When I had been speaking with Lady Hyōe, in service to the Empress, and she had withdrawn extremely early, the following morning:
久かたの天のとながら見し月の飽かで入りにし空ぞこひしき
| Fisakata no ama no to nagara misi tuki no akade irinisi sora zo koFisiki |
The eternal Gates of Heaven these are not, yet Of the glimpsed moon I cannot have my fill; out of sight Within the skies—there shall all my longing be… |
What is the conventional meaning of the makura kotoba ひさかたの? I have seen it explained as either “venerable, everlasting” or “far distant.”
You can find an explanation here:
http://www.wakapoetry.net/pisakata-no/, but the simple answer is that its meaning remains unknown and interpretations are based on those of the characters usually used to write it.
This seems likely to be the same Hyōe who is mentioned in Senzaishū 961.
http://www.wakapoetry.net/szs-xvi-961/
Did she have a close relative in the Ministry of War (兵部省•ひやうぶしやう)? As a side note, Meredith McKinney’s translation of The Pillow Book gives her nickname as Kohyōe.
Yes, this seems likely. Hyōe 兵衛 were the palace guards, so her father was probably one of them.
‘Names’ for individuals shifted both during and after their lifetimes (and there was always the possibility of miscopyings), so it’s not surprising that the Pillow Book has one ‘name’ for her and the Senzaishū another.