The Pillow Book (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

by Sei Shonagon (Author), Meredith McKinney (Translator, Introduction) "In spring, the dawn - when the slowly paling mountain rim is tinged with red, and wisps of faintly crimson-purple cloud float in the sky..." (more)
Key Phrases: skirted trousers, lintel cloth, imperial abstinence, Grand Counsellor, Empress Dowager, Office of the Empress's Household (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The classic portrayal of court life in tenth-century Japan

Written by the court gentlewoman Sei Shonagon, ostensibly for her own amusement, The Pillow Book offers a fascinating exploration of life among the nobility at the height of the Heian period, describing the exquisite pleasures of a confined world in which poetry, love, fashion, and whim dominated, while harsh reality was kept firmly at a distance. Moving elegantly across a wide range of themes including nature, society, and her own flirtations, Sei Shonagon provides a witty and intimate window on a woman’s life at court in classical Japan.

About the Author
Sei Shonagon (c. 966–1017) was a gentlewoman in the court of Empress Teishi in what is now Kyoto, Japan.
Meredith McKinney lived and taught in Japan for twenty years and now teaches in the Japan Centre at the Australian National University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics; Tra edition (October 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140448063
• ISBN-13: 978-0140448061
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,767 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book of thoughts, November 19, 2007

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Relatively little is known about Sei Shonagon's life. We know she was a court lady in tenth-century Japan, at the pinnacle of the Heian period.

And she left behind a glimpse into her culture's period in "The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon." It's a sort of mishmash memoir -- gossip, reflections, lists, and personal recollections are all mingled together, with a light, poetic delicacy that still is striking today.

The story behind the Pillow Book is that when Shonagon (possible real name: Kiyohara Nagiko) was serving the Imperial Family, the Empress Teishi received a bunch of notebooks that she couldn't use. As they were too valuable to discard, she gave them to Shonagon to use as she chose.

And so Shonagon basically poured her thoughts into her "Pillow Book" -- she offers brief reflections on the world around her, diary-like recollections of things that happen among the ladies in waiting, essays on court life, lists, poetry, and pretty much anything else she dreamed up.

One of the most intriguing things about the Pillow Book is the glimpse into tenth-century Japan that it gives. Shonagon's stories are about little things like flutes, disobedient dogs, clothes, and the Empress's ladies betting on how long it would take a giant mound of snow to melt (no, I'm not kidding). Somehow, it leaves the past seeming a little less distant.

Normally these stories would be curiosities only. But Shonagon -- despite her tendency towards snobbery -- had a special knack with prose, and and a bright, shimmering wit. Her charming love of beauty is often enchanting; she often lists things that she finds pleasing, such as moons, summer nights, flowers and willow trees. Her words were almost as pleasant, since she littered her writing with jokes, metaphor and wordplay.

Not that her recollections are without negatives -- she listed her pet peeves (such as parents worshiping a very unappealing child -- something we've all been annoyed with), and things she found depressing or annoying. A stickler for form and ettiquette, she had very precise ideas about how things should be done... right down to how love affairs should be conducted.

If there's a problem with this, it's that Shonagon -- in the manner of her time -- tends to gloss over the more important, unpleasant details of life. And her own anecdotes show that she could be very cruel, as when she gave a mocking poem to a newly-homeless peasant, instead of a promissory note. It may have been typical of her class and culture, but come on.

"The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon" opens a little window into the scented world of Heian-era Japan, and leaves behind the impression of a spunky, sharp-witted lady who would have stood out anywhere.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Pillow Book, February 28, 2009

By	Janelle Rossignol-Crary "Kabuki Maven" (Phoenix AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Written by a court lady in the Japanese palace more than 1,000 years ago, The Pillow Book remains a classic piece of literature across cultures and centuries.

Sei Shonagan chronicles her list of favorite things- colors, seasons, clothes, birds, flowers, hours of the day -- with poetic beauty and depth. But she also observes with an intelligent, sly, and often sharp assessment the people and customs of the day, and what went on behind the scenes at court. Her observations range from humorous to withering. Her critque of the proper manner for a man to depart after a night of love is both acerbic and humorous. Reading The Pillow Book is like curling up with a book of beautiful observations coupled with some really interesting dish.

This edition has an informative preface that greatly enhances one's understanding of the historical period, and copious notes that both illustrate and describe in detaill the clothing and architecture of the world she inhavited, as well as an index that identifies the many characters Shonogan writes about.

That this book was written so long ago, and yet contains through all these centuries the human and emotional factors that still affect us today is amazing. A masterpiece of world literature.