[3] Prince Tametaka, the third Prince of the Emperor Rezrei who reigned 968-969. The Prince died on June 13, 1002. He had been Izumi Shikibu's lover.
[4] Tachibana: a kind of orange.
[5] The cuckoo sings when the tachibana is in flower. In this instance the "cuckoo" means the young Prince. Thus there is a suggestion here if he chooses to take it.
[6] The period of mourning was to end on June 13, 1003.
[7] The cuckoo sings with low note in early spring, but when April is passed his voice grows clear and loud. It is a favourite bird in Japan.
[8] The meaning of the poem is vague. Ayame may mean Iris sibirica—rain-stop, darkness—these are homonyms in Japanese. The fifth day of the fifth month was a festival day, and people adorned their houses with iris sibirica, so the last line might mean that she wanted to prepare for the festival. If we take the word ayame in the meaning of rain-stop, then we can understand the poem as follows: "It is the wet season now, and it is raining within my heart. To-night I am going to the temple to pray that the rainy season will be over (and to chase away the darkness from my soul). After that I wish you to come."
[9] Ukon-no-Zo, an officer in the Bodyguard. He seems to have been an attendant of the late Prince Tametaka, before he served the present Prince.
[10] Prime Minister Fujiwara-no-Michinaga, the most powerful man of the age. (See the Introduction and the Murasaki Shikibu diary.)
[11] In the Japanese Matsu, n.=pine-tree; Matsu, v.=to wait. This poem refers to a famous one: /$ If my heart grows faithless, and beat for another man, May waves pass over the hill of pines, where I pine for my beloved! $/
[12] For the Festival of the stars on the seventh day of the Seventh month see the notes on pages 23, 24 of the Sarashina Diary. On this evening it was customary to write letters or pay visits in memory of the heavenly lovers.