cover image The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono No Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Ja Pan

The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono No Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Ja Pan

. Vintage Books USA, $15 (240pp) ISBN 978-0-679-72958-7

Matters of the heart and spirit and the transient nature of time and existence are the dominant themes of this collection of love poems by two leading female literary figures of Japan's Heian era--Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu. The book includes an illuminating introduction and an appendix on Japanese poetry and the process of translation. (Oct.)