µ˙Book Club
Spring 2015
The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon
Suggested edition: Penguin Classics, 2006
From the introduction by translator Meredith McKinney:
A thousand years ago, in a world in many ways unimaginably different
from ours, a lady at the imperial court of Japan settled herself in front of
a precious bundle of paper and began to write the extraordinary work later
called Makura no soshi,
known to English readers as The Pillow Book. In it
she wrote about her world, in a voice so vividly alive that we find ourselves
in the presence of a woman we recognize as we would a friend.
The world Sei Shonagon
lived in and wrote for was the intimate world of
the court—instantly recognizable to her and her audience, but so opaque
to us that we have only her words to guide us. As we read her apparently
crazy quilt of vignettes and opinions and anecdotes, we find ourselves
deep inside this world, and feel her responses along with our own nerves.
But the modern reader’s compelling sense of intimacy with Shonagon
and her world, which is one of the great achievements of her writing, is
of course based on an illusion.
How to Use this Book Discussion Guide
How to Book an MFAH Book Club Tour
Creating bridges between the literary and visual arts is
what makes the MFAH Book Club unique. All art arises
from the context of its time. Based on six broad themes, this
discussion guide features works of art from the Museum of
Fine Arts, Houston, and questions related to Sei Shonagon’s
The Pillow Book. Discuss the questions with your book club,
then bring your group (and your copy of the book) for an
MFAH Book Club tour!
For book clubs and other groups of six or more confirmed
participants, tours related to Sei Shonagon’s
The Pillow
Book are available on select days and times January 2–
April 27, 2015. Tours are led by Museum docents
and feature excerpts from the novel and discussions
about works of art on view at the Museum.
Of special note is the exhibition Unfolding Worlds: Japanese
Screens and Contemporary Ceramics from the Gitter-Yelen
Collection, on view at the Museum March 1–May 10, 2015,
which may be incorporated into your docent-led tour.
For more information, please visit mfah.org/bookclub.
Please e-mail [email protected] with any questions.
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Courtly Life: Hierarchy & Gender Roles
During the Heian period (784–1185), Japan had appropriated much from Chinese culture, but was proudly independent.
Read the legendary tale in section 226 (pp. 197–200), and discuss how Japan appears.
Describe the role of court gentlewomen, including Sei Shonagon,
in the Heian court. What were their responsibilities?
What activities occupied their time?
If visiting the Museum March 1–May 10, 2015, tour the exhibition Unfolding Worlds: Japanese Screens and Contemporary
Ceramics from the Gitter-Yelen Collection and view the screen Flower-Viewing Excursion. Is this how you envision the
gentlewomen of the court—and why?
Anonymous, Flower-Viewing Excursion, 1716–36,
six-panel screen: ink, pigment, and gold powder on paper,
Gitter-Yelen Collection, Photo © The Israel Museum,
Jerusalem by Elie Posner
How do these two images compare to descriptions of leisure at the Heian court?
How would you characterize the relationships between court gentlemen and gentlewomen? Is there a gender bias—and, if
so, why? Consider section 46 (pp. 49–52),
section 60 (pp. 55–57), section 99 (pp.
107–113), section 176 (pp. 168–174), and
section 249 (pp. 207–208).
Left to right: Jean-Baptiste Pater, A Pastoral Concert,
c. 1725, oil on wood, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston,
The Edith A. and Percy S. Straus Collection; Théodore
Chassériau, Woman and Little Girl of Constantine with
a Gazelle, 1849, oil on wood, the Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston, Museum purchase funded by the Agnes Cullen
Arnold Endowment Fund.
In the exhibition Unfolding Worlds, view both sides of the
screen titled Scenes In and Around the Capital. Based on
this screen and The Pillow Book, how would you characterize
the relationship between members of the court and commoners?
How were court gentlewomen viewed differently than
Buddhist nuns (section 82, pp. 76–85) and prostitutes
(section S5, pp. 250)?
There are several episodes illustrating the pomp and
circumstance at the Heian court. In this context, discuss
section 94 (pp. 97–104) and section 259 (pp. 214–230).
Tosa Daijo Genyo, Scenes In and Around the Capital (left screen detail),
c. 1700, pair of six-panel screens: ink, pigment, and gold powder on
paper, Gitter-Yelen Collection, Photo © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
by Elie Posner
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Fashion & Humor
In the Heian court, what was the relation between clothing and status? Provide examples.
Consider these four works of art at the Museum. How do you envision fashion at the royal court of late 10th-century
Japan was different than the fashion of European society?
Left to right: Ferdinand Bol, Woman at her Dressing Table, c. 1645, oil on canvas, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by Mrs. Harry C. Hanszen;
Pompeo Batoni, William Fermor, 1758, oil on canvas, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Samuel H. Kress Collection, frame purchased with funds provided
by the Museum Collectors; Jean-Étienne Liotard, Jean-Louis Buisson-Boissier, c. 1764, pastel on vellum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase;
Georges Seurat, Young Woman Powdering Herself, 1889, oil on wood, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of Audrey Jones Beck.
There seemed to be rules of etiquette pertaining to humor at the Heian court. What do the following sections reveal
about humor? Section 98 (pp. 105–107), section 221 (pp. 195–196), and section 293 (pp. 246–247).
Oscar Wilde, another notable observer of the world, offered witty aphorisms about class,
behavior, and notoriety, including:
• “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.”
• “A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.”
• “Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.”
Do these aphorisms by Wilde relate to Sei Shonagon’s
observations in The Pillow Book
and, if so, how?
Also from Oscar Wilde: “Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter
it every six months.” Was this true during the 10th century at the Heian court?
