Lady Nijo

This is the first translation into English of [Towazugatari], a memoir written in the early 14th Century in Kamakura Japan, and it won the the 1974 National Book Award for Translation for Brazell. As she tells the reader in her introduction, towazugatari literally means "unrequested tale."

The memoir was neglected and forgotten, surviving in one 17th manuscript which was only discovered in 1940 and first published in 1950 with a scholarly, annotated edition coming out in 1966.

Around 1307, Lady Nijo finished the narrative of 36 years (1271-1306) of her life from the age of fourteen when she became the concubine of the retired Emperor GoFukakusa through her courtlife and love affairs and her eventual retirement from court to become a wandering Buddhist nun.

The Kamakura period is interesting because although the Imperial Court remained ensconsed in the royal capital of Heian (Kyoto), the governance of the country was in the hands of the Minamota clan from its military capital of Kamakura.

Lady Nijo's memoir is distinguished from earlier diaries from the Heian period, in that it affords glimpses not only into the life of the court and the Japanese aristocracy, but also into the workings of the Kamakura government and even moreso into the life of the countryside from the perspective of a wandering nun.

The memoir is divided into Five Books, the first three chronicle Lady Nijo's life at court -- the highly elaborate rituals in which she took part, her relationship with GoFukakusa, and her independent love affairs. Eventually driven from the court by her rivals, Lady Nijo becomes a Buddhist nun, traveling throughout the country to copy holy sutras and dedicate them at various shrines. Her courtly background gains her entree to a variety of social milieu, and her keen eye and compassion inform the final two books of the memoir.

The memoir is deftly written and translated. Lady Nijo, with Brazell's assistance, is an engaging guide to a little known era of Japanese history.… (meer)