Tag: Asian literature

• July 9, 2026

  The Illusions of Peace: A Brief Introduction to Heian Japan

  Okay, as promised, we’re going to start some discussions on the general milieu of my latest book, Lady Safflower, and it seemed like the best place to start is with its historical setting: Heian-era Japan (794 CE—1185). And while I won’t be able to hit everything involved in a four hundred year timeframe in a…
• October 16, 2025

  Old is New Again: Mishima Yukio’s Five Modern Noh Plays

  A few years ago here, we talked about the Japanese theatrical genre of noh (aka, the one with masks). While kabuki (the one with makeup) was and remains the more well-known and popular stage form in Japan, the older and more technical noh, born as it was from Shinto temple rituals, has deep roots, and…
• January 4, 2024

  Destination Unexpected: A Trip Into Forensic Book Ownership

  Listen, dear readers, my book-buying problem is no secret. I buy a lot of books every year, and apparently I’m not able to curb this addiction in any meaningful way—even as I fight an increasingly lost battle with where I’m going to put all of those books. That said, I’m not one to entirely throw…
• August 12, 2022

  In the Noh: The Poetics of Classical Japanese Theatre

  CHORUS: Pine Wind and Autumn Rain Both drenched their sleeves with the tears Of hopeless love beyond their station, Fisher girls of Suma. Our sin is deep, o priest. Pray for us, we beg of you! (They [Matsukaze and Murasame] press their palms together in supplication) Our love grew rank as wild grasses; Tears and…