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8797999's review against another edition
4.0
A very interesting and enjoyable snapshot of life at court in a Japanese Imperial Palace.
mrswythe89's review against another edition
3.0
Unsurprisingly, I liked the personal analysis bits better than the records of rituals bits. The gossiping about the other court women bit was also good. I did find the detailed descriptions of clothes amusing; wish they'd had pictures.
The introduction by Richard Bowring was enlightening, but parts of it grated on me, though I couldn't tell you why. And it annoyed me that it was so explicitly targeted at a Western audience. The latest reprinting was in, what, 2003? C'mon.
Interesting thing I learnt from it, though: that the women at court didn't have their own names. This differed according to rank, apparently, but some people might not have had their own personal names? We don't know for sure -- Murasaki could well have had a name that just didn't survive in written records -- but it's surprisingly hard for me to get my head around the idea of not having even a secret name to call yourself.
The introduction by Richard Bowring was enlightening, but parts of it grated on me, though I couldn't tell you why. And it annoyed me that it was so explicitly targeted at a Western audience. The latest reprinting was in, what, 2003? C'mon.
Interesting thing I learnt from it, though: that the women at court didn't have their own names. This differed according to rank, apparently, but some people might not have had their own personal names? We don't know for sure -- Murasaki could well have had a name that just didn't survive in written records -- but it's surprisingly hard for me to get my head around the idea of not having even a secret name to call yourself.
jacobdekay's review against another edition
4.0
Although I read this for an Asian History course, I find myself going back often for a glimpse into a world and time that I could never truly understand. One of my favorite historical classics. Brief but rich in it's historical context. Feels like something maybe we weren't meant to have, but here we are.
dothelonir's review
5.0
she's just like me fr... keşke kendisi hakkındaki düşüncelerini daha çok yazsaydı en eğlenceli kısımlar oralardı
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