The Pillow Book

Sei Shonagon, Arthur Waley

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780486839028
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Japanese History
• Index: History

In the tenth century, Japan was both physically and culturally isolated from the rest of the world. The Pillow Book recaptures this lost world with the diary of a young court lady. Sei Sh?nagon was a contemporary of Murasaki Shikibu, who wrote the well-known novel  The Tale of Genji. Unlike the latter's fictionalized view of the Heian-era court, Sh?nagon's journal provides a lively miscellany of anecdotes, observations, and gossip, intended to be read in juicy bits and pieces.
This unique volume was first rendered into English in 1889. In 1928, Arthur Waley, a seminal figure in the Western studies of Japanese culture, undertook a translation. The distinguished scholar devised this abridged version of the text, re-creating in English the stylistic beauty of its prose and the vitality of its narrative. Waley's interpretation offers a fascinating glimpse of the artistic pursuits of the royal court and its constant round of rituals, festivals, and ceremonies.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Note
• Translator’s Notes
• The Pillow Book