expression, noun
legal wife of a high-ranking court official
Historical honorific term from the Heian period, referring specifically to the principal wife of a regent (sesshō or kampaku), imperial adviser, or Grand Council of State official. Not used in modern Japanese outside historical contexts.
北の政所は、摂関家の正妻を指す言葉だった。
Kita no Mandokoro was a term for the legal wife of a regent family.