The Life of an Amorous Woman

The Life of an Amorous Woman (好色一代女, Kōshoku Ichidai Onna^?) is a novel of the floating world by Ihara Saikaku, published in 1686.

A man of the world who lives in the capital city Kyoto travels to Saga, a suburban area of Kyoto, with some friends. They meet an old woman who lives in a grass hut and listen to the story of her life experiences. She was born as the daughter of a family of court nobles, but lost her privileged status, tumbling ever downward through a life mixed with pleasure and trouble in which she went from being the mistress of a daimyō, to courtesan, and a streetwalker. At each stage, she has tried to crawl up from the situation in which she has found herself, but her own nature keeps causing her to fail. The Kenji Mizoguchi film Life of Oharu is based upon this novel.

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