A Tale Unasked
$30.36
- Paperback
288 pages
- Release Date
5 January 2026
Summary
A Tale Unasked: The Diary of Lady Nijo
Lady Nijo’s A Tale Unasked (Towazugatari) stands as one of the most remarkable “women’s diaries” in classical Japanese literature. Thought to be completed around 1307, the autobiographical work recounts the life of an imperial concubine.
The first two-thirds of the diary detail her experiences at court, marked by a passionate and complex love life that ultimately led to her downfall. The final third vividly portrays her life af…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780241562468 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0241562465 |
| Author: | Lady Nijo, Meredith McKinney |
| Publisher: | Penguin Books Ltd |
| Imprint: | Penguin Classics |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 288 |
| Release Date: | 5 January 2026 |
| Weight: | 500g |
| Dimensions: | 198mm x 129mm x 35mm |
About The Author
Lady Nijo
Lady Nijo (Author)
Lady Nijo (1258-after 1307) was a Japanese noblewoman, poet and author. She was raised in the court of Emperor Go-Fukakusa and became his concubine, before being expelled for her affairs with other men. She became a travelling Buddhist nun and eventually wrote a memoir, Towazugatari (‘A Tale Untold’). It survived in a single copy and remained hidden for years in the library of the Imperial Family Household before being rediscovered in 1940.
Meredith McKinney (Translator)
Meredith McKinney is a translator of Japanese literature. She lived in Japan for twenty years and is Honorary Associate Professor at the Australian National University in Canberra. Her translations for Penguin Classics include The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon, Essays in Idleness and Hojoki by Kenko and Chomei, two novels by Natsume Soseki and an anthology of classical Japanese travel writing, Travels with a Writing Brush.
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