Napoleon Sarony, Portrait of Oscar
Wilde, c. 1882, albumen print.
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Writing & Poetry
What does section 258 (pp. 212–214) reveal about the value of writing and paper during this period?
Why do you believe The Pillow Book contains so many “lists”? For example, sections 10–19 (pp. 16–17), sections
58–59 (p. 55), sections 61–66 (pp. 57–59), sections 159–168 (pp. 162–163), sections 190–204 (pp. 184–186),
sections 216–218 (p. 193), sections 231–242 (pp. 203–205), and sections 260–270 (pp. 230–232).
Skilled composition and recitation of poetry were prized by the Heian court. Consider the following questions about poetry:
In section 20 (pp. 17–22), the empress asks the gentlewomen to write the first ancient poem that comes to mind.
As it turns out, it was a “test” of sorts. What does this reveal about poetry?
In section 77 (pp. 65–69), Captain Tadanobu and Sei Shonagon
“flirt” via poetry. How did they flirt, and what was
the result?
- find herself? Was the situation resolved?
In section 85 (pp. 88–91), in what quandary did Kohyoe
In section 101 (pp. 113–114), in what quandary did Sei Shonagon
find herself? How did she resolve the situation?
Art & Nature
Reread section 252 (p. 209). What do you feel is more satisfying: looking at someone’s face or looking at pictures of the
face? Why?
Nature is a prominent theme in The Pillow Book, and also graces a number of screens in the exhibition Unfolding
Worlds. Looking at these three screens, what are the most prominent characteristics of their depictions of nature?
Is this how you imagine “nature”?
- Landscape (right screen detail), 1828, pair of six-panel folding screens: ink and gold leaf on paper, Gitter-Yelen Collection, Photo © The Israel
Left to right: Tani Buncho,
Museum, Jerusalem by Elie Posner; Yamamoto Baiitsu, Flowers and Plants of the Four Seasons (left screen detail), 1830s, pair of six-panel folding screens: ink and
pigment on paper, Gitter-Yelen Collection, Photo © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem by Elie Posner; Shibata Zeshin, Waterfall, 1880s, two-panel screen: ink, pigment,
lacquer paint, and gold powder on paper, Gitter-Yelen Collection, Photo © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem by Elie Posner
The Pillow Book offers short descriptions of all manner of
objects, from household objects to clothing, interiors, gardens,
and more. What are the similarities and differences between
Sei Shonagon’s
descriptions and the European tradition
of painting still-lifes such as these two at the Museum?
Left to right: Jan van Huysum, Still Life of Flowers and Fruit, c. 1715,
oil on wood, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase
funded by the Alice Pratt Brown Museum Fund and the Brown Foundation
Accessions Endowment Fund; Cristoforo Munari, Still Life with Musical
Instruments, c. 1710–15, oil on canvas, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston,
The Samuel H. Kress Collection.
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Then & Now
If you had been a court gentleman or gentlewoman, and knew Sei Shonagon
THEN, would you have liked her? If you
knew her NOW, would you like her?
Many sections in The Pillow Book contain statements that might be mistaken for contemporary expressions in e-mail,
on Facebook, or via Twitter. Consider the following:
From section 90, Infuriating things (p. 93): “Thinking of one or two changes in the wording after you’ve sent a message
to someone, or written and sent off a reply to someone’s message.”
From section 116, Deeply irritating things (p. 125): “Someone you don’t particularly care for, who jumps to ridiculous
conclusions and gets upset about nothing, and generally behaves with irritating self-importance.”
From section 257, Things that give you pleasure (p. 210): “You’ve read the first volume of a tale you hadn’t come across
before, and are longing to go on with it—then you find the other volume. The rest of it can sometimes turn out to be
disappointing, however.”
Have you ever had these experiences, or other experiences described by Sei Shonagon?
Truth vs. Fiction
In section 134 (p. 140), Sei Shonagon
writes: “I never intended this book to be seen by others, so I’ve written whatever
came into my mind, without worrying about whether people would find it strange or unpleasant.” She expands on
this explanation in section S29 (pp. 255–256). Do you believe her claim that The Pillow Book was intended to remain
private? Why or why not?
From reading The Pillow Book, does Sei Shonagon
seem truthful in her descriptions of events?
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About the Author & Translator
Sei Shonagon
(c. 966–c. 1025) was the daughter of the poet Kiyohara Motosuke and was
- from about 991 to 1000. While at the imperial
in the service of the Empress Sadako at the capital of Heian-kyo- (Kyoto)
court, she was a diarist and poet, and was well regarded as a witty, learned lady. The Pillow Book, in Japanese Makura
no soshi,
is celebrated not only
as the best source of information on Japanese court life in the Heian period (784–1185),
but also for its brilliant and original Japanese prose style.
Meredith McKinney is a translator of Japanese literature, both contemporary and classical. She lived in Japan for twenty
years and currently lives in Braidwood, New South Wales.
“In life there are two things which are dependable.
The pleasures of the flesh and the pleasures of literature.”
~ Sei Shonagon
~
Unfolding Worlds: Japanese Screens and Contemporary Ceramics from the Gitter-Yelen Collection is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston, in collaboration with the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
The MFAH Book Club receives generous support from Aggie and Joe Foster.
All education programs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, receive endowment income from funds provided by the Louise Jarrett Moran Bequest;
Caroline Wiess Law; the William Randolph Hearst Foundation; The National Endowment for the Humanities; the Fondren Foundation;
BMC Software, Inc.; the Wallace Foundation; the Neal Myers and Ken Black Children’s Art Fund; the Favrot Fund; and Gifts in honor of Beth Schneider.
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