The Diary of Lady Murasaki

Name: The Diary of Lady Murasaki
Brand: Penguin Random House NZ
SKU: 9780140435764
Price: 26.99 NZD
Availability: OutOfStock

By Murasaki Shikibu

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Summary

The Diary of Lady Murasaki provides a rare glimpse into the life of a lady-in-waiting at the Japanese Heian court. Through her observations, Murasaki Shikibu offers insights into the rituals and intrigues of court life, as well as her personal reflections on the people and events around her. The memoir is a blend of private introspection and detailed descriptions of the vibrant cultural atmosphere of the time.
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Format: Paperback / softback

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You might enjoy this book if you have an interest in Heian-era Japan and the intimate thoughts of one of its most renowned female authors. Offering beautifully detailed insights into court life and culture, it's a captivating glimpse into the world of a talented and pioneering woman.

The Diary of Lady Murasaki

This is the diary of Lady Murasaki, the Japanese prose writer. It describes the Heian court at its apogee and offers an intimate picture of the author's life as tutor and companion to the timid Empress Shoshi. It reveals the underside of imperial splendour from a female point of view.

Description

The Diary recorded by Lady Murasaki (c. 973 – c. 1020), author of The Tale of Genji, is an intimate picture of her life as tutor and companion to the young Empress Shoshi. Told in a series of vignettes, it offers revealing glimpses of the Japanese imperial palace: the auspicious birth of a prince, rivalries between the Emperor's consorts, with sharp criticism of Murasaki's fellow ladies-in-waiting and drunken courtiers, and telling remarks about the timid Empress and her powerful father, Michinaga.

The Diary of Lady Murasaki is also a work of great subtlety and intense personal reflection. Murasaki makes penetrating insights into human psychology, her pragmatic observations always balanced by an exquisite and pensive melancholy.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780140435764

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 March 1996

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Contributors:

Introduction by Richard Bowring
Notes by Richard Bowring
Translated by Richard Bowring

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 9.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 112g

Pages: 144

Collections

Biography & Memoir History & Military Murasaki Shikibu Non-Fiction Penguin Books Penguin Classics

About the Author

Lady Murasaki lived in Japan at the end of the ninth century. She was the author of The Tale of the Genji, which has been hailed as the first novel. Richard Bowring has also translated The Tale of the Genji and is editor of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Japan.

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