Written by the court gentlewoman Sei Shōnagon as a journal for her own amusement, The Pillow Book is one of the greatest works of Japanese literature.
A fascinating exploration of life among 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.
From brief reflections to longer, lyrical tales, Shōnagon moves elegantly across themes including nature, society and her own flirtations and frustrations, to provide a witty, unique insight into a woman’s life at court in classical Japan.
Translated with an introduction by Meredith McKinney.
The Sound of Raindrops
About a thousand years ago, at a time when literary fashion in the courts of northern Europe had not progressed much beyond the coarse and bloody exploits of Beowulf, in another court a Japanese lady...
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