Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Pillow Book, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Court Life vs. Common Life
Poetry and Social Relationships
Aesthetic Beauty, Delight, and Cultural Tradition
Romance and Official Duty
Summary
Analysis
Sei Shōnagon describes the best times of day that can be observed in each of the four seasons—for example, the dawn in spring, a moonlit summer night, a windy evening in autumn, and a snowy morning in winter. Likewise, every month of the year has its own unique delights.
Sei Shōnagon opens her diary with the first of many lists—lists of things that bring her delight. Throughout the book, she will return to the idea of delight, or okashi, a traditional Japanese emotional and aesthetic sensibility based on observations of one’s surroundings.
Themes
Sei discusses various New Year customs. On the seventh day, for example, people pick shoots of new herbs and attend a parade, with much gaiety. On the following day, those who’ve received promotions make the rounds of their supporters. On the day of the first full moon, gentlewomen sneak around hitting each other with gruel sticks, to much laughter. There’s even more laughter when a young newlywed is hit, because everyone knows she’s just had an overnight visit from her husband.
At this time (the 990s C.E.), imperial court life revolved around seasonal festivals. Here Sei describes the Festival of Young Herbs, which involved both the ritual eating of certain herbs and the awarding of promotions at court. The ritual involving gruel sticks stems from a folk belief that being struck would bring the good fortune of a male child.
Themes
In the fourth month of the year, the Festival is a special delight. Nobles and courtiers are distinguishable by the colors of their clothes in the procession. In the days leading up to the Festival, Sei loves watching attendants carrying “rolls of dark leaf-green or lavender fabric.” She also notices the excited little girls preparing for the festival, who shift from boisterous to dignified as the procession gets underway.
The Festival in the fourth month is the Kamo Festival, a Shinto celebration with elaborate processions that draw great crowds. Different ranks and roles were distinguished by the wearing of specific colors and fabrics, thereby emphasizing the distinction between commoners and courtiers.
Themes
On a list of things that sound different even though they are the same, Sei includes men’s and women’s language. She also says that “Commoners always use too many words when they speak.”
Sei frequently draws attention to what she perceives to be distinctions between men and women. Even more pronounced is her view of the distinction between courtier and commoner—her estimation of the latter is invariably low.
Themes
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