'I lie awake,
Listening to the rustle of the bamboo leaves,
And a strange sadness fills my heart'
As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams is a unique autobiography in which the anonymous writer known as Lady Sarashina intersperses personal reflections, anecdotes and lyrical poems with accounts of her travels and evocative descriptions of the Japanese countryside. Born in AD 1008, Lady Sarashina felt an acute sense of melancholy that led her to withdraw into the more congenial realm of the imagination - this deeply introspective work presents her vision of the world. While barely alluding to certain aspects of her life such as marriage, she illuminates her pilgrimages to temples and mystical dreams in exquisite prose, describing a profound emotional journey that can be read as a metaphor for life itself.
Ivan Morris's sensitive translation is accompanied by an introduction discussing Japanese society and women's literature of the time, what is known of Lady Sarashina's life, the role of dreams and poetry in her writing, and the form and structure of her book. This edition also includes maps, a chronology, notes and wood-block illustrations from the 1704 edition.
