Note 56 — NOTES, AUTHORITIES, AND ILLUSTRATIONS
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Footnote 56:
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Chiū-jō-himé was the first Japanese nun, and the only woman who is commemorated by an idol. "She extracted the fibres of the lotus root, and wove them with silk to make tapestry for altars." Fuso Mimi Bukuro, p. 128. Her romantic and marvellous story is given in S. and H., p. 397. "The practice of giving ranks to women was commenced by Jito Tennō (an empress, 690-705)." Many women shaved their heads and became nuns "on becoming widows, as well as on being forsaken by, or after leaving their husbands. Others were orphans." One of the most famous nuns (on account of her rank) was the Nii no Ama, widow of Kiyomori and grandmother of the Emperor Antoku, who were both drowned near Shimono-séki, in the great naval battle of 1185 A.D. Adams's History of Japan, Vol. I., p. 37; M.E., p. 137.