15-23) the Senhimegimi, eldest daughter
of Hidetada Ko[u] the second sho[u]gun, cut _short_ her beautiful hair
and assumed the name of the Tenju-in-Den (as nun). The hair was buried
here under an imposing monument; and later one of the ladies-in-waiting
of the princess--the Go-tsubone Iiguchi Hayao. (The name of the princess
Tsuruhime in _kana_ is probably a later and mistaken addition.) Thus
were the many adventures of the Takata Dono transferred to her equally
well known and beautiful elder sister. The Senhime, wife of Hideyori,
suffered and did quite enough herself for which to make answer.
Meanwhile the site of the Yoshida Goten in the Bancho[u] became more
than suspected. Jack-o-lanterns, the ghosts of the victims of the
_himegimi_, came forth from the old well to haunt and frighten
passers-by. Nor were subsequent attempts to use it encouraging. Thus the
ground lay idle and uncalled for, with no one to occupy it until the
grant of a large tract in Dosanbashi as site for the _yashiki_ of
Matsudaira Higo no Kami compelled removal of several of the _hatamoto_.
Among these were O[u]kubo Hikoroku and Aoyama Shu[u]zen.[14]

CHAPTER XIII

THE SEN-HIMEGIMI (Princess Sen)

The Sen-_himegimi_, eldest daughter of Hidetada the second Sho[u]gun,
figures little in our story; enough so, however, to necessitate the
telling of one of the not least striking episodes in a life full of
event. Married at the mature age of six years to the Udaijin Hideyori,
son of the Taiko[u] Hideyoshi and lord of O[u]saka castle, those
childish years were the happiest of that period. Clouds were rising
between Toyotomi and Tokugawa as the princess approached nubile years.
On her the Yodogimi, mother of the Udaijin, visited the more personal
effects of her resentment. For the growing girl it was a period of tears
and affliction. In truth she well knew the weight of her mother-in-law's
hand. So wretched was her life that there was some fear of her killing
herself. A powerful influence in screening her in these later years was
that of the famous Kimura Nagato no Kami. Shigenari and his wife Aoyagi
were the guides and friends of the _himegimi_ during this trying period;
her councillors to forestall cause of the Yodogimi's wrath. Moreover the
pleasant relations between the young husband and wife were an incentive
to bear a burden patiently, which time might remove. Nevertheless the
Yodogimi was inexorable. The night screens were set up in differe