I just found the term "surplus imperial male progeny" hilarious. Finally got around to reading a full translation of the Sarashina Nikki by Sugawara no Takasue no Musume ("Lady Sarashina"). A huge Tale of Genji fan born the year it began circulating as a manuscript, she's an accomplished poet and writer in her own right (one work of fiction attributed to her, Hamamatsu Chunagon Monogatari, is practically a Tale of Genji AU fanfic). This particular endnote is about a mystery man she meets and exchanges poetry with. It's just like something out of the Tale of Genji, and they even make multiple references to the story in conversation. As you might imagine, Takasue no Musume is over the freaking moon at how awesome this is. Based on the man's comments, the scholar Fujiwara no Teika deduced centuries later that he must be the courtier Minamoto (Genji) no Sukemichi - in other words, an ACTUAL GENJI lmao. At the end of the encounter Takasue no Musume writes (paraphrased): "God I hope he never finds out who I am." The translator's endnote says this comment may seem odd, but I dunno. I think it's perfectly relatable. lol #taleofgenji #genjimonogatari #sarashinanikki #sarashinadiary #ladysarashina #literature #fandom #japaneseliterature #japanesehistory https://www.instagram.com/p/BszNxkjBXGv/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=15ekz61nh302f