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  • Published: 9 March 1999
  • ISBN: 9780140435764
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 144
  • RRP: $22.99

The Diary of Lady Murasaki




An intimate and revealing insight into the mind and heart of a Japanese lady-in-waiting.

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

  • Published: 9 March 1999
  • ISBN: 9780140435764
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 144
  • RRP: $22.99

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