Research Catalog

Title

The pillow book / Sei Shōnagon ; translated with notes by Meredith McKinney.

Author

Sei Shōnagon, approximately 967-

Publication

London, England : Penguin Books, 2006.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

McKinney, Meredith, 1950-

Description

xxxvi, 364 pages : illustrations, map; 20 cm.

Summary

From short tales to lists of beautiful and ugly things, Sei Shōnagon tells of a leisurely life in the court of tenth century Heian Japan. She can be lyrical, she can show her claws, but she is always fascinating.

Series Statement

Penguin classics

Uniform Title

• Makura no sōshi. English
• Penguin classics

Alternative Title

Makura no sōshi.

Subject

• Sei Shōnagon, approximately 967- > Anecdotes
• Sei Shōnagon, approximately 967-
• Sei Shōnagon 966-1020
• Sei Shōnagon, approximately 967- > Diaries
• Honʼyaku iin shachū Japan
• 794-1185
• Courtesans > Japan > Anecdotes
• Courtisanes > Japon > Anecdotes
• Biography: Historical, Political & Military
• LITERARY COLLECTIONS / Diaries & Journals
• Courtesans
• Courts and courtiers
• Manners and customs
• Höfische Kultur
• Authors, Japanese > Heian period, 794-1185 > Diaries
• Japan > Court and courtiers
• Japan > Social life and customs > 794-1185
• Japan > History > Heian period, 794-1185
• Japon > Mœurs et coutumes > 794-1185
• Japon > Histoire > 794-1185 (Époque de Heian)
• Japan
• Japan > Court and courtiers
• Japan > Social life and customs > 794-1185
• Australian

Genre/Form

• Biographies
• History
• Anecdotes
• Biographies.

Note

• "Written by the Court gentlewoman Sei Shōnagon (c. 966-1017), ostensibly for her own amusement, The Pillow Book is one of the greatest works of Japanese literature. A fascinating exploration of life amongst the nobility at the height of the idyllic Heian period, it describes the exquisite pleasures of a confined world in which poetry, love, fashion and whim dominated, and harsh reality was kept firmly at a distance. In sections ranging in size from brief reflections to longer, lyrical tales, Shōnagon moves elegantly across a wide range of themes including nature, society, and her own flirtations and frustrations, to provide a witty, unique and deeply personal insight into a woman's life at Court in classical Japan. Meredith McKinney's new translation captures the poetic and playful tone of the original, while her introduction explores the nature of the Japanese Court of the era. This edition includes notes, maps and drawings, a detailed glossary of terms and the essays 'Court Ranks, Titles and Bureaucracy' and 'Clothes and Colour Glossary'."--taken from back cover.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages xxxi-xxxii).

Language (note)

• Translated from the Japanese.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Acknowledgements -- Chronology -- Introduction -- Further reading -- Note on the translation -- The Pillow Book -- Appendix 1. Places -- Appendix 2. People and where they appear -- Appendix 3. Time -- Appendix 4. Glossary of general terms -- Appendix 5. Court ranks, titles, and bureaucracy -- Appendix 6. Clothes and colour glossary -- Notes.

ISBN

• 9780140448061
• 0140448063

LCCN

99954762350

OCLC

• 70127715
• SCSB-12025509

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library