86. Rendezvous by moonlight

The courtier Taira no Tadanori (1144-1184) is the brother of Taira no Kyomori, who started the feud with the Minamoto. Tadanori died in the fight over Ichinotani castle, shortly before the Taira family was definitively destroyed in the sea battle of Dannoura (1185). Here he stands one moonlit night near his mistress’s chambers, supposedly signaling his presence with audible clicks of his fan, while waiting for her to get rid of a female visitor. They are reminded of a poem by Horikawa no Yorimune: "How clamorous are the voices of insects in the fields - despite my passion, I long for you in silence." (printed October 1890)