JULY 9, 2001
(They say probably) Masukagami was written between 1338-1376.
Masukagami that is historical tale attributed to Yoshimoto Nijo( 1320-1388)
starts with the birth of Emperor Gotoba in 1180.
It traces 154 years of court history through the reigns of 15 emperors.
The narrator reminiscing about the past in nostalgic tones.
story and comment:
When Iehira Konoe(-1324) chief adviser to the Emperor was young, he married and had his child.
When he became middle aged guy, he made love with only boys like Buddhist priest did.
He discarded after they grew up, so he practiced lots of things.
With wonder he never dismissed Yorimoto governer of Oki as his sexual partner after the boy grew up.
When the aristocrat got ill, he became a Buddhist monk with his hair extremely short.
The boy also became a Buddhist monk and always took care of his lover Iehira Konoe.
The death came near. As soon as
the old man of late years said to the boy next to him" I wish I went with you to the next world." that he died.
Before long the boy also became ill. After all he caused terrible coma and passed away saying "
I'm coming to your place, I'm coming!"
They say the people were scared that soul of the old man invite the boy to heaven. This is one of the evidence that adult- adult male homosexuality exsited before Meiji era.
They are just like wife and husband.
[1]
Masukagami - encyclopedia article from Britannica.com
[2]
Nijo Yoshimoto - encyclopedia article from Britannica.com
[3]
"A Brief History of Time: Revisited" by S. Yumiko Hulvey:
Fall Meeting of the Southern Japan Seminar "A Brief History of Time: Revisited" by S. Yumiko Hulvey Fall Meeting of the Southern Japan Seminar Panama City Beach, FL September 23-24, 2000 In 1927,
Ikeda Kikan set the tone for decades of subsequent research on Ben no Naishi Nikki
[4]Classic text in JapaneseMasukagami Chapter 13