Pillow Book

The Pillow Book by Sei Sh?nagon provides a vivid glimpse into the isolated world of the Heian-era court, offering anecdotes, observations, and gossip in a lively miscellany. Arthur Waley's translation in 1889 and 1928 captures the stylistic beauty and narrative vitality of the original text, providing a fascinating glimpse into the artistic pursuits of the royal court.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 96 pages
Publication date: 26 April 2019
Publisher: Dover Publications Inc.

Japan was physically and culturally isolated from the rest of the world in the tenth century. The Pillow Book, written by Sei Sh?nagon, a contemporary of Murasaki Shikibu, the author of The Tale of Genji, captures this lost world through the diary of a young court lady. Unlike Murasaki Shikibu'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.

Weight: 70g
Dimension: 200 x 125 x 6 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780486834436
Edition number: Abridged ed