The theme of poetry and social relationships in the pillow. One of the great classics of japanese literature, the pillow book of sei shonagon is by far our most detailed source of factual material on life in eleventhcentury japan at the height of heian culture. The film is a melding of dark modern drama with idealised chinese and japanese cultural themes and settings, and centres on body painting. The pillow book of sei shonagon by sei shonagon, sei. Women essential questions the author what we dont know about sei shonagon. Written by japans original blogger, a mistress of wry observation and scalding wit, sei shonagons the pillow book retains its fresh, authentic appeal more than 1,000 years after its. Its still mostly deadon accurate, over a thousand years later, and it always cheers me up when. The pillow book by sei shonagon was written in the 11th. Not only when the moon shines, but on dark nights too, as the fireflies flit to and fro, and even. This is the blog of leila raven, aka katt, welcome to the inside of my head. It seems like making a circuit around the fushimi inari shrine was a hard job for heian people.
Full study guide for this title currently under development. This position afforded shonagon an ideal opportunity to observe the people and customs at the royal court in heian. The pillow book is her journal, and the topics she covers are varied. The title of this book is the pillow book of sei shonagon and it was written by ivan morris translator. Wrote during heian era japan over a years ago its author sei shonagon, as she was known at the imperial court, wrote numerous musings about her life, recorded events that happened at the palace and documented the everyday. The pillow book of sei shonagon columbia university press. The makura no soshi, or the pillow book as it is generally known in english, is a. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the movie the pillow book by director peter greenaway. The pillow book summary from litcharts the creators of.
Plot overview and analysis written by an experienced literary critic. The pillow book, makura no soshi is a book of observations and musings recorded by sei shonagon during her time as court lady to empress consort. Sei shonagon collected her writings a bundle of papers kept inside her pillow in the late 900s a. The pillow book, makura no soshi is a book of observations and musings recorded by sei shonagon during her time as court lady to empress consort teishi during the 990s and early s in heian japan. In her pillow book, she gives an account of the things she saw and her feelings. Its 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. A fat person with a great amount of hair looks hot someone whos. The pillow book of sei shonagon by ivan morris 9780231073370. Courtiers like sei would have avidly studied classic poetry collections like. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
Very modern and very classical, the pillow book invites us for the excursion through its amazingly poetic field that opens in many directions. It rejects convention and asks the viewer to forget traditions and entrenched assumptions. The pleasures of the flesh and the pleasures of literature. It is the character of the writers manner of perceiving, the stamp of the personality, and the idiosyncrasy established. In empress teishi s court, knowledge of classical poetry was neither an academic pursuit nor a frivolous pastime. In summary, the difficulty in establishing a viable reading strategy for. Buy the pillow book of sei shonagon twentyninth printing by sei shonagon, ivan morris, robin duke isbn. The book is full of humorous observations okashi written in the style of a diary, an approach known as zuihitsustyle rambling of which the pillow book was the first and greatest example.
Like much of his television work, the pillow book was created with digital japanese technology and involves layer upon layer of images interacting in various aspect ratios ranging from anamorphic 2. It is the same for many of us living in modern times. I first encountered sei shonagon in a college course about the personal essay. Buy the pillow book penguin classics translation by sei shonagon, meredith mckinney isbn. The pillow book ends with a possible explanation of the diarys origin. Sei shonagon was born in japan around the year 965 ce and served as a lady in waiting to empress sadako. The work of shonagon consists of a collection of essays, anecdotes, poems, and descriptive passages that have little connection to one. Essays for the pillow book film the pillow book literature essays are academic essays for citation. Every now and then she provides a list of things, which are like. The pillow book study guide from litcharts the creators of. Rather, courtier sei shonagon s diary entries in the pillow book suggest that poetry was woven into everyday conversations and was often a defining aspect of ones social status and relationships. Heian court culture the pillow book of sei shonagon. Sei begins filling the book with those things she finds delightful or impressive, never intending it to be seen by others, she claims. The pillow book makura no soshi is a personalised account of life at the japanese court by sei shonagon which she completed c.
Memoirs of a lady on the make 1,000 years ago in japan, a court ladyinwaiting, sei shonagon, kept a journal, her pillow book, of her life, loves and intense dislikes. Reviews of the the pillow book until now about the ebook we have now the pillow book comments consumers havent still eventually left their particular overview of the action, or you cannot make out the print still. Need help with section 20 in sei shonagons the pillow book. The pillow book is a masterpiece that i thoroughly enjoyed when i read it many years ago, and this brief taste provided by lopate reminded me that i really should go back for a thorough reread.
