Ochiba no miya (落葉の宮)
Ochiba no miya is a fictitious character in "The Tale of Genji."
She is the second princess (Onna Ninomiya) of Emperor Suzaku, and her mother is Ichijo no Miyasudokoro, who was Emperor Suzaku's koi (a lady in waiting in the court). Tono Chujo felt pity for his son Kashiwagi, who wanted to marry Onna Sannomiya, the younger sister of Onna Ninomiya by a different mother, so he pleaded with Emperor Suzaku to give his daughter in marriage to Kashiwagi.
She left the Imperial family to become Kashiwagi's lawful wife. ('Wakana' (Spring Shoots) vol.2)
However, her husband was still in love with Onna Sannomiya and ignored her. He made a poem in which he regarded her as a boring woman like a fallen leaf, comparing her with her younger sister, Onna Sannomiya (because of this, she was called 'Ochiba no miya' by the readers in the future).
After her husband, Kashiwagi, had a relationship with Onna Sannomiya, he died young.
Subsequently, his best friend, Yugiri, who was asked on Kashiwagi's deathbed to look after his family after he was gone, often visited her. ('Kashiwagi' (The Oak Tree))
Before long, Yugiri came to feel affection towards Onna Ninomiya, who was quiet and graceful. After the death of her mother, she was almost forced to move from a mountain villa in Ono, where she lived in seclusion, to the principal residence of Ichijo no Miya, and then Yugiri proposed marriage to her.
She refused him at first, but eventually she could not help marrying him. ('Yokobue' (The Flute) - 'Yugiri' (Evening Mist))
After Hikaru Genji passed away, she moved to northeast pavilion in Rokujo-in Palace, and adopted Roku no kimi, a daughter between Yugiri and his concubine, To no Naishinosuke. ('Nioumiya' (His Perfumed Highness))
In Uji jujo (The Ten Quires of Uji), Roku no kimi got married to Nioumiya, and Ochiba no miya and Yugiri were lovingly together, living a relatively happy life. ('Yadorigi' (The Ivy))
As stated before, the name of 'Ochiba no miya' was originally a disparaging name, so she is often called Onnna Ninomiya or Suzakuin Onna Ninomiya in order to distinguish her from the other Onna Ninomiya (the second princess).