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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. During what festival did people decorate with irises?
(a) The Festival of the Fifth Month.
(b) The Festival of the Eighth Month.
(c) The Festival of the Third Month.
(d) The Festival of the First Month.

3. In "It Is So Stiflingly Hot," who did the woman in the house with the open lattice receive a letter from?
(a) The Emperor.
(b) Her original lover.
(c) Her father.
(d) Her husband.

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

5. Where did the Empress' residence lie in relationship to Seiryo Palace?
(a) East.
(b) West.
(c) North.
(d) South.

6. What kind of carriage was supposed to move slowly according to Shonagon?
(a) Wooden.
(b) Horse drawn.
(c) Palm-leaf.
(d) Wickerwork.

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

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

9. Who did most people consider as "unimportant as a piece of wood?"
(a) A gardener.
(b) A priest.
(c) A courtier.
(d) A fishwife.

10. What did Shonagon say a well-bred young man should never do when visiting a woman of lower rank?
(a) Let anyone see him.
(b) Kiss her.
(c) Call out her name.
(d) Give her gifts.

11. In "A Lover's Visit," what did Shonagon find irritating about servants who arrived with the lover?
(a) They were too quiet.
(b) They were poorly dressed.
(c) They left.
(d) They complained about waiting.

12. What was the driver of an ox-carriage supposed to look like according to Shonagon?
(a) Big.
(b) Thin.
(c) Short.
(d) Simple.

13. Who asked Narimasa to arrange a meeting with Shonagon about the small gate?
(a) Narimasa's brother.
(b) The Empress.
(c) The palace architect.
(d) The Emperor.

14. During what cool month of heavy showers and fierce winds did Shonagon like to nap?
(a) The Third Month.
(b) The Ninth Month.
(c) The Seventh Month.
(d) The Fifth Month.

15. What gate at the house of the Senior Steward was too small for the carriage Shonagon and the other ladies rode in?
(a) North.
(b) West.
(c) South.
(d) East.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the section titled "It Was During One of Her Majesty's Periods of Residence," what did the women go outside to see in the early morning?

2. What color was the lute Shonagon saw the Empress holding in the section called "A Group of Senior Courtiers?"

3. What was the right season to meet one's lover?

4. What did the officials carry when they came to thank the Emperor for their new appointments?

5. What item did Shonagon send to Normitsu in response to his letter asking if he could tell Tadanobu where she was?

(see the answer keys)

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