The is a Japanese rekishi-monogatari (historical tale) written in the late Heian period. It is also called the or the . The author is uncertain,
Structure and style
The text is in ten volumes,
The work contains 140 waka and countless references to Japanese and Chinese literature.
Content
The work begins with a group of pilgrims visiting the temples of Yamato Province being approached by an elderly woman who, when asked if she lives in the region, says that she lived in the Capital for one hundred years and then in Yamashiro Province for another fifty, before moving to Yamato. The listeners are astonished at her great age, but she humbly replies by listing several others in China and Japan who had supposedly lived to great age, including her grandfather Yotsugi.
The rest of the work describes the old lady's recollections of the past. It is considered to be a direct continuation of the Ōkagami. The book is credited to Fujiwara no Tametsune. It is the second of the four mirror series and is some years following Ōkagami. While providing a glimpse into life in the royal court of the Heian period, it has been criticized for "ignoring [the] political reality" of the court.