"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.
Arts
'Tales of Ise': the book where Japanese literature found beauty
Novelist Nobuko Takagi examines the enduring appeal of an ancient romantic
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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)
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