Description
Book SynopsisIn the early eighteenth century, the noblewoman Ōgimachi Machiko composed a memoir of Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu, the powerful samurai she had served as a concubine for twenty years. Elegant, poetic, and revealing,
In the Shelter of the Pine is the most significant work of literature by a woman of Japan’s early modern era.
Trade ReviewG. G. Rowley’s elegant translation captures the graceful rhythms of Machiko’s prose, enabling us to step inside this unimaginably different era and see Machiko’s world through her own eyes. -- Lesley Downer * Times Literary Supplement *
A graceful translation of an eighteenth-century classic,
In the Shelter of the Pine introduces readers to a world in which little girls grind their fathers’ ink, concubines write elegant prose, and an ambitious man—the author’s husband—defies social convention to rise in the world. -- Amy Beth Stanley, author of
Stranger in the Shogun's City: A Japanese Woman and Her World[
In the Shelter of the Pine] is a work following a long tradition of Japanese women adding colour and detail to the often dull male official histories. Machiko speaks to us across three centuries, telling of the events of official history and the oft overlooked details of private lives. Given the way she does so, I’m sure many readers out there will be interested in hearing what she has to say. * Tony's Reading List *
Overall, this is a treasure-trove of information about life and politics in 17-18th century Japan....This translation is extremely well executed in terms of the beauty and precision of the language, clarity and flow of thoughts, and materials added to explain what it all signifies. * Pennsylvania Literary Journal *
This is an enormously important work, wonderfully translated and annotated. Not only is it one of the few lengthy memoirs written by a woman during the Tokugawa period, it offers the reader insight into daily life, sociopolitical networks, and the symbolic and practical manifestations of power during the reign of the fifth shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. -- Marcia Yonemoto, author of
The Problem of Women in Early Modern JapanG. G. Rowley’s sparkling translation of Ōgimachi Machiko’s memoir reveals Machiko’s experience as a woman of great learning, sensitivity, and taste whose study of the Japanese classics thoroughly informed her writing. Despite her use of a classical idiom, one has the strong sense that she is writing of her own place in the scheme of Edo period society. The book will be a must-read for all students of Edo history, government, and literature. -- Steven Carter, author of
How to Read a Japanese PoemWritten by a noblewoman in Edo and elegantly translated by G. G. Rowley, this unique memoir illustrates how shogun Tsunayoshi and his attendant Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu brought noblewomen from Kyoto into their households and used them as conduits for courtly cultural capital that they employed for diplomatic and political ends. -- Anne Walthall, editor of
Servants of the Dynasty: Palace Women in World HistoryBeautifully and sensitively translated . . .
In the Shelter of the Pine gives us a portrait of a highly-refined, structured and rather formal world, brought to life for us by a learned and delightful guide, who navigates that world with ease and charm. -- John Butler * Asian Review of Books *
For its combination of detailed narration and literary complexity,
In the Shelter of the Pine is valuable both as a source of information on the lives of Japanese elites in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, as well as being a work of literature that will be of interest to students of narrative historiography, memoirs, and women’s writing in Japanese and in world history. The translation represents the fruits of many years of careful research into a highly complex text and historical period, yet wears its erudition lightly and will be accessible to undergraduate students as well as to seasoned researchers. -- Rebekah Clements * Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies *
An enjoyable, fascinating record of power relations and gender dynamics in a daimyo household as seen through the eyes of a woman. -- Laura Nenzi * H-Japan *
Those interested in issues of self-representation and the generic conventions of memoir writing will welcome this translation as a rich resource for comparison. -- Bettina Gramlich-Oka * Japan Review *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction, by G. G. Rowley
Principal Characters
1. Musashi Moor: From Ages Past Through the Winter of 1690
2. In Traveler’s Garb: 1691, Spring to Summer
3. Ages Past: Summer 1691 Through Spring 1692
4. The Truth of the Buddha’s Law: Summer 1692 Through Spring 1694
5. A Thousand Springs: Summer 1694 to Spring 1696
6. The End of the Year: 1696, Spring Through Winter
7. Spring Pond: 1697, Spring Through Winter
8. Lamp of the Buddha’s Law: 1698, Spring to Autumn
9. From the Shores of Japanese Poetry: Autumn 1698 to Autumn 1700
10. Chinese Robe: Autumn 1700 Through the Fourth Month of 1701
11. Visitors Awaiting Flowers: 1701, Summer to Winter
12. Towering Pine: Winter 1701 to Spring 1702
13. Villa Amid Mountain Cherries: 1702, Spring to Summer
14. Noble Oak: 1702, Summer Through Autumn
15. Hills and Streams: Winter 1702 to Spring 1703
16. Autumn Clouds: 1703, Spring to Autumn
17. Moon of Old: 1703, Autumn to Winter
18. A Tree Deep in the Mountains: 1703, Eleventh Month Through 1704, Third Month
19. A Bond with the Blossoms: 1704, Spring to Winter
20. Celebratory Cane: Winter 1704 Through Spring 1705
21. Mountain of Dreams: Summer 1705
22. Records of Enlightenment: 1705, Autumn Through Winter
23. The Grand Courtier: 1706, Second and Third Months
24. Garden of the Six Styles: 1706, Summer Through Winter
25. House for a Thousand Ages: 1707, Spring to Autumn
26. Two Pines: Autumn 1707 Through Summer 1708
27. Binding Sash: 1708, Autumn Through Winter
28. Blessed Dew: 1709, New Year Through the Second Month
29. Path of the Kindling Cutter: Spring 1709 Through the Eighteenth of the Sixth Month
30. Moon and Flowers
Glossary
Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Index
