A Tale Unasked

by Nijo, Lady | Japan
Published 02/10/2025 by Penguin Books Ltd (Penguin Classics) in the United Kingdom
Paperback | 288 pages
197 x 131 x 18mm | 216g

A new translation of one of classical Japan's greatest literary works‘It is from a desire not to let this impulse count for nothing that I have written this foolish tale of mine. I have no hope that it will remain for future generations to remember me by’Japanese noblewoman Lady Nijo was made the Emperor’s concubine aged fourteen and then, after several illicit affairs, was expelled from the palace, becoming a nun and travelling the country in pilgrimage. A Tale Unasked is her extraordinary memoir of her eventful life, lost for centuries and discovered in the Imperial Library. Filled with startling revelations of the secret intrigues, splendour and sexual politics of courtly life, it is also a moving portrait of a woman of rich intelligence and sensitivity trying to survive in a difficult world. This new translation beautifully renders the sinuous elegance of a remarkable work of classical Japanese literature.

Translated by Meredith McKinney