: The Kagero Diary (Michigan Monograph Series in Japanese Studies) (): Sonja Arntzen: Books. At the outset of the Kagero Nikki, Michitsuna no Haha states her purpose in writing her journal. I have included the McCullough translation of the opening. The Kagero¯ Diary commands our attention as the first extant work of that rich and brilliant tradition. The author, known to posterity as Michitsuna’s Mother.
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And how complicated life was in Japan back then. Browse all BookRags Study Guides.
The Kagero Diary: A Woman’s Autobiographical Text from Tenth-century… Summary & Study Guide
She demands the impossible, he protests. She would just as soon have declined the honor.
The foreword is very dry, technical literary information, that does not elucidate the text enough for someone not familiar with the period and the writing. A portrait of clinical depression and passive aggressive marital tactics in Heian Japan. Books by Michitsuna no Haha. They go on pilgrimages. The female author expresses her feeling so deeply, that for me I began to feel for her every time Fujiwara Kaneie referred to throughout as “the Prince” fails to keep his promise in meeting with her and their young son.
This is mostly due to the fact, that I lack knowledge of the diarh of the time, of courting, marriage etc, so some things were never entirely clear. It is not native to the riary. She deserved a better life than she had–she deserved that her name be remembered–but I’m diafy that what we have was preserved.
The Kagero Diary
Jul 25, B. A pilgrimage means, first of all, travel, a change of scene. Mar 04, J. Her caring nature is underscored in her desire to adopt the young girl who is the illegitimate child of her roving husband.
The Gossamer Years: The Diary of a Noblewoman of Heian Japan
She herself belonged to a lesser branch of the same Fujiwara clan. At the same time, I wonder if that’s because footnotes in Sarashina said that originally the diary wasn’t put together in the right order causing confusion among scholars yet still seems to have many diady lacuna.
Rather Gossamer Years is fascinating for its honesty about human nature, showing how weak humans can be in the face of certain challenges, and for what it shows us about a culture long gone. The Gossamer YearsCharles E.
It was all extremely sad, I thought, and when someone as distant as I from the event was so deeply affected there can hardly have been a dry sleeve in the kgaero.
Ok, so I’ve finished another Japanese I-novel. Not as amusing as The Pillow Book, but not bad in any case, it’s worth reading.
Kagerō Nikki – Wikipedia
The diary starts with her future husband Fujiwara Kaneie courting her and encompasses the years to One reason might be that the book is indead just the diary and mainly concerns private problems.
This was ok, but not great. But the author’s writings reveal that her husband’s pursuit of love, religious ceremony, and civil advancement meant that they spent almost no time kagsro. Surprisingly, the woman feels empathy for the first wife and sends her kaegro messages, expressing her belief that Fujiwara is abusing both of them.
According to her diary, the Mother of Michitsuna devoted her life to her children, and Michitsuna later was able to attain the position of Major Counselor.
The author, who we do not know but have an inkling of who she may be, is living a sad life. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. But by the end I genuinely wanted to know what would happen with her son’s marriage and her daughter’s life as well.
In fact, I have had this paperback copy since some years ago, I recall I tried to read a few pages and gave up then because I thought it was not interesting and beyond me.
When I verify the Appendix section, I can find only 7 illustrations there. Polygamy among the aristocracy was the norm. Finally, some of the reviews on here say that the footnotes there are many make the book tedious.
Historically this is of great interest and significance as it was originally a personal diary written for maybe her daughter to read. Mar 19, Patricia rated it it was amazing Shelves: I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been to translate this diary, since so much from the Heian period is unknown, compared to other periods in Japan.
The one thing which will stay with me about this book is the emotion within it.