Category Archives: Literature
Be Extremely Repetitive in Your Use of Vocabulary
I know I am! Heian literature requires a great deal of effort to translate from the original Japanese, and must be altered totally from its initial form. Why might that be, you ask? A common Heian literary conceit, which was … Continue reading
Filed under Literature, Shonagon, translation, Uncategorized
Make Strange Wagers with Your Boss
Though gambling is one of the remaining taboos in American culture, it was an every day amusement in Heian Japan. Betting was common, whether over competitive games such as Go, who could come up with the best poem, or every … Continue reading
Filed under gambling, Literature, nature, Pillow Book, Sadako, Shonagon
No Lady Reads Chinese!
It’s no secret that Heian era literature was dominated by women writers. From 900 – 1,000 A.D., the majority of the literary works we still read and enjoy today were written by women, whether Sei Shonagon, Murasaki Shikibu, Lady Sarashina, … Continue reading
Filed under Genji, Ladies, Literature, Murasaki Shikibu
