The Pillow Book (Penguin Classics)

How recent can a life lived 1000 years ago seem to be? Sei Shonagon (c. 966–1017) wrote down her thoughts and observations while she was a lady-in-waiting to empress Teishi. Today those notes read as if one of us had written them down (also thanks to Meredith McKinney's translation) except for the strangeness of customs and the foreignness of living arrangements but this only adds to the adventure of reading the Pillow Book. Sei speaks to the reader in a familiar voice. She makes lists of pleasant things and those that are disagreeable. She likes everything that cries in the night, be it a bird or a cricket, but NOT babies. She finds women without interest who lead dull lives and rejoice in their petty little pseudo-pleasures despicable. She derides men who fall asleep and snore during a romantic visit at night. She loves a good sermon, as one would an interesting presentation, also for the fun of the outing to a temple, but complains about parking problems and the behavior of some carriage owners. In Sei's world, what people wore, how they combined the colors of their clothing was very complicated and most important for men and women so we get detailed descriptions of who wore what and how he or she looked in it (there was a Bureau of Clothing in the imperial palace). She has strong opinion about style and taste but she hardly mentions facial features and body types. In the love affairs and romantic interests, it was taste and sensibility, not physical appearance, that were the focus. She sights that the man you love and the same man once you've lost all feelings for him seem like two completely different people. It was a joy to read Sei Shonagon's Pillow Book in Meredith McKinney's translation.

A lovely paperback of a Japanese medieval classic. I've only read the introduction so far, but this translator's work was considered the very best. Looks very inviting.

I mentioned to an acquaintance that I was reading this classic, having seen it mentioned several times in other reading. His reaction made it clear that he was surprised that I would take an interest in antique risqué literature; but this book is not that. The pillow in the title is a figure of speech, but is not a glancing way of referring to bed or sex. Marshmallows and dumplings are sometimes described as pillows, but those foods are not, so far as I know, considered especially sexy. And though it was not mentioned in the book, the pillow that Sei Shonagon might have been using wasn't even necessarily very soft. You've seen pictures, I'm sure, of pillow blocks which elevate the head but aren't stuffed with down or anything like it. The pillow in this case is a support, a rest, an accessory of taking it easy. The book very much reminds me of certain miscellany blogs, where the blogger notes down all manner of stuff as it occurs to her or him. In this case it is a blog with comments turned off, save for the extremely valuable explanatory footnotes. One amazing thing is the great variety of textiles. Another, less noticeable at first, is the amazing absence of almost all food. The occasional illustrations are interesting so far as they go, but could have been more informative. On my little Kindle they expand, but expanding degrades the resolution so it is counterproductive. I am now wading through The Tale of Genji, a rather different sort of book, and a little later, but reading The Pillow Book was a pleasant introduction to that world.

Sometimes as a good book comes to an end you know you'll miss the authors voice.. In this case in true Japanese fashion, I am enjoying the last pages as slowly as possible with real Japanese plum wine from Wakayama, capital city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of (central) Japan 🇯🇵. The book from the Heian period, a time of relative peace is not for everyone. Needing 3 bookmarks to cover glossary and notes/appendices its an interesting look at a senior gentlewomens mind in the empresses service. Common to the period, some sections are simply random thoughts and lists of related events. But much of traditional japanese culture and its subtleties, is shown. From correctness of address those of other ranks to dress codes and the showing of sleeves. Replies to any message must be suitably and carefully aligned with the wealth of known Chinese and Japanese poetry, much of which I have now learnt and will continue to follow. The book, regardless of title is not erotic, although it hints at love affairs and moonlight to dawn visits. The pillow book, means papers kept by the bed for recording random thoughts upon waking, and book as in bound loose leaf pages. Farewell dear Sei Shōnagon. I shall miss your often observant, sometimes judgemental and cruel but always intelligent and witty commentary. May it forever be havest and festival time where you lie.

There she is, Sei Shonagon, with her inkpen, scrawling hilarious and pithy comments when no one is looking. She didn't live long enough to see gossip sites, so the world lost a great snark before her time. Best segments: her 3-star review of bad boyfriends, her lists of random pretty poetical crap she liked, and her funny critique of middle-aged married couples taking afternoon "naps." As much as I like her work, Sei Shonagon scares me. I was not one of the cool kids in high school. ;) Murasaki seems s little bit less point-and-laugh, which I find appealing (although Lady Sarashina trumps them all. Long live sparkle-girl!) If you could wish for world peace or Sei Shonagon writing a blog, what would her first post be about?

When considering when this was written, when considering what part of the world this was written and considering who wrote it. It is very interesting!

