Of Old Japan
would have to publish my letters broadcast, so how can I write to them my inmost heart?—thus my letters have inadvertently grown few. I had a feeling that association with some of the younger ladies who used to visit me before I went to Court could not continue. Some of them I had to refuse when they came, and in my home all these trifles have made me feel more deeply that I have gone into a world not intended for me. I write only to those from whom I can never part, to whom my heart prompts me to speak. O worthless heart, that feels love only for those with whom it daily associates! I long for Lady Dainagon with whom I spent every night before the Queen, when we told each other all our heart's secrets—is it also my worldly heart that longs for a companion other than Buddha?
Like two wild ducks
Floating with unrestful slumber,
Yet even those nights I would recall—
Feathers wet and cold—
But colder tears!
Lady Dainagon returned this answer:
Midnight sleep was broken
But no friend to brush away the cold tears!
I envy the Oshidori[1] which has ever its mate by its side.
Her handwriting is very elegant. She is a very true-hearted person.
A lady wrote me, "The Queen has seen the snow, and she regrets deeply that you are not here at Court." The Prime Minister's Lady wrote to me, "When I
- ↑ A special kind of wild duck called oshidori which is always seen in couples.
