The Life of an Amorous Woman
Ihara Saikaku
 A man of the world who lives in the capital city of Kyoto travels to Saga-ken in Kyushu with some friends. They meet an old woman who lives in a grass hut and listen to the story of her life experiences. She was born as the daughter of a family of court nobles, but loses her privileged status, tumbling ever downward through a life mixed with pleasure and trouble in which she goes from being the mistress of a Daimyo, to Courtesan, and a streetwalker. At each stage, she tries to crawl up from the station in which she finds herself, but her own nature causes her to fail. The Mizoguchi Kenji film Life of Oharu is based upon this novel.