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

Ivan Morris's definitive and widely acclaimed portrait of the ceremonious and melancholy world of ancient Japan.

Using The Tale of Genji and other major literary works from Japan's Heian period as a frame of reference, The World of the Shining Prince recreates an era when women set the cultural tone. Focusing on the world of the emperor's court--a world deeply admired by Virginia Woolf, among others--renowned scholar of Japanese history and literature Ivan Morris explores the politics, society, religious life, and superstitions of the period.

Offering readers detailed portrayals of the daily lives of courtiers, the cult of beauty they espoused, and the intricate relations between the men and women of the age, The World of the Shining Prince has been a cornerstone text on ancient Japan for half a century.

Author: Ivan Morris
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 05/21/2013
Pages: 368
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.64lbs
Size: 7.73h x 5.51w x 0.80d
ISBN13: 9780345803900
ISBN10: 0345803906
BISAC Categories:
- History | Asia | Japan
- Literary Criticism | Asian | Japanese
- History | Social History

About the Author
Ivan Morris studied Japanese language and culture at Harvard University while serving in the Intelligence Section of the U.S. Navy Reserves. After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of London in 1951, he worked for the Far East Section of the BBC as well as for the Japan and Pacific departments of the British Foreign Office. He lived in Tokyo for several years, writing, lecturing, and teaching. In 1960 he joined what would later be renamed the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University, where he served as department chair. He was elected a Fellow of St. Anthony's College at Oxford in 1966. Morris published numerous books on Japanese history, literature, and politics and produced distinguished translations of classical and contemporary Japanese works. He died in 1976.