The Pillow Book (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

Write a ridiculously simplified synopsis.

Characters/People edit see section history

• Chamberlain: Add a description of this character.
• Tadanobu
• Korechika
• Masahiro
• Yoshichika
• Narinobu

Quotes edit see section history

• “It is absurd of people to get angry because one has gossiped about them. How can anyone be so simple as to believe that he is free to find fault with others while his own foibles are passed over in silence?”

• “Elegant things: A white coat worn over a violet waistcoat; Duck eggs; Shaved ice mixed with liana syrup and put in a new silver bowl; A rosary of rock crystal; Wisteria blossoms; Plum blossoms covered with snow; A pretty child eating strawberries.”

• “It is unpleasant to see a woman of a certain age with a young husband; and it is most unsuitable when she becomes jealous of him because he has gone to visit someone else.”

• “People who seem to suffer: The nurse looking after a baby who cries at night; A man with two mistresses who is obliged to see them being bitter and jealous towards each other; An exorcist who has to deal with an obstinate spirit...; A woman passionately loved by a man who is absurdly jealous; ...; Nervous people.”

• “One can tell if a man really loves one, because he will insist on staying all night however much one may urge him to leave. Time after time the night watchman has made his rounds, and now he exclaims in a very audible voice, 'Good heavens! The dawn has come' (as if it were so surprising) 'and someone's gone and left the gate wide open all night. Such carelessness!' Then he securely bolts the gate, though it is now light and there is no need for such precautions. How unpleasant it all is!”

• “Pleasant things: Finding a large number of tales that one has not read before, or acquiring the second volume of a tale whose first volume one has enjoyed, but often it is a disappointment; Someone has torn up a letter and thrown it away. Picking up the pieces, one finds many of them can be fitted together; .. ; I look for an object that I need at once, and I find it. Or again, there is a book that I must see immediately, I turn everything upside down and there it is. What joy!; ...; What a delight it is when Her Majesty summons me to her side so that all the others have to make way!”

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• Everything that cries in the night is wonderful. With the exception, of course, of babies.

  Highlighted by 5 Kindle customers

• You’ve just settled sleepily into bed when a mosquito announces itself with that thin little wail, and starts flying round your face. It’s horrible how you can feel the soft wind of its tiny wings.

  Highlighted by 4 Kindle customers

• Dusk’s temple bell tolls one by one its long slow notes under the mountain – surely each stroke counts for you the loving thoughts that fill my heart.

  Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers

• On a night when you’re waiting for someone to come, there’s a sudden gust of rain and something rattles in the wind, making your heart suddenly beat faster.

  Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers

• A priest who gives a sermon should be handsome. After all, you’re most aware of the profundity of his teaching if you’re gazing at his face as he speaks.

  Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers

• People who go about in a carriage with squeaky wheels are very irritating. It makes you wonder irately if they’re deaf. And if you find yourself riding in one you’ve borrowed from someone, you even begin to loathe its owner.

  Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers

• I hate it when, either at home or at the palace, someone comes calling whom you’d rather not see and you pretend to be asleep, but then a well-meaning member of the household comes along and shakes you awake with a look of disapproval at how you’ve dozed off.

  Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers

• I can’t bear men who consider women who serve at court to be frivolous and unseemly.

  Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers

• [21] Women without prospect, who lead dull earnest lives and rejoice in their petty little pseudo-pleasures, I find quite depressing and despicable. People of any

  Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Shigeisa
• Nobukata
• China
• Long Room
• Osaka

First Sentence edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Sei Shōnagon (Author)
2. Ivan Morris

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 895.68107

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › History & Criticism › Criticism & Theory
• Books › Biographies & Memoirs › Specific Groups › Women
• Books › History › Asia › Japan
• Books › Nonfiction › Foreign Language Nonfiction › Japanese
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary
• Books › Biographies & Memoirs › Historical
• Books › Biographies & Memoirs › Memoirs

Books That Cite This Book edit see section history