The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon is a fascinating look at Japanese court culture during the 11th century Heian period (794 to 1186). While others may be more familiar with Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji as an example of classic Japanese literature of the time, I chose The Pillow Book instead – I always lean towards bucking the trend and I was intrigued by what I had read of Sei Shonagon’s attention to detail, unflinching honesty, and acerbic wit in her quest for the perfect comeback. According to Dr. Meredith McKinney, an expert in Japanese literature and translator of this edition, Sei Shonagon might have been born around 966 and the last known reference to her was in 1017. She was a member of the court of Empress Consort Teishi (Sadako), where she served as a gentlewoman or lady-in-waiting beginning around 993 until Teishi’s death in 1000. While specific details about Sei Shonagon and her book are difficult to confirm, it is believed she completed the book around 1002. It is the oldest book on my classics list. There are several editions of the book; it has been copied and recopied multiple times. I read the Penguin Classics edition which includes an informative introduction written by Meredith McKinney and is full of notes throughout. Well-researched and thorough, it also includes appendices such as a glossary as well as explanations of colors and clothes, social statuses, and more. The Pillow Book is akin to a diary; Sei Shonagon mostly tells us stories of her daily life, gossips about her peers, comments on fashion and the seasons. It provides a perspective on imperial culture in all its luxury, privilege, and poetry and is considered a masterpiece of Japanese literature. According to Sei Shonagon, the book was supposed to have been kept private but started to circulate among the court members when it was discovered after she accidentally left it out on a mat one day around 996. I have never read a book quite like this before. While I enjoyed it for its unique content and perspective, it lacks the cohesion I was used to as it jumps around throughout time periods, thoughts, and miscellany. At times, Sei Shonagon uses the pages to list examples of seemingly arbitrary topics of her choice, sometimes as ordinary as naming peaks, plants, or bodies of water but at other times are more thoughtful. Those who are interested in learning about this era of Japanese history or life would find this book compelling. I would also recommend this book to poetry lovers, as poetry was an integral part of court society during this period. One’s knowledge of poetry indicated their intellect, wit, and social standing; not only was one expected to know the greats but also to come up with original poetry on the spot. Communication between friends, colleagues, and lovers often took place via notes sent by messenger and these notes were often written in poetry, so one needed to be able to read, interpret, and create poems full of flirtation and puns for attention and glory. This was one of Sei Shonagon’s talents; she aimed to delight and surprise with her poetry and humor. See the full review on my website.

Forgive me for laughing aloud (or spitting rice, as they say). How's the author's writing? A+ for the author (notoriously snobbish 10th c. genius) and ditto for the translator, Meredith Mc., superheroine nonpareil in her genre. Violence? Nobody beats anyone, rest assured (one didn't quite do that sort of thing, back then, not among the upper classes, we're told.) "Sexual content"? (forgive another guffaw) Nothing too explicit, to be sure. All over the place, tacitly. (How do you think their highnesses et al. procreated? Or writers procured readers?) First Person? For Sei Shonagon, there is no Other. Maybe that's why her prose is so intriguing.

This is just brilliant. Anyone with any interest in Japanese literature needs to read this. And it is really well written and pretty funny to say the least. After a thousand years that is some achievement. I don't think there is anything quite like this in British history, so it's amazing this woman wrote this in Japan a thousand years back. It's probably even better than Tale of Genji. Pillow Book is funnier for a start! Great!

This book was recommended by The School of Life. I wasn't sure what to expect. It's full of a variety of musings in the daily life of a Japanese court lady in around 995 AD. Reading it I feel transported to that time and place where customs, clothing and way of living was so different from today and also the ordinary working people of Japan of that time. A time when poetry and communicating with others through poetry was a valued and admired skill.

大変読みやすい英文で，日本の古文書籍でありながら寧ろ英文で心象描写を深化確認するように読み進めました。気軽にすいすい読めて楽しめます。

Esta é uma das obras em prosa mais antigas do Japão, aqui publicada em uma tradução integral para o inglês. O texto não tem exatamente um tema, ou uma trama, ou um gênero literário, ou mesmo uma sequência cronológica definidos; é basicamente um livro de anotações sobre as coisas que a autora viu, pensou, ou de que participou enquanto esteve na corte do imperador japonês, a serviço da imperatriz, por volta de 995-1001 AD. A edição traz 5 apêndices e muitas notas explanatórias, que são muito valiosas para entender o sentido do texto (e incluem mapas e ilustrações). Sei Shonagon escreve sobre os festivais da corte, sobre visitas de gente importante, sobre coisas quotidianas que aprecia ou que detesta, sobre as conversas com as demais damas ou com os cavalheiros, sobre o vestuário (assunto muito importante na vida da corte) e outros assuntos. A poesia merece menção especial, porque permeia quase tudo o que é mencionado no livro, e é de longe a arte mais valorizada na corte imperial do período Heian: não só a autora, mas a maioria dos demais personagens, homens ou mulheres, gastam muito tempo aprendendo as poesias antigas e compondo poesias novas, usando ambas como flerte ou como desafio de erudição e classe entre si. A maior parte do que a autora escreve, inclusive boa parte das famosas listas, é fortemente marcado por referências à poesia chinesa e japonesa, das quais ela é grande conhecedora. Em termos de vida social, o ambiente descrito por ela me lembra, curiosamente, o da França do século XVIII, com sua moral ambivalente quanto à promiscuidade e sua exaltação do "esprit" como o ápice do refinamento social. Os cortesãos contraem casamentos arranjados, nos quais às vezes o casal sequer mora junto, e os flertes e liasons extraconjugais são relativamente tolerados, tanto para homens quanto para mulheres. Não se lê sobre as damas da corte trabalharem, exceto por algumas menções a pequenos reparos de costura. O ano gira em torno dos festivais religiosos (que são, na prática, os eventos sociais a que as damas comparecem), da mudança de vestuário para acompanhar as estações e a moda, e da poesia espirituosa trocada entre as damas e os cavalheiros. O resto do tempo é gasto em preparações, penitências, visitas, jogos, e fofocas. Sei Shonagon prefere falar das coisas boas e omitir as ruins (coisa que a tradutora faz questão de ressaltar sempre que pode), e não mostra muito interesse pelos assuntos mais masculinos (como as competições de arco e flecha ou os assuntos militares). Seu horizonte é limitado se comparado ao das crônicas, mas ainda assim historicamente interessante.

A fascinating, entertaining, instructive and amusing read. A lady-in-waiting to the Empress in the Japanese palace 1000 years ago, Sei Shonogan shows respect for the royal court, but she was not over-awed by it. With immense human sympathy she describes the foibles and follies of her fellow courtiers, recognising the very ordinary human traits that underlay all their aristocratic nobility. Her Pillow Book also gives many fascinating insights into 10th century Japanese life.