Both Teishi and her father were dead by the time Sei recorded the memory of these events; power had shifted to the new Regent, Michinaga. This is perhaps why Sei recalls these particular Ceremonies with notable passion and detail—they represent Teishi’s court at its height of splendor. Sei’s melancholy tone reflects how rapidly political fortunes could shift and suggests that such turmoil was always churning beneath the surface of court life, though Sei seldom alludes to it from her sheltered position as a gentlewoman.