Text: The Life of an Amorous Woman,Ivan Morris, trans.

Monday, Oct. 17th
Readings:	"The Period" and "The Author" ( pp. 3-19) "An Old Woman's Hermitage" to "The Woman's Secret Manual of Etiquette" (pp. 121-158)
Questions to Consider:	Does this book seem different from our previous readings? How so? Are there any previous readings with which it can be compared? Who is the intended audience for this text? Is it accessible to a modern reader? Why or why not? After this book was published, the entire genre of works with kôshoku (amorous) in their titles was banned. Is this surprising?
Wednesday, Oct. 19th
Readings:	"A Townsman's Parlourmaid" to the end (pp. 158-208)
Questions to Consider:	Now that you have finished the story, did you find it to be a consistent narrative of the woman's life? Is there a consistent message or moral? At the end of the book, we return to the story of the two men listening to the old woman which frames the story. What effect does this outside frame have on the stories that are told? How would you describe the protagonist of the work? Is she to be admired? to be pitied? to be disdained? Is she a role model or an object lesson?

JPN/EAS 380
Masterpieces of Japanese Literature

Kôshoku Ichidai On'na