Living Like This

At 84 years old, Chiyo Uno was already an established novelist; she had been named a ‘person of cultural merit’ in 1990 and formally recognised by the Emperor. Her life off the page was as extraordinary and scintillating as any of her fiction. She was a renowned kimono designer whose contributions to the world of fashion broke new ground in Japan, even as her magazine Style went down in the flames of tax evasion and bankruptcy; she married four times and counted numerous powerful and influential men among her lovers (scandalising society by her willingness to conduct her affairs openly); she moved socially among such literary titans as Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Junichiro Tanizaki and Yasunari Kawabata.

Living Like This, published towards the end of her life, is the book that established Uno as a memoirist of unrivalled calibre. Born in 1897, Uno witnessed the Meiji, Taisho, Showa and Heisei eras, and the modernisation of Japan. At once a refreshingly honest and witty account of a life lived to its fullest and a buoyant depiction of a ‘moga’ (modern) Japanese girl, Living Like This is also a portrait of Japan in an era of unprecedented change. Effortlessly charming, Living Like This will entirely enchant with its promise of a life well-lived.