[1] After years of travelling, around 1304–07 she wrote a memoir, Towazugatari ("An Unasked-For Tale", commonly translated into English as The Confessions of Lady Nijō), the work for which she is known today, and which is also the only substantial source of information on her life.
[2] Lady Nijō was a member of the Koga family, a branch of the Minamoto clan descended from Emperor Murakami through Prince Tomohira, his seventh son.
[3] Lady Nijō's father and paternal grandfather held important positions at the imperial court, and many of her relatives and ancestors had high reputations for their literary abilities.
[5] It is unclear whether Nijō should be considered a formal wife (seisai) or a concubine (meshudo): there is evidence in the Confessions to support both interpretations.
She traveled to saсred and historical places, following the footsteps of the famous poet and priest, Saigyō,[8] returning to the capital regularly.
There are two English translations: Partners and their respective issue:[8] Lady Nijō appears as an important character in Act I of Caryl Churchill's play Top Girls.