Book · 1967 · Court and courtiers
The pillow book
- mentions
- 2
- people
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- podcasts
- 2
- episodes
- 2
- recommendation
- 1
It's uh Sei Shonagon's book. So it's it's not somebody who's going to listen to this. The Pillow Book was written in um around 1000. It's very old.
The best things said about it
So they wrote These pillow books there's also one called the pillow book and that was a specific book written by uh how would you pronounce s-e-i as a first name say say say uh Shona gun and that was made into a movie in 1986.
Why people recommend it
The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon is a classic collection of observations, lists, and musings written by a lady-in-waiting in Japan around the year 1000. On The Book Review, author Louise Erdrich recommended the ancient text, praising it as a wonderful, relaxing piece of reading material that she frequently turns to when trying to fall asleep. Meanwhile, Josh Clark discussed the book on the Stuff You Should Know podcast, exploring the historical tradition of Japanese pillow books and noting that Shōnagon's specific work even inspired a cinematic adaptation in 1996. Both podcast mentions underscored the remarkable historical longevity and intimate personal style of Shōnagon's writing, which offers modern readers a vivid, unfiltered glimpse into the daily court life, aesthetic preferences, and social intrigues of Heian-period Japan. Through these discussions, the book is recognized not only as a foundational work of Japanese literature but also as an early precursor to the modern personal diary, celebrated for its sharp wit, poetic descriptions, and deeply relatable human observations.
Every mention
Louise Erdrich It's uh Sei Shonagon's book. So it's it's not somebody who's going to listen to this. The Pillow Book was w… 1
“It's uh Sei Shonagon's book. So it's it's not somebody who's going to listen to this. The Pillow Book was written in um around 1000. It's very old.”
Josh Clark so they wrote These pillow books there's also one called the pillow book and that was a specific book writt… 1
“so they wrote These pillow books there's also one called the pillow book and that was a specific book written by uh how would you pronounce s-e-i as a first name say say say uh Shona gun and that was made into a movie in 1986”