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Love Tales of Ancient Japan: 5 enduring love stories from a thousand years past, coupled with cultural commentary
Once upon a time, lovers in Japan shared tender words, quarreled, and swayed each other’s feelings in poetry. The rules of courting were different; those of marriage were primitive. Lives were shorter, meaning love burned with greater fervor.
Explore the origins of Japanese culture through a collection of stories from an ancient past when humans were freer to pursue genuine love, enriched with cultural and historical insights by storyteller Kyota Ko.
Stories
Izanagi and Izanami and the Genesis of JapanThe Tale of Takeminakata and Lake SuwaThe Legend of Ono-no-KomachiIzumi Shikibu's DiaryThe Sarashina DiaryThe Legend of TakeshibaThe Legend of FujikawaVolume 5 of The Tale of GenjiThe Story of Tanabata
Explore the origins of Japanese culture through a collection of stories from an ancient past when humans were freer to pursue genuine love, enriched with cultural and historical insights by storyteller Kyota Ko.
Stories
Izanagi and Izanami and the Genesis of JapanThe Tale of Takeminakata and Lake SuwaThe Legend of Ono-no-KomachiIzumi Shikibu's DiaryThe Sarashina DiaryThe Legend of TakeshibaThe Legend of FujikawaVolume 5 of The Tale of GenjiThe Story of Tanabata
276 pages, Paperback
Published June 23, 2025
16 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 13, 2025
It is difficult to put in words how much I love this book. I first came across the author via TikTok; I was deeply captivated by his videos that span across a wide variety of topics pertaining to Japanese culture - from Pokemon to vocabulary like Oyasuminasai to the Edo era, the author is extremely entertaining (and humourous!) thus that motivated me to purchase 3 of his books.
I was half-hoping I will be able to get a glimpse of the author's sense of humour in his books (just like his tiktok videos) and happy to say that I was not disappointed. I read his book - Love Tales of Ancient Japan - across 5 days and I enjoyed every single moment of it. I would recommend interested readers to read it over a number of days instead of cramming all at one go because there is so much depth and richness to the stories.
if you have a deep interest in Japanese culture and are wondering what books will point you in the right direction, I highly recommend reading this book, as well as other books written by the author Kyota Ko. I loved every moment of it and I will be re-reading this again.
I was half-hoping I will be able to get a glimpse of the author's sense of humour in his books (just like his tiktok videos) and happy to say that I was not disappointed. I read his book - Love Tales of Ancient Japan - across 5 days and I enjoyed every single moment of it. I would recommend interested readers to read it over a number of days instead of cramming all at one go because there is so much depth and richness to the stories.
if you have a deep interest in Japanese culture and are wondering what books will point you in the right direction, I highly recommend reading this book, as well as other books written by the author Kyota Ko. I loved every moment of it and I will be re-reading this again.
Displaying 1 of 1 review