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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Shonagon enjoy seeing men carry to and fro as the Festival approached?
(a) Decorations for the palace.
(b) Loaves of bread.
(c) Rolls of material.
(d) Flowers for the ladies.

2. 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.

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

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

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

6. Who came out of the house to inquire whether or not "Lord So-and-so's" attendants had arrived yet in the section titled "Once When I Was Passing?"
(a) A cook.
(b) A young boy.
(c) A pretty kitchen-maid.
(d) The Empress.

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

8. 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?
(a) A parade.
(b) Geese passing overhead.
(c) An approaching storm.
(d) The moon.

9. What tree did people regard as the tree of the Divine Presence?
(a) Sakaki.
(b) Cherry.
(c) Oak.
(d) Cypress.

10. What was the weather like in the Seventh Month?
(a) Mild and warm.
(b) Cool and breezy.
(c) Stiflingly hot.
(d) Bitter cold.

11. What did Shonagon say gentlemen should always have lest she find them boring?
(a) Nice clothes.
(b) Quick tongues.
(c) Escorts.
(d) Money.

12. 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?
(a) Black.
(b) Wistaria.
(c) Cherry-colored.
(d) Golden yellow.

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

14. What was the right season to meet one's lover?
(a) Winter.
(b) Summer.
(c) Fall.
(d) Spring.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. During what festival did people decorate with irises?

2. What did Shonagon see someone spreading on the ground while traveling in her carriage one day?

3. Who brought a Chamberlain who belonged to the Imperial Guard a cup of wine when he brought a message to an Imperial consort?

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

5. What time of the day did Shonagan say was the most beautiful in the spring?

(see the answer keys)

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