Mysterious 'Lady of the Wardrobe'

[Jos Vos]

Dear All,

I am currently making my way through 『とはずがたり』, the early 14th-century 'Confessions of Lady Nijō'.

When the narrator finds out - in the First Book - that Emperor Go-Fukakusa has got her pregnant (a discovery she makes in the autumn of 1272), she expresses her fear that she might die in labour, just like 'Lady Mikushige' (御匣殿), who had died in the sixth month of that year.

Now the text edition I'm using (SNKBZ Vol. 47, edited by Jun Kubota) identifies 'Lady Mikushige' (in a headnote on p. 214 of the text) as Fujiwara Fusako (藤原（三条）房子), the mother of Prince Hisaaki (久明親王), who would go on to serve as Kamakura shōgun from 1289 to 1308.

The only problem is that Prince Hisaaki was born in 1276!

How can this anomaly be explained? Was lady Nijō confused about the date of Mikushige's death when she finally got te write her memoirs (which she seems to have done around 1310)?

If so, neither Jun Kubota's text edition, nor the Shin Nihon Koten Shūsei text (which dates from 1978), makes any mention of the author's 'mistake', which seems unusual, as normally speaking 古典　editors are very particular about such matters.

Can anyone throw light on this matter? I would be most grateful...

Best wishes,

Jos

P.S. Wikipedia, for one, gives the impression that Fujiwara Fusako even had at least two children after Prince Hisaaki:

• 宮人：藤原（三条）房子（二位局） - 三条公親女
• 第五皇子：行覚法親王（1274年 - 1293年） - 円満院
• 第七皇子：久明親王（1276年 - 1328年） - 鎌倉幕府第8代将軍
• 第九皇子：増覚法親王
• 第六皇女：永子内親王（章善門院、? - 1338年）

(Source: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BE%8C%E6%B7%B1%E8%8D%89%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87)

[Leonardo Wolfe]

Dear Jos,

Is it not the case that Lady Mikushige and Fujiwara Fusako share the same father, 三条公親, rather than being the same person? They are at least listed separately on the linked Wikipedia page.

Apologies that I can't be of more assistance.

Kind regards,
Leonardo Wolfe

BSc (Hons) (SOAS) - International Management (Japan & Korea)
MA Student (SOAS) - Buddhist Studies

[萬井 良大]

Dear Jos,

It appears that the two individuals referred to as "Mikushige-dono" are not the same person. "Mikushige-dono" is the name of an administrative office, which could have existed within various aristocratic households or institutions. Accordingly, different individuals could have held the title "Mikushige-dono." The aunt of Gofukakusa–Nijō is called “Shikikenmon’in Mikushige,” suggesting that she either belonged to the household administration of Shikikenmon’in or served as the head of its Mikushige-dono office.

As for the reference on page 213 of the Nihon Koten Bungaku Zenshū, it is reasonable to interpret this Mikushige-dono as Sanjō Bōshi (Fusako?), who was the head of the Mikushige-dono, responsible for managing the emperor’s garments. This Mikushige-dono functioned under the Bureau of the Kura-no-ryō (内蔵寮). This interpretation is supported by the fact that Sanjō no Fusako held this title and rode in the same carriage with Ōmiya-in and Higashi Nijō-in.

However, the Mikushige-dono mentioned on page 222 is likely a different person. If it indicates Sanjō Bōshi, the use of the verb “産す“ without honorific expressions would not be appropriate. Respectful language 尊敬語 would be used for the subject of the action, Sanjō Bōshi. More importantly, it would have been unthinkable for humble expressions 謙譲語 —used to show respect toward the object—not to appear, since the object of the action was the Emperor’s child.

Additionally, the annotation on that page said that in the base text, the phrase appears as “御くらけ殿,” with a side note indicating that the character “ら” should alternatively be “し.” This raises further doubts as to whether the intended reading is actually “Mikurake-dono.”

