The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan

Format: Paperback Language: English ISBN: 1568360290 ISBN13: 9781568360294 Release Date: June 1994 Publisher: Kodansha Length: 352 Pages Weight: 0.87 lbs. Dimensions: 1.1" x 8.2" x 5.6" The World of the Shining Prince, Ivan Morris's widely acclaimed portrait of the ceremonious, inbred, melancholy world of ancient Japan, has been a standard in cultural studies for nearly thirty years. Using as a frame of reference The Tale of Genji and other major literary works from Japan's Heian period, Morris recreates an era when woman set the cultural tone. Focusing on the world of the emperor's court-the world so admired by Virginia Woolf and others-he describes the politics, society, religious life, and superstitions of the times, providing detailed portrayals of the daily life of courtiers, the cult of beauty they espoused, and the intricate relations between the men and women of this milieu.