Like sometimes a person who is utterly devoid of charm will try to create a good impression by using very elegant language. She was a tremendously witty lady of the court in 10th century japan who kept a private diary of various lists and commentaries, and this is one of them. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. In her journal, sei shonagon describes events that happened in her daily life, e. Images overview summary it begins with a poetic admiration of the four seasons, then a list of pet peeves called hateful things such as tiresome visitors, annoying inkstick mistakes sleepy priests performing exorcists, and random conversations. Review the pillow book of sei shonagon arthur waley translation presentation by kenneth plank 1. Though her world would have been familiar to her audience, which experienced her reflections only after they were unintentionally released. While others may be more familiar with murasaki shikibus 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. Considering the fact sei shounagon had to walk all the way from the palace, which existed near what is now marutamachi station.
The story behind the pillow book is that when shonagon possible real name. Get all the key plot points of sei shonagons the pillow book on one page. The pillow book of sei shonagon, an informal diary of the reminiscences of a ladyinwaiting at the court of a heian empress. The pillow book is a collection of reflections written by japanese gentlewoman sei shonagon as a kind of journal during the 990s and early s. Hateful things by sei shonagon hateful things is an excerpt from sei shonagons pillow book. As the light creeps over the hills, their outlines are dyed a faint red and wisps of purplish cloud trail over them. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the pillow book. The pillow book summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Sei shounagon and the pillow book the kyoto project. Need help with sections 14 in sei shonagons the pillow book.
Written during the heian period by sei shonagon, ladyinwaiting of empress teishi, it is an impressionistic compendium of hundreds of things classified by categories rare. Order our the pillow book of sei shonagon, translated from the japanese and edited by ivan morris study guide. She is the author of the pillow book, makura no soshi. The captain first secretary, tadanobu,84 having heard. The pillow book is an experiment in the potential of film.
In this 5 part program, karen lindsey reads professor ivan morris translation of the pillow book, 1967 a book of observations and musings recorded by sei shonagon during her time as court lady to empress consort teishi during the 990s and early 11th century in heian japan. The pillow book is one of the masterpieces of japanese literature. The pillow book is a 1996 erotic drama film written and directed by peter greenaway, which stars vivian wu as nagiko, a japanese model in search of pleasure and new cultural experience from various lovers. Its lyrical style and compelling images have captured the imagination of readers worldwide. Take a firsthand journey into a time, society and world full of intrigue. Sei shonagon, the author of the pillow book, was born in 966 or 967, the daughter of kiyohara no motosuke.
Chapter literature selection the pillow book 12 by sei. The pillow book by sei shonagon was written in the 11th century, but its basically a modern day blog. When she was asked about the most important things in life, sei shonagon answered, the flesh and the literature. The pillow book of sei shonagon free ebook download as pdf file. The versions collected in worlding sei shonagon are an enlightening example of the many. The pillow book, on the other hand, is a plain record of fact, and being at least ten times as long as murasakis diary, and far more varied in contents, it is the most important document of the period that we possess. Her name her birthdeath date her relationships husbandchildren her life after the court what we know about sei shonagon. The pillow book of sei shonagon is a fascinating, detailed account of japanese court life in the eleventh century.
Slowness was one of the major qualities of being elegant and graceful. We talked about her tone in the essay hateful things, and i. Much of the pillow book is similarly personal, and the vibrant personality of the woman who wrote it makes the pillow book a delightful, fascinating, and important book to read. Literature selection from the pillow book by sei shonagon sei shonagon was a ladyinwaiting to empress sadako during the last decade of the 10th century in japan. The pillow book is a genre which accommodates the full range of the writing spectrum, from idle jotting to highly disciplined poetic composition. The pillow book is a journal written by a tenthcentury ladyinwaiting to the empress of japan.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Review the pillow book of sei shonagon arthur waley. The pillow book is the diary of sei shonagon, a courtesan at the imperial court of japan in the late 10th and early 11th century. Sei shonagons pillow book is one of the greatest japanese literary works.
One of the great classics of japanese literature, the pillow book of sei shonagon is by far our most detailed source of factual material on life in eleventhcentury japan at. The pillow book of sei s honagon presentation by kenneth plank 2. The author is sei shonagon, and she was given some notebooks that were lying around the palace that no one else wanted. This lesson is intended to use literature of its time to help students understand heian court culture. The pillow book is a book of observations and musings recorded by sei shonagon during her time as court lady to empress consort teishi during the 990s and early 11th century in heian japan. Shonagon has a genius eye for detail, and her tone is. The pillow book of sei shonagon is a fascinating look at japanese court culture during the 11th century heian period 794 to 1186. The pillowbook of sei shonagon translated by ivan morris. Many of the translations are made readily available for the first time in this study. The pillow book of sei shonagon translations writing scribd.