Diaries of Court
Ladies of Old Japan
1920 translation of three Heian-era court diaries, among them that of Murasaki
Shikibu, author of The Tale of Genji
Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai
Complete text of the classic book on the Way of the Samurai
A
Book of Five Rings
Miyamoto Musashi’s principles of swordsmanship and life, with very good cultural
notes. Internet Archived.
Sun Tzu on the Art of War
Online version of the 1910 Giles translation
Ogura Hyakunin
Issu
100 Poems by 100 Poets, the great Heian anthology in parallel Japanese and
English
Interesting Japanese Stories
Several tales, apparently by early modern writers
Sarashina
Diary of a court lady of the early eleventh century
Genji Monogatari
Ebook version of Japan’s great classic proto-novel.
China-on-site.com Comic Strips
Graphic versions of classics of Chinese literature, including Journey to the
West (source of Dragonball and Gensoumaden Saiyuuki) and The Water Margin
(souce of The Hakkenden).
The Greater Learning for Women
This influential anti-feminist tract may have actually been written by a woman.
Japanese Text Initiative
Texts of poetry from the Manyoshu to the Meiji era, diaries, plays and more. Mostly in
Japanese, though a few texts have parallel English translations.
Offline Texts:
Sei Shonagon, tr. Ivan Morris. The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon. Columbia University Press, 1991. ISBN 0-231-07337-2
Brazell, Karen, tr. The Confessions of Lady Nijo, Stanford University Press, 1976. ISBN 0-8047-0930-0
Keene, Donald, tr. Essays in Idleness: The Tsurezuregusa of Kenko. Columbia University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-231-11255-6
Hirshfield, Jane and Mariko Aratani, tr. The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan, 1Vintage Books, 1990. ISBN 0-679-72958-5
Ihara, Saikaku, tr. Kengi Hamada. The Life of an Amorous Man. Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1983. ISBN 0-8048-1069-9
Ihara, Saikaku, tr. Ivan Morris. The Life of an Amorous Woman and Other Writings, New York, New Directions, 1969. ISBN 0-8112-0187-2
Ihara, Saikaku, tr. Paul Gordon Schalow. The Great Mirror of Male Love. Stanford University Press, 1990. ISBN 0-8047-1895-4
Soseki, Natsume, tr. Alan Turney. Botchan, Kodansha International, 1978. ISBN 0-87011-367-4
Soseki, Natsume, tr. Francis Mathy. Mon. Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1972.
Tanizaki, Junichiro, tr. Anthony H. Chambers. Naomi.Perigee, 1985. ISBN 0-399-51286-1
Kita, Morio, tr. Dennis Keene. The House of Nire, Kodansha International, 1990. ISBN 0-87011-859-5