Another Group of Extraordinary Women

Lesser known, but in no way lesser.

Japan’s Greatest Novelist

Japan’s great prose artist

Japan’s Leading Woman Poet

Japanese poetry in general, and Heian poetry especially isn’t much like the poetry most of us are used to. Also, because of its unique nature, the translation of any one poem into English can vary so much that we can be forgiven if we don’t first recognize we’ve reading the same one. Reflecting on this, Ivan Morris said Heian poetry was the most challenging all…