北きたの政所まんどころ

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.

• 北きたの政所まんどころは、摂せっ関かん家けの正せい妻さいを指さす言こと葉ばだった。

  Kita no Mandokoro was a term for the legal wife of a regent family.