The Pillow Book

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Call Number: 895.68 Sh
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	895.68 Sh	4-week checkout	On Shelf

"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.
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.
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.

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