This week on the podcast, we’re exploring the life of a woman whose story would normally be confined to the sidelines: an imperial concubine in the early 1600s by the name of Nakanoin Nakako? Who was this young woman and how did she become a part of the emperor’s household?
Sources
Rowley, G.G. An Imperial Concubine’s Tale: Scandal, Shipwreck, and Salvation in 17th Century Japan.
Caddeau, Patrick, Lewis Cook, Wiebke Denecke, Michael Emmerich, Michael Jamentz, Christina Laffin, James McMullen, et al. Reading The Tale of Genji: Sources from the First Millennium. Edited by Thomas Harper and Haruo Shirane.
Images
Hosokawa Yusai, who sponsored and protected Nakanoin Michikatsu during his exile.This is a print edition of the Tale of Ise, a classic work of Japanese literature, from 1608–this particular edition was assembled under Nakanoin Michikatsu’s supervision, giving you some idea of how authoritative he was as a literary scholar. From the University of Illinois Library.Tanabe Castle (now sometimes called Maizuru castle), where Nakanoin Nakako was born. I have not been, but I’ve heard there’s a lovely museum!All three volumes of a modern version of The River Min Enters Chu. Gives you some idea of why it took 10 years!A replica of the Kyoto Imperial Palace (north is to the left).The Otsunegoten, the building which housed the imperial household, where Nakanoin Nakako would have waited upon Emperor Go-Yozei.
