The World of the Shining Prince by Ivan Morris

Looking back now, it’s easier to see how influential and important the period was to filmmaking. Coming out of the ’70s, which introduced a new level of realism and gritty authenticity to mainstream Hollywood, filmmaking in the ‘80s got bigger, louder and, some might say, superficial.īut time has been kind to the era. He died in 1976.One of the words most commonly associated with the popular culture of the 1980s is ‘plastic’ – and for a long time, that phrase extended to the movies. Morris published numerous books on Japanese history, literature, and politics and produced distinguished translations of classical and contemporary Japanese works. In 1960 he joined what would later be renamed the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University, where he served as department chair. He lived in Tokyo for several years, writing, lecturing, and teaching. from the University of London in 1951, he worked for the Far East Section of the BBC as well as for the Japan and Pacific departments of the British Foreign Office.

The Observer (London) About the Author Ivan Morris studied Japanese language and culture at Harvard University while serving in the Intelligence Section of the U.S. Ivan Morriss book is as elegant as its theme. pervaded by a sense of the transitoriness of things, combined with an awareness of beauty so sharp that it was poignant. The New York Times Book Review The people of the Heian period in Japan. A book which should delight anyone interested in Japan. Review Quotes A thoughtful scholars reconstruction. Offering readers detailed portrayals of the daily lives of courtiers, the cult of beauty they espoused, and the intricate relations between the men and women of the age, The World of the Shining Prince has been a cornerstone text on ancient Japan for half a century. Focusing on the world of the emperors court-a world deeply admired by Virginia Woolf, among others-renowned scholar of Japanese history and literature Ivan Morris explores the politics, society, religious life, and superstitions of the period. Using The Tale of Genji and other major literary works from Japans Heian period as a frame of reference, The World of the Shining Prince recreates an era when women set the cultural tone. Book Synopsis Ivan Morriss definitive and widely acclaimed portrait of the ceremonious and melancholy world of ancient Japan.

About the Book Originally published: New York: Kodansha America, Inc., 1994.

The World of the Shining Prince by Ivan Morris