御

spy working for the Edo shogunate; oniwaban

worry; care; consideration

to receive permission

to leave (with someone's permission); to retire

to refuse; to beg off doing

manager; steward; person next in rank to the chief retainer and in charge of general management and accounting in a samurai family (Edo period)

wife of a shogun or a highest-ranking nobleman

letter bearing the shogun's scarlet seal

seal stamp given to worshippers and visitors to shrines and temples

concubine of an emperor; female court attendant who serves in the emperor's bedchamber

customer; guest

crest (of a noble family)

a question from the emperor

imperial seal; privy seal

Abbreviation

very common way of tying a woman's kimono sash

Imperial treasures

miso soup

Used after an addressee's name in a formal letter

Dear

hard to control; unmanageable

poem or song written by the emperor

place where the sacred palanquin is lodged during a festival

kagura (esp. when performed at the imperial palace)

three secondary Tokugawa branch families (Tayasu, Shimizu, and Hitotsubashi)

boasting of one's hometown

country

Japan

light used as a religious offering

paper lantern (hung up near the door of performers and geishas)

Imperial reign