Three women of the Heian court, writing a thousand years ago, keep their own records. The Sarashina diarist recalls a provincial girlhood spent longing for romances; Murasaki Shikibu, author of The Tale of Genji, describes ceremonies, rivalries and the gowns of her fellow attendants; Izumi Shikibu traces a love affair through exchanged poems. A calendar and chronology help the reader along.
An intimate window on court life in classical Japan and a natural companion to Genji. Download the free EPUB.