Sei Shonagon

Sei Shonagon

Sei Shōnagon (清少納言), (965-1010s?) was a Japanese author and a court lady who served the Empress Consort Teishi around the year 1000, known as the author of The Pillow Book (枕草子 makura no sōshi).

Life and works

"Sei Shōnagon" 's actual given name is not known. It was the custom among aristocrats in those days to call a court lady (女房nyōbō) by a combined appellative taken from a) her clan name and b) some court office belonging either to her or some close relative. "Sei" (清) thus derives from the Kiyohara (清原) clan, while "Shōnagon" was a government post. It is unknown which of her relatives held the post of shōnagon. "Sei Shōnagon" 's actual name has been a topic of debate among scholars, who generally favor Kiyohara Nagiko (清原 諾子) as a likely possibility.

Little is known about her life except what is said in her writings. She was the daughter of Kiyohara no Motosuke, a scholar and famous waka poet. Her grandfather Kiyohara no Fukayabu was also a well-known waka poet. They were middle-ranking courtiers and had difficulties, since they were never granted a revenue-producing court office.

She married once, as far as we know, and had at least one daughter. When she began to serve the Empress Teishi, consort of Emperor Ichijō, she was supposedly divorced. She was fascinated by the young and beautiful Empress, a teenager when they met.

Shōnagon achieved fame through her work, The Pillow Book. The Pillow Book is a collection of lists, gossip, poetry, observations, complaints, and anything else she found of interest during her years in the court, during the middle Heian Period. In The Pillow Book Shōnagon reports the troubles Empress Teishi had after her father died and Shogun Fujiwara no Michinaga made one his of daughters another consort of the Emperor Ichijō. Because of the risk of fire, the Imperial family did not, at that time, live in the Grand Palace. Empress Teishi resided in a part of Chugushiki, the Bureau of Serving the Empress. Sei Shōnagon refers to the death of her patroness with refined lightheartedness and implies it was not difficult. To do otherwise would have been considered unstylish. Her writing depicts the court of the young Empress as full of an elegant and merry atmosphere.

There are no details about Shōnagon's life after the Empress died in childbirth in 1000, though The Pillow Book is thought to have been finished sometime between 1001 and 1010. One story has Sei Shonagon living out her twilight years in poverty, but this is probably a legend spread by those who disapproved of her alleged promiscuity.

She is also known for her rivalry with her contemporary Murasaki Shikibu, who wrote The Tale of Genji and served the Empress Shoshi, second consort of the Emperor Ichijō.

The Pillow Book

The Pillow Book (枕草子, Makura no sōshi) is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Empress Sadako during the 990s and early 1000s in Heian Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002.

In it she included lists of all kinds, personal thoughts, interesting events in court, poetry and some opinions on her contemporaries. While it is mostly a personal work, Shōnagon's writing and poetic skill makes it interesting as a work of literature, and it is valuable as an historical document. Part of it was revealed to the Court by accident during Shōnagon's life. The book has been translated into English by Ivan Morris.

There is a film of the same name by director Peter Greenaway, which deals with a contemporary story but references the literary work.

Other pillow books that have been written include Aidan Chambers' This Is All, the Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn. A pillow book is a collection of notebooks or notes which have been collated to show a period of someone or something's life, in the case of Cordelia Kenn, it showed her life and thoughts so that her daughter could relive her past.

See also

• The Tale of Genji
• Japanese Poetic Diaries
• Murasaki Shikibu

External links

• The Lists of a Lady-in-Waiting: A Portrait of the Author of The Pillow Book
• The Pillow Book online

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