Here is a collection of sexy brief fleeting poems about love lust and longing. They
originate from a time in Japanese history where aristocratic women of the Heian court were free
to marry and conduct love affairs according to their desires. Education and refinement were so
highly valued that the courtly manner of expressing oneself whether to give condolences for a
death to send back a forgotten fan or to heighten the anticipation of a lover's visit was
with a poem of just five lines. A convention of secrecy surrounding love affairs fills these
verses with palpable emotion. These vivid and erotic poems express love in all its forms and
do so with amazing economy of words unforgettable imagery and breath-taking modernity.
INTRODUCED BY NIKITA GILL 'They are full of dreams of autumns of lovers known or not yet
met of desire wonderment loneliness' Irish Times Translated by Jane Hirshfield with Mariko
Aratani this is an edition that brings the story of the poems to life with a detailed
introduction and notes on the translation.