'Tales of Ise': the book where Japanese literature found beauty

Novelist Nobuko Takagi examines the enduring appeal of an ancient romantic

20200827 213 Yume-utsutsu (Half awake and half sleep) MAIN.tif

A painting depicting a scene from the 10th-century poetry collection "Tales of Ise." In this episode, protagonist Ariwara no Narihira has a forbidden love affair with Saio, a maiden and member of the Imperial family chosen to serve Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess, at the Ise Jingu shrine. ("Yume-utsutsu," Half awake and half asleep, by Toshiaki Ono)

NOBUKO TAKAGI, Contributing writer

August 30, 2020 02:00 JST

"Tales of Ise," a collection of Japanese waka poems and stories from the Heian period (794-1185), remains popular 1,100 years after it was created. What is it about this ancient book that so fascinates people? Nobuko Takagi, the author of "Narihira Shosetsu Isemonogatari," a novel published in May in Japanese, shares her insights on the collection's universal appeal.

I brought back to life the story of Ariwara no Narihira, a Japanese poet who lived 1,100 years ago and is considered the main character of "Tales of Ise," in novel form, and the response I have received from readers has been greater than expected.