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.