I hope this information proves helpful.

Best regards,

Yoshihiro Man'i

On 2025/07/11 20:08, Leonardo Wolfe wrote:
> Dear Jos,
>

> Is it not the case that Lady Mikushige and Fujiwara Fusako share the same father, 三条公親 <https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E6%9D%A1%E5%85%AC%E8%A6%AA>, rather than being the same person? They are at least listed separately on the linked Wikipedia page.

>
> Apologies that I can't be of more assistance.
>
> Kind regards,
> Leonardo Wolfe
>
> BSc (Hons) (SOAS) - International Management (Japan & Korea)
> MA Student (SOAS) - Buddhist Studies
> On Thursday, 10 July 2025 at 20:15:55 UTC+1 Jos Vos wrote:
>
> Dear All,
>
> I am currently making my way through 『とはずがたり』, the early 14th-century 'Confessions of Lady Nijō'.

> When the narrator finds out - in the First Book - that Emperor Go-Fukakusa has got her pregnant (a discovery she makes in the autumn of *1272*), she expresses her fear that she might die in labour, just like 'Lady Mikushige' (御匣殿), who had died in the sixth month of that year.

> Now the text edition I'm using (SNKBZ Vol. 47, edited by Jun Kubota) identifies 'Lady Mikushige' (in a headnote on p. 214 of the text) as Fujiwara Fusako (藤原（三条）房子), the mother of Prince Hisaaki (久明親王), who would go on to serve as Kamakura shōgun from 1289 to 1308.

> The only problem is that Prince Hisaaki was born in *1276*!

> How can this anomaly be explained? Was lady Nijō confused about the date of Mikushige's death when she finally got te write her memoirs (which she seems to have done around 1310)?

> If so, neither Jun Kubota's text edition, nor the /Shin Nihon Koten Shūsei /text (which dates from 1978), makes any mention of the author's 'mistake', which seems unusual, as normally speaking 古典　editors are very particular about such matters.

>
> Can anyone throw light on this matter? I would be most grateful...
>
> Best wishes,
> Jos
>

> P.S. Wikipedia, for one, gives the impression that Fujiwara Fusako even had at least two children /after /Prince Hisaaki:
>
> * 宮人：藤原（三条）房子（二位局） - 三条公親 <https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E6%9D%A1%E5%85%AC%E8%A6%AA>女
> o 第五皇子：行覚法親王 <https://ja.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E8%A1%8C%E8%A6%9A%E6%B3%95%E8%A6%AA%E7%8E%8B&action=edit&redlink=1>（1274年 - 1293年） - 円満院 <https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%86%86%E6%BA%80%E9%99%A2>
> o 第七皇子：久明親王 <https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B9%85%E6%98%8E%E8%A6%AA%E7%8E%8B>（1276年 - 1328年） - 鎌倉幕府 <https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%8E%8C%E5%80%89%E5%B9%95%E5%BA%9C>第8代将軍 <https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BE%81%E5%A4%B7%E5%A4%A7%E5%B0%86%E8%BB%8D>
> o 第九皇子：増覚法親王
> o
> 第六皇女：永子内親王 <https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B0%B8%E5%AD%90%E5%86%85%E8%A6%AA%E7%8E%8B>（章善門院、? - 1338年）
>
> (Source: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BE%8C%E6%B7%B1%E8%8D%89%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87 <https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BE%8C%E6%B7%B1%E8%8D%89%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87>)
>
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[Jos Vos]

Dear Man'i sensei,

That is extremely useful information! It will ​help me to adjust my translation (into Dutch) and insert an explanatory note where required. I cannot thank you enough.

With kind regards,

Jos

---

From: pm...@googlegroups.com <pm...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of 萬井 良大 <ihso...@gmail.com>
Sent: 12 July 2025 02:04
To: pm...@googlegroups.com <pm...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [PMJS] Re: Mysterious 'Lady of the Wardrobe'

 

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