The Pillow Book
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...
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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.
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780140448061 (0140448063)
ASIN: 140448063
Publish date: October 30th 2007
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Pages no: 416
Edition language: English
Category:
Classics,
Non Fiction,
Autobiography,
Memoir,
Biography,
Literature,
Cultural,
Asian Literature,
Poetry,
Japan,
Womens,
Japanese Literature
AcknowledgementsChronologyIntroductionFurther ReadingNote on the Translation--The Pillow BookAppendix 1 PlacesAppendix 2 People and Where They AppearAppendix 3 TimeAppendix 4 Glossary of General TermsAppendix 5 Court Ranks, Titles and BureaucracyAppendix 6 Clothes and Colour GlossaryNotes
bookshelves: mystery-thriller, autumn-2010, japan, medieval5c-16c, published-1002, epistolatory-diary-blog Recommended for: radio 4 listeners Read from November 14 to 19, 2010 BBC blurb - Lady Shonagon and Lieutenant Yukinari return to investigate a murder in the Palace of the Sun Goddess. A fav...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00vw738/Womans_Hour_Drama_The_Pillow_Book_series_3_Episode_1/BBC blurb - Lady Shonagon and Lieutenant Yukinari return to investigate a murder in the Palace of the Sun Goddess. A favourite of the Emperor is found drowned in a pool in the Palace Gardens. But befor...
Loved the character of Shonagon and the descriptions of the elaborate court rituals, suppressed emotions, hidden passions; quite apart from learning about such an extraordinarily regimented and closed society. Wonderful
A gorgeous piece of literature -- the diary of a court lady -- from Heian Japan. I feel it's even better than the Tale of Genji. Wicked, bitter, and very funny in spots.
14 years ago
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