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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Shonagon say that women at the palace did not do as other women did?
(a) Bow to men.
(b) Walk about with their hair unkempt.
(c) Serve tea.
(d) Hide their faces behind fans and screens.

2. What did the officials carry when they came to thank the Emperor for their new appointments?
(a) Baskets.
(b) Flowers.
(c) Batons.
(d) Scrolls.

3. What was the five-year-old boy that Shonagon saw while traveling her carriage one day holding?
(a) A puppy.
(b) Flowers.
(c) A bucket.
(d) A bow and stick.

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

5. What did Yukinari say he could not stand in a woman?
(a) Unkempt hair.
(b) Large feet.
(c) An unattractive voice.
(d) Stupidity.

6. What item did Shonagon send to Normitsu in response to his letter asking if he could tell Tadanobu where she was?
(a) Shell.
(b) Seaweed.
(c) Hollyhock.
(d) Twig.

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

8. In the section called "Hateful Things," what hateful thing happened when an admirer came for a clandestine visit?
(a) A dog barked.
(b) A maid caught the visitor.
(c) The admirer got lost.
(d) The door was locked.

9. In what month did the peach trees come into bloom?
(a) The Sixth Month.
(b) The Second Month.
(c) The Third Month.
(d) The Fourth Month.

10. 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 father.
(c) Her husband.
(d) Her original lover.

11. What did His Majesty ask Shonagon and the others to write down on a folded piece of paper following dinner?
(a) A passage from a book of philosophy.
(b) The first ancient poem that came to mind.
(c) Their lineage.
(d) Their names.

12. What does the name of the kotonashi shrub mean?
(a) High face.
(b) Nothing wrong.
(c) Shining leaves.
(d) Grass that endures.

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

14. What did Lord Akinobu say he had picked with his own hands?
(a) Seaweed.
(b) Cherries.
(c) Rice.
(d) Fern sprouts.

15. Who brought a Chamberlain who belonged to the Imperial Guard a cup of wine when he brought a message to an Imperial consort?
(a) The mother of the Imperial consort.
(b) A kitchen maid.
(c) The princess.
(d) The master of the house.

Short Answer Questions

1. What color robe did Korechika wear when he came to report to His Majesty while the ladies sat discussing the painting on a sliding screen?

2. What was the driver of an ox-carriage supposed to look like according to Shonagon?

3. What did Shonagon think small children and babies should look like?

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

5. What bird did Shonagon say she liked even though it did not belong to her country?

(see the answer keys)

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