A Tale of False Fortunes Read Online Free PDF

age compatible with that of the emperor, and Michinaga sought a model in the present empress’ rise to renown.
    The new empress had inherited her mother’s remarkably intelligent nature and was so accomplished—whether in poetry, calligraphy, koto, or lute—that even men who were thought to be very proficient did not surpass her. And yet she made no ostentatious display of her talents. Her engaging but graceful demeanor had an indescribable elegance about it, like combin-ing the scent of plum blossoms with the sight of the spring’s first cherry blossoms.
    When Teishi was made junior consort, the emperor at first thought he might be shy with an older woman. No sooner had he entered the bedchamber, though, than he was at her side making casual bedtime conversation about old tales and events.
    Her manners were different from the matronly, experienced bearing of his nurses, and her entire body was of slender build: smooth, supple, and indescribably charming. Her lithe move-ments, like the pliant bending of a willow twig, captivated the heart of the youth in a vaguely unsettling way.
    Ben’s and Tayû’s bosoms are ample, as if they had placed great bowls on their chests, but the Empress’ breasts are a cold roundness, like the buds of a white peony tinged with crimson. I delight in sleeping with my cheek in her bosom.
    When his majesty’s unabashed words were obligingly divulged to Michinaga by a lady-in-waiting, the thought sprang into his mind: surely the empress must be without equal.
    Retired emperor En’yû passed away in the second month of the following year, not long after having received a visit from his son, Emperor Ichijò, who had sought his counsel on govern-20 c A Tale of False Fortunes ment. The retired emperor was reassured by his son’s appearance, which had grown even more strikingly handsome since his Coming-of-Age Ceremony. Actually, En’yû was not of so advanced an age that he needed to have abdicated so soon in favor of his son, but the late chancellor (Kaneie) had been anxious to have his own grandchild, the crown prince, enthroned as soon as possible. En’yû relinquished the throne, feeling that circumstances militated against his continued reign. Perhaps, too, he wished to spend his remaining years at peace with the thought that he had shored up the crown prince’s future reign before retiring.
    As things were, the passing of the retired emperor could only bring greater prosperity to the new regent’s household. The regent’s father-in-law, Naritada, a lay priest, was elevated to second rank and was widely acclaimed as the “Novice of the Second Rank” or as senior second rank. Though he was advanced in years, his learning and abilities seemed to know no limits. He was strong-minded and difficult to deal with, and some had misgivings about him. Many were also disturbed to see the brothers of the regent’s wife all given appointments as governors of provinces, though they were hardly of a birth that would make them worthy of such distinctions. There was no dearth of criticisms: “What an awful state of affairs! One can only hope that no unrest comes from this.” Having written this far, one thing that occurs to me is that A Tale of Flowering Fortunes contains almost no praise of the appearance and talent of Empress Teishi, daughter of Regent Michitaka. Many such accounts included here are therefore taken from the text of A Tale of False Fortunes.
    My childhood impression of Empress Teishi as unusually beautiful and talented was based on descriptions in A Tale of False Fortunes, but later when I read The Pillow Book, I found passages throughout where Sei Shònagon wrote in adulation of her. The image of the empress based on my earlier reading thus began to shine even more resplendently.
    The following account appears in The Pillow Book: Chapter One c 21

    In front of the bamboo blinds of the Empress’ quarters, a group of nobles had spent the day making music with the flute and koto.