Told Round a Brushwood Fire

The Oritaku Shiha no Ki of Arai Hakuscki (1657-1725) was the first Japanese autobiography and is often singled out as the most outstanding. As primary source material for the first half of the Tokugawa period, it constitutes a unique historical supplement to the official records. Presented here is a scholarly English translation of and commentary on this important work.

Originally published in 1980.

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