Sei Shōnagon
To give Shōshi prestige and to make her competitive in a court that valued education and learning, Michinaga sought talented, educated and interesting ladies-in-waiting to build a salon to rival that of Teishi and Seishi (daughter of Emperor Murakami). Michinaga invited Murasaki Shikibu, author of "The Tale of Genji", to Shōshi's court, where she joined Izumi Shikibu and Akazome Emon. Later Ise no Taifu, a talented poet and musician also joined. At Teishi's court as lady-in-waiting was writer Sei Shōnagon, author of The "Pillow Book". The women at the two empresses' courts wrote some of the best-known and enduring Heian era literature.