uneme

Ladies-in-waiting, uneme, at early court; dancers; Yoshimune's reforms

A History of the Japanese People From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era Dairoku Kikuchi 1886

Then, to disturb the man's sang-froid, Yuryaku caused the ladies-in-waiting (uneme) to dance, wearing only waist-cloths.

A History of the Japanese People From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era Dairoku Kikuchi 1886

Among four "palace ladies" (uneme) upon whom the Emperor Tenchi looked with favour, one, Yaka of Iga province, bore him a son known in his boyhood days as Prince Iga but afterwards called Prince Otomo.

A History of the Japanese People From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era Dairoku Kikuchi 1886

They were called makura-ko (pillow-child) and they seem to have been ultimately drafted into the ranks of the uneme

A History of the Japanese People From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era Dairoku Kikuchi 1886

In fact, orders were commonly issued to this or that province to furnish so many ladies-in-waiting (uneme) -- a term having deeper significance than it suggests -- and several instances are recorded of sovereigns summoning to court girls famed for beauty.

A History of the Japanese People From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era Dairoku Kikuchi 1886

(uneme), who must be good-looking, the daughter or sister of a district official of high rank, and must have one male and two female servants to attend on her -- these also being supported by the two homesteads.

A History of the Japanese People From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era Dairoku Kikuchi 1886