Japanese classics off the beaten path
Discover hidden gems of Japanese literature with our curated list of classics off the beaten path—from martial arts tales and samurai philosophy to Sei Shōnagon's Pillow Book and timeless fiction.
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The Pillow Book of Sei Sh?nagon
by Sei Shōnagon
One of the great classics of Japanese literature, "The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon" is by far our most detailed source of factual material on life in eleventh-century Japan at the height of Heian culture.
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The Gossamer Years
Kagero Nikki, translated here as The Gossamer Years, belongs to the same period as the celebrated Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikuibu. This remarkably frank autobiographical diary and personal confession attempts to describe a difficult relationship as it reveals two tempestuous decades of the author's unhappy marriage and her growing indignation at rival wives and mistresses. Too impetuous to be satisfied as a subsidiary wife, this beautiful (and unnamed) noblewoman of the Heian dynasty protests the marriage system of her time in one of Japanese literature's earliest attempts to portray difficult elements of the predominant social hierarchy. A classic work of early Japanese prose, The Gossamer Years is an important example of the development of Heian literature, which, at its best, represents an extraordinary flowering of realistic expression, an attempt, unique for its age, to treat the human condition with frankness and honesty. A timeless and intimate glimpse into the culture of ancient Japan, this translation by Edward Seidensticker paints a revealing picture of married life in the Heian period.
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Code of the Samurai
by Thomas Cleary
A powerful contemporary translation of the classic treatise of the Way of the Warrior! Code of the Samurai is a four-hundred-year-old explication of the rules and expectations embodied in Bushido, the Japanese way of the warrior. Bushido has played a major role in shaping the behavior of modern Japanese government, corporations, society, and individuals, as well as in shaping the modern martial arts within Japan and internationally. The Japanese original of this book, Bushido Shoshinshu, has been one of the primary sources on the tenets of Bushido, a way of thought that remains fascinating and relevant to the modern world, East and West. With a clear, conversational narrative by Thomas Cleary, one of the foremost translators of the wisdom of Asia, and powerfully evocative line drawings by master illustrator Oscar Ratti, this book is indispensable to the corporate executive, student of the Asian Culture, and martial artist.
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The Demon's Sermon on the Martial Arts and Other Tales
by Chozan Niwa
Chozanshi was a swordsman with a deep understanding of Taoism, Buddhism,onfucianism and Shinto. "The Demon's Sermon" is a masterful syncreticreatment of these philosophies and religions, bringing their centraleanings to bear on the essence of the martial arts. The demon delivering theermon is the long-nosed half-man, half-bird Tengu, a terrifying but notecessarily malevolent figure who inhabits the recesses of Mount Kurama.pening this volume is a selection of short, humorous tales from Chozanshi's "he Hayseed Taoist" ("Inaka Soshi"). The stories are lessons aboutpontaneity and non-attachment, and prime the reader philosophically for 'Theemon'. The final section is a translation of "The Mysterious Technique ofhe Cat" ("Neko no Myojutsu"), also from "The Hayseed Taoist" and araditional favourite of the martial artists of Japan. The section summariseshe entire work and adroitly illustrates Lao Tzu's dictum that "The mastercts, relying on nothing."
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Kokoro
by Bishop of Hippo Soseki
Haunted by tragic secrets, Sensei slowly opens up to his young disciple, confessing indiscretions from his own student days that have left him reeling with guilt.