Gossamer Years. Love, Passion and Marriage in Old Japan - The Intimate Diary of a Female Courtier.
Tokyo. Tuttle. 2022. [Reprint]. Stock ID #176918 "Gossamer Years is a remarkably frank diary written by an unnamed noblewoman in tenth-century Japan - the same period as Murasaki Shikibu's celebrated Tale of Genji. When referring to this item please quote stockid 176918.
Colour plates, black & white illustrations, 217pp, appendix. Paperback.
In her diary, the author describes her tempestuous and unhappy marriage and growing indignation at the many rival wives and mistresses taken by her husband, as was commonplace at the time. Too impetuous to play the role of a subsidiary wife, the author protests the marriage system in one of Japanese literature's earliest portrayals of the difficulties faced by women in a male-dominated society.
Skillfully translated by Edward Seidensticker, a preeminent scholar of Japanese literature, this book represents an extraordinary flowering of realistic expression in ancient Japan and an attempt, unique for its age, to treat the human condition with frankness and honesty." (Publisher's description).
Price: $22.99 AU