num_pages: 364
description: The classic portrayal of court life in tenth-century Japan  Written by the court gentlewoman Sei Shonagon, ostensibly for her own amusement, The Pillow Book offers a fascinating exploration of life among the nobility at the height of the Heian period, describing the exquisite pleasures of a confined world in which poetry, love, fashion, and whim dominated, while harsh reality was kept firmly at a distance. Moving elegantly across a wide range of themes including nature, society, and her own flirtations, Sei Shonagon provides a witty and intimate window on a woman's life at court in classical Japan.
language: English
title: The Pillow Book
titlecomplete: The Pillow Book
genres: Asia, Historical, Japanese Literature, Poetry, Literature, Classics, Nonfiction, Japan, History, Memoir
ratings_count: 7807
publisher: Penguin Classics