The Pillow Book

Sei Shōnagon

The Pillow Book is a book written by Sei Shōnagon c. 994. Sei Shōnagon was a member of the Kiyohara family. She wrote the notes that made up her diary (or "pillow book") while she was a member of the court of Empress Sadako. The book is a classic of Japanese literature. It is one of two of the greatest examples of prose literature of this time period. It is a collection of pieces of writing that vary from one or two sentences to several pages. It is the author's observations of people, life at court, and nature.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Women's Political & Social Thought: An Anthology, eds. Hilda L. Smith; Berenice A. Carroll (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000), p. 20
  2. ↑ Donald Keene, Seeds in the Heart: Japanese Literature from Earliest Times to the Late Sixteenth Century (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999), p. 412

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