Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature
- The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Contributors
- Book part
- A note on Romanization and conventions
- Glossary
- General introduction
- Part I The ancient period (beginnings to 794)
- Part II The Heian period (794–1185)
- 7 Introduction: court culture, women, and the rise of vernacular literature
- 8 Sugawara no Michizane, a Heian literatus and statesman
- 9 Kokinshūand Heian court poetry
- 10 Early Heian court tales
- 11 Genji monogatariand its reception
- 12 Late courtly romance
- 13 Premodern commentary on the classical literary canon
- 14 ThePillow Bookof Sei Shōnagon
- 15 Heian literary diaries: fromTosa nikkitoSarashina nikki
- 16 The Heian Academy: literati culture from Minamoto no Shitagō to Ōe no Masafusa
- 17 Heian canons of Chinese poetry:Wakan rōeishūand Bai Juyi
- 18 The Literary Essence of Our Court (Honchō monzui)
- 19 Vernacular histories:Eiga monogatari, Ōkagami, Gukanshō
- 20 Heian popular songs:imayōandRyōjin hishō
- Part III The medieval period (1185–1600)
- Part IV The Edo period (1600–1867)
- Part V The modern period (1868 to present)
- Bibliography of English secondary sources and translations
- Index
14 - ThePillow Bookof Sei Shōnagon
from Part II - The Heian period (794–1185)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 January 2016
Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature
- The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Contributors
- Book part
- A note on Romanization and conventions
- Glossary
- General introduction
- Part I The ancient period (beginnings to 794)
- Part II The Heian period (794–1185)
- 7 Introduction: court culture, women, and the rise of vernacular literature
- 8 Sugawara no Michizane, a Heian literatus and statesman
- 9 Kokinshūand Heian court poetry
- 10 Early Heian court tales
- 11 Genji monogatariand its reception
- 12 Late courtly romance
- 13 Premodern commentary on the classical literary canon
- 14 ThePillow Bookof Sei Shōnagon
- 15 Heian literary diaries: fromTosa nikkitoSarashina nikki
- 16 The Heian Academy: literati culture from Minamoto no Shitagō to Ōe no Masafusa
- 17 Heian canons of Chinese poetry:Wakan rōeishūand Bai Juyi
- 18 The Literary Essence of Our Court (Honchō monzui)
- 19 Vernacular histories:Eiga monogatari, Ōkagami, Gukanshō
- 20 Heian popular songs:imayōandRyōjin hishō
- Part III The medieval period (1185–1600)
- Part IV The Edo period (1600–1867)
- Part V The modern period (1868 to present)
- Bibliography of English secondary sources and translations
- Index
Summary
Sei Shonagon's Pillow Book represents the rival salon of Empress Teishi. Like many of the other diaries by court women, the Pillow Book can be seen as a memorial to the author's patron, specifically a homage to the Naka no Kanpaku family and a literary prayer to the spirit of the deceased empress Teishi. The roughly three hundred discrete sections of the Pillow Book can be divided into three types such as list, essay, and diary, which sometimes overlap. The Pillow Book is now considered one of the pillars of Heian vernacular court literature, but unlike the Kokinshu, The Tales of Ise, and The Tale of Genji, which had been canonized by the thirteenth century, the Pillow Book was not a required text for waka poets and was neglected in the Heian and medieval periods. But it became popular with the new commoner audience in the Tokugawa period, and it has been read for its style, humor, and interesting lists.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature , pp. 161 - 164Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2015