Partings at Dawn

Book excerpt: "Partings at Dawn is a brilliant collection of literature on gay themes covering eight hundred years of Japanese culture---from 1200 to the last decade of the 20th century. It includes stories such as "The Tale of Genmu" and "The Story of Kannon's Manifestation as a Youth"---how a Buddhist Bodhisattva gives his blessing to a gay relationship. The renowned 17th century writer Ihara Saikaku is well represented with his stories of samurai and actors and their boyloves. The amazing 17th century collection Wild Azaleas (the world's premiere gay anthology of stories and poems) is presented here for the first time within the pages of a book. There is an indepth section of 20th century writers, including Mishima Yukio's story "Onnagata," and the erotic stories/poems of Takahashi Mutsuo. His massive poem of gay sex, "ODE," is consider by publisher Winston Leyland as "the single great gay poem of the 20th century." Masterfully rendered into English by twelve translators---all scholars of Japanese literature---this pioneering anthology deserves a wide readership."--Page 4 of cover.