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

356 Pages·1979·30.018 MB·English

by  Ivan Morris

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824 The world of the shin-
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1979
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1979 Morris* Harmondsworth New York
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Penguin Books* [1979, cl964]
348 p* ill* 20 cm*
Bibliogr:aphy ; p* 327—329*
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Includes index*
ISBN: 0-14-00*5479-0
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24 NCV 81 6152700 NEWCxc
NE,V COLLEGE OF CALIFORNl
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PENGUINBOOKS "^^^' 626-1694
THE WORLDOFTHE SHINING
PRINCE
The world of Genji was the Japanese Heian period (fl. c.
A.D. 950-1050), when the rest of the worid, except China,
lay in cuhural darkness. Using The Tale ofGenjias aframe
ofreference, DrIvan Morris outlines the politicaland social
life,thereligionandsuperstitionsoftheperiod,theeveryday
life ofthe court, itscultofbeauty and the relations between
men and women in Heian (Kyoto). His detailed study
miraculously unfolds for us one of the most unusual and
engaging patterns in the whole kaleidoscope ofhistory.
'The people of the Heian period in Japan evolved a
. . .
civilization - at least the tiny percentage ofthe privileged -
which wasalmost unbelievably aesthetic, and waspervaded
by a sense of the transitoriness of things, combined with
an awareness ofbeauty so sharp that it was poignant. . . .
Ivan Morris's book is a very complete study ofthis period.
It is as elegant as its theme. He manages to make this
strange world thinkable: he even manages to make its
people sympathetic' -Guy Wint in the Observer.
Ivan Morris wrote widely on modem and ancient Japan, where
he lived for four years, and translated numerous works from
bothclassicalandcontemporaryliterature. HewasbominLx>ndon
in 1925 and began the study ofJapanese language and culture at
Harvard University. Havingreceived his B.A. degree, he returned
to Englandand received his doctorate from the School ofOriental
and African Studies and afterwards worked in the BBC and the
ForeignOffice. I>rMorris lived in New YorkCityformany years,
wherehewasamemberofthe&cultyofColumbiaUniversityfrom
i960 to 1973 and chairman of its Department of East Asian
Languages andCultures from 1966to 1969. In 1966hewaselected
aFellowofStAntony'sCollege,Oxford,andin 1968theUniversity
ofLondonawarded himaD.Litt. The WorldoftheShiningPrince
wontheDuffCooperAward. IvanMorrisdiedin 1976.
library of

IVAN MORRIS
THE WORLD OF
THE SHINING PRINCE
Court Life in AncientJapan
PENGUIN BOOKS
PenguinBooksLtd,Hannondsworth,
Middlesex,England
PenguinBooks,635MadisonAvenue,
NewYork,NewYork10022,U.S.A.
PenguinBooksAustraliaLtd,Ringwood,
Victoria,Australia
PenguinBooksCanadaLimited,2801JohnStreet,
Markham,Ontario,CanadaL3R 1B4
PenguinBooks(N.Z.)Ltd, 183-190WairauRowl,
Auckland10,NewZealand
FirstpublishedinGreatBritainbyOxfordUniversityPress1964
FirstpublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyAlfredA.Knopf,Inc., 19(4
PublishedinPeregrineBooks1969
ReprintedinPenguinBooks 1979
©
Copyright IvanMorris, 1964
Allrightsreserved
PrintedintheUnitedSutesofAmericaby
O^etPaperbackMfrs.,Inc.,Dallas,Pennsylvania
SetinMonotypePlantin
ExceptintheUnitedSutesofAmerica,
thisbookissoUsubjecttothecondition
thatitshallnot,bywayoftradeorotheiwise,
belent,re-sold,hiredout,orotherwisecirculated
withoutthepublisher'spriorconsentinanyformof
bindingorcoverotherthanthatinwhichitis
publishedandwithoutasimilarcondition
includingthisconditionbeingimposed
onthesubsequentpurchaser
To Arthur Waley

Preface
This book is intended mainly for the general reader. Detailed factual
information has therefore been consigned to the notes, which can be
readparipassuwiththetext,orlater-orindeedcanbeomittedentirely
by the reader who is interested in having an overall impression ofthe
world ofthe shining prince rather than in knowing about the details of
the aimual ceremonies, for instance, or the intricacies of directional
taboos. MycompletetranslationofSei Shonagon'sPillowBookwillcon-
tain considerably more factual material about the period.
I shouldlike toexpress mythanks to Professor Hans Bielenstein, Mr
John Black, Dr R. H. van Gulik, Professor Yoshito Hakeda, Professor
Donald Keene, and Professor Burton Watson for reading certain chap-
ters ofthis book and for giving their valuable suggestions. I am also
grateful to the Editor ofHistory Today for permission to include three
passages which were first printed in that periodical.