noun
title for high-ranking court ladies
Archaic title used in the Heian period and earlier for women of the fifth rank or above serving at the imperial court. Not used in modern Japanese outside historical contexts.
『源氏物語』には、命婦と呼ばれる女官が登場する。
In The Tale of Genji, court ladies called myōbu appear.
The term is composed of 命 (myō, 'imperial command') and 婦 (bu, 'lady'), reflecting the official appointment by the emperor. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it was a formal title in the ritsuryō system.