MURASAKI CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE MENU SERIES

He discusses the structure and dating of the work, exploring the theory that what has reached us is a series of fragments of the original, and explains how the Heian Era saw an explosion of cultural output as the Japanese succeeded in absorbing Chinese influences to create their own style (there are parallels here to the work done in the Meiji Era based on Western influences). The diary itself is supplemented by a few documents from the time, providing alternative (duller) accounts of the same events, as well as Bowring’s excellent introduction (for once, I’d definitely advise reading it before the main text).

A short work of about sixty pages, the diary sees the writer describing some important events in court life at the start of the eleventh century while also casting a critical eye upon the people around her, providing the reader with a fascinating view of contemporary court life. The undisputed classic work of Japanese literature is Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji, and in The Diary of Lady Murasaki (translated and introduced by Richard Bowring, published by Penguin Classics) we are presented with a tantalising glimpse of the woman herself. As you might expect, it’s very much a man’s world, but our guide to life in the Heian Era is a woman – and one you may just have heard of… This time, we’re really getting into time travel, with our journey taking us back a good thousand years to stay a while at the Japanese imperial court.

Our previous Women in Translation Month post saw us take a trip into the (Spanish) past, but that’s nothing compared to today’s adventure.

Murasaki cape may court house menu