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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What were the musicians singing at the rehearsal of the Special Festivals?
(a) Udo Beach.
(b) The Song of the Phoenix.
(c) Temple Path.
(d) Hymns.

2. What insect did Shonagon compare the flageolet to?
(a) Water beetle.
(b) Cicada.
(c) Cricket.
(d) Dragonfly.

3. In the section titled "In the Fifth Month" what kind of branch gave a fragrant scent when stuck in the carriage wheel?
(a) Sagebrush.
(b) Plum blossom.
(c) Cherry blossom.
(d) Cedar.

4. What did the women do as they ran to see the dancers' special performance at the Shrine that caused people to laugh at them?
(a) Tripped over their skirts.
(b) Called out their thanks to the dancers.
(c) Giggled loudly.
(d) Lifted their skirts over their heads.

5. To whom did the Emperor pay his respects when he returned from his visit to Yawata?
(a) Shonagon.
(b) The Shigei Sha.
(c) The Empress.
(d) The Empress Dowager.

6. What did Shonagon say was the most splendid of all qualities, especially in men?
(a) Sympathy.
(b) Charisma.
(c) Intelligence.
(d) Beauty.

7. What kind of lodging did Shonagon stay in in "Shortly after the Twentieth of the Ninth Month?"
(a) Simple.
(b) Elaborate.
(c) Beautiful.
(d) Ugly.

8. Which of these was not on Shonagon's list of things that should be large.
(a) Men's eyes.
(b) Priests.
(c) Yellow rose petals.
(d) Old cats.

9. What did the High Priestess travel in during the Return Procession from Kamo?
(a) Palanquin.
(b) Oxen cart.
(c) Wicker-work carriage.
(d) Palm leaf carriage.

10. Where did the wood for the batons for the new Chamberlains of the Sixth Rank come from?
(a) The south-east corner of the Empress's Office.
(b) An abandoned house.
(c) The woods surrounding the Palace.
(d) The Chamberlains cut it themselves.

11. What was in the parcel that Yukinari sent Shonagon in "One Day a Man from the Office of Grounds?"
(a) A robe.
(b) Square cakes.
(c) Colored paper.
(d) Flowers.

12. What did Shonagon say was a painful surprise on the morning after a fierce wind?
(a) A fallen tree.
(b) A disheveled garden.
(c) Broken branches.
(d) A knocked over fence.

13. What kind of flowers did the musicians wear in their head-dresses during the Festival at Kamo?
(a) Irises.
(b) Wistaria.
(c) Yellow roses.
(d) White roses.

14. How many times a day did the woman Shonagon saw coming does the hill to the Upper Shrine say she was making the pilgrimage?
(a) Eleven.
(b) Two.
(c) Five.
(d) Seven.

15. What did a man deliver to Shonagon that was from the Empress in "One Day, When Her Majesty Was Surrounded by Several Ladies?"
(a) Perfume.
(b) Flowers.
(c) A straw mat.
(d) A robe.

Short Answer Questions

1. What would make a player in a game of hidden rhymes look pleased with himself?

2. When Shonagon first went into waiting, what was the only time of day she wanted to go before the Empress?

3. What terminology did Shonagon and Tadanobu use to discuss men and women when they didn't want anyone else to know what they were talking about?

4. Where did the Empress live after the Chancellor's death?

5. What was stuck into the pile of snow that Emperor Murakami ordered?

(see the answer keys)

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