Diaries of Court Ladies
The Lieutenant-General, and First Secretary Yorisada, on his way home from the shrine at Isé[1] where he had gone as Imperial Messenger to offer nusa,[2] stopped at the gate [as he could not enter the house[3]] to inquire for Her Majesty. He was given some present, I did not see it.
The navel cord was cut by the Prime Minister's Lady. Lady Tachibana of the Third Rank gave the breast for the first time [ceremonial]. For the wet-nurse Daisaémon-no-Omoto was chosen, for she has been in the Court a long time and is very familiar with it; the daughter of Munetoki, courtier and Governor of Bitchu, and the nurse of Kurodo-no-Ben were also chosen as nurses.
The ceremony of bathing was performed at six o'clock in the evening. The bath was lighted [by torches]. The Queen's maid in white over green prepared the hot water. The stand for the bathtub was covered with white cloth.
Chikamitsu, Governor of Owari [Province], and Nakanobu, the Head Officer attached to the Queen, presented themselves before the misu.
- ↑ Imperial shrine at Isé: the oldest shrine, built 5 B.C., dedicated to the Heaven Shining Goddess, ancestor of the Imperial family. This shrine is rebuilt every twenty years on the same model. It is the most sacred spot in Japan, and all serious events pertaining to the Empire or Imperial Household are announced there to the Goddess-Ancestor by Imperial Messenger.
- ↑ Nusa: rolls of silk or paper offered by a worshipper.
- ↑ Because a birth in a house was defilement, while a messenger to or from a god was holy.
