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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What was painted on the sliding screen in the back of the hall at Seiryo Palace?
(a) Plum blossoms.
(b) Cherry trees.
(c) Stormy sea.
(d) Dragons.

2. In the section titled "I Was Standing in a Corridor," what were the servants carrying?
(a) Blankets.
(b) Attractively wrapped bundles and bags.
(c) Shoes.
(d) Baskets of fruit.

3. What tree did pilgrims returning from Mitake often bring back branches of?
(a) Cherry.
(b) Orange.
(c) Sakaki.
(d) Cypress.

4. What was rare in a servant according to the section titled "Rare Things?"
(a) One who was cruel.
(b) One who was well-dressed.
(c) One who was pleasant to his master.
(d) One who was intelligent.

5. What did stout men strike Shonagon as being?
(a) Sloppy-looking.
(b) Lazy.
(c) Dumb-looking.
(d) Sleepy-looking.

6. What bird did Shonagon say she liked even though it did not belong to her country?
(a) Mockingbird.
(b) Lark.
(c) Parrot.
(d) Cuckoo.

7. Which worm was said to have been begotten by a demon?
(a) Inch worm.
(b) Earth worm.
(c) Basket worm.
(d) Silk worm.

8. What was painted on the paper-door of Lord Akinobu's house?
(a) Horses.
(b) Birds.
(c) Hell.
(d) The Palace.

9. What was Yukinari's title?
(a) Emperor.
(b) Middle Counsellor.
(c) Controller First Secretary.
(d) Chamberlain.

10. Where did the women plan to go to hear a hototogisu sing during the Abstinence of the Fifth Month?
(a) A field.
(b) An old mill.
(c) A cherry orchard.
(d) A bridge.

11. Which of the people associated with ox carts were to be dressed well?
(a) Drivers.
(b) Stable hands.
(c) Attendants.
(d) Paiges.

12. What did Yukinari tell Shonagon he was saying to the woman she saw him speaking with near the garden fence?
(a) He was urging her to marry him.
(b) He was telling her to meet him later.
(c) He was telling her he loved her.
(d) He was telling her not to leave.

13. What color was the lute Shonagon saw the Empress holding in the section called "A Group of Senior Courtiers?"
(a) Red.
(b) Black.
(c) Silver.
(d) Brown.

14. What was hung from the pillars of the Empress' palace during the Festival of the Fifth Month?
(a) Herbal balls.
(b) Pear blossoms.
(c) Cherry blossoms.
(d) Chrysanthemums.

15. What did the pictures hung for the Perpetual Readings depict?
(a) Birds.
(b) Cherry blossoms.
(c) The Buddha.
(d) Bodai Temple.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did the Empress' residence lie in relationship to Seiryo Palace?

2. What did Lord Akinobu say he had picked with his own hands?

3. What color of under-robe was depressing in the Eighth Month?

4. What kind of bird was said to make its nest in the paulownia tree?

5. In what month did the peach trees come into bloom?

(see the answer keys)

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