ing surrounded by a pair of folding screens. The joints of the screens were curtained and the priests were appointed to cry Sutras there. On the south side there sat in many rows abbots and other dignitaries of the priesthood, who prayed and swore till their voices grew hoarse, as if they were bringing down the living form of Fudō.[1] The space between the north room and the dais [on which was the Queen’s bed] was very narrow, yet when I thought of it afterward I counted more than forty persons who were standing there. They could not move at all, and grew so dizzy that they could remember nothing. The people [i.e. the ladies-in-waiting and the maids of honor] now coming from home could not enter the main apartment at all. There was no place for their flowing robes and long sleeves. Certain older women wept secretly.
Eleventh day: At dawn the north sliding doors were taken away to throw the two rooms together. The Queen was moved toward the veranda. As there was no time to hang misu[2] she was surrounded by kichō. The Reverend Gyōchō and the other priests performed incantations. The Reverend Ingen recited the prayer written by the Lord Prime Minister on the previous day adding some grave vows of his own. His words were infinitely august and hopeful. The Prime Minister joining in the prayer, we felt more assured of a fortunate delivery. Yet there was still lingering anxiety which made us very sad, and many eyes were filled with tears. We said, “Tears are not suitable to this occasion,” but we could not help crying. They said that Her Majesty suffered more because the rooms were too crowded, so the people were ordered to the south and east rooms. After this there remained in the royal apartment only the more important personages. … The Prime Minister’s son, Lieutenant General Saishō, Major General Masamichi of the Fourth Rank, not to speak of Lieutenant General Tsunefusa, of the Left Bodyguard, and Miya no Tayu, who had not known Her Majesty familiarly, all looked over her screen for some time. They showed eyes swollen up with weeping [over her
