One of the wives was so loved by Mikado,
but hated by many other wives as well as by the lower class.
There were two reasons.
First, high class wives felt angry with the wife
because she was from lower class,
but loved by Mikado very much.
Second, low class wives were jealous of her
because she had special favor from Mikado,
even though she was in the same class as they were.
In every morning and evening assembly,
she made other wives angry.
Because she always belonged to Mikado.
And she was hated so much by the others,
she started to get sick easily,
and often went back to her own home.
But Mikado's love for her became deeper and deeper.
He didn't care what the other wives might think and say.
His love was so strong for her that it might be scandalous.
The men who were courtiers of nobility worked in the court.
And then, they heard about the gossip.
Citizens worried about that the
same things in the Tang Dynasty might happen in Japan.
They mentioned the precedent of "Yokihi", they criticised her.
She was so troubled, but she leaned on his deep love.
Her father (Dai-nagon) was already dead.
And her mother (first lady) was a real old-fashioned lady.
She raised her so that
she would not be inferior to the other aristocrats.
But, when something important happened,
she looked forlorn because she had no one to turn to.
Maybe there was a deep connection
between Mikado and her
So, they had a handsome baby who was
like something out of this world.
Mikado couldn't hardly wait to meet his son, Hikarugimi.
Mikado had Hikarugimi come to the palace
right away, and he saw the baby had a very lovely face.
The other wives nursed well the first born son,
Ichinomiko, because he was a chamberlain's grandchild
and he had a powerful guardian;he would certainly
become a crown prince. However Mikado was good to
Ichinomiko from a sense of duty. He loved Hikarugimi
very much, as if he were his personal treasure.
When she served from the beginning, she wasn't a lowly
person who had to take care of him.
Although she was a person of repute and her rank
was high, Mikado didn't let her away from his side.
For example, when they go to a concert or event of
deep nobility where there is no harm in their being on
good terms, Mikado always invited her.
One day, Mikado spent the night with her in her room
until the next morning.
Because of it, she was thought of as a lowly person.
But after Hikarugimi was born, Mikado determined
that he wouldn't make her take care of him for Hikarugimi.
So Kokiden-no-Nyogo suspected the reason Mikado didn't
make Ichinomiko become the Crown Prince
was because of Hikaru-gimi's birth.
Kokiden-no-nyogo was the first wife of Mikado and
they had daughters so he couldn't ignore her and he
couldn't help listening to her complaint, so Mikado
thought she was very annoying, but he thought
she was pitiful,too.
Mikado's affection for Koui was support for her.
But, abuses and fault finding against her made her sick.
She worried about what would happen in her son's future.
She was called "Kiritsubo-no-Koui".
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