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The Pillow Book

by Sei Shonagon

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A court woman’s view of Heian Japan

$17.69 USD
$29.49 USD $17.69 USD
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Paperback New English

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A court woman’s view of Heian Japan

Sei Shonagon’s collection offers a record of aristocratic life in tenth-century Japan through observations on nature, society, poetry, fashion, love, and personal flirtations. Its range of subjects gives the book the character of an intimate window onto courtly pleasures and the boundaries of a world set apart from harsher realities. The historical setting and attention to everyday tastes make it as much a portrait of social life as a personal account.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in Heian-period Japan and aristocratic court life.
  • Readers drawn to historical accounts centered on women’s experiences.
  • Readers interested in collections of observations about nature, society, poetry, and fashion.

Themes

Heian-period court lifeWomen’s lives in historyPoetry, fashion, love, and social customsNature and society

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

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.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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