The Pillow Book

This article is about the Japanese book. For the Peter Greenaway film of the same title, see The Pillow Book (film).

The Pillow Book (枕草子, Makura no Sōshi) is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to the Empress Consort Fujiwara no Teishi during the 990s and early 1000s in the Heian period of Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002.

The work is a collection of essays, anecdotes, poems, and descriptive passages that have little connection to one another, except that they express ideas and whims of Shōnagon, spurred by moments in her daily life. In it, she included lists of all kinds, personal thoughts, accounts of interesting events in the court, poetry, and some opinions on her contemporaries. Although it is largely personal, Shōnagon's writing and poetic skill make it interesting as a literary work, and it is valuable as a historical document. Shōnagon meant her writing in The Pillow Book to be private, but part of it was accidentally revealed to the court during her life: "[S]he inadvertently left it [her writing] on a cushion she put out for a visiting guest, who eagerly carried it off despite her pleas." She wrote The Pillow Book for her own enjoyment; it seemed to be a way for her to express thoughts and feelings that she was not allowed to state publicly due to her lower status in the court. Although Shōnagon never intended her work for any eyes other than her own, over the centuries it has become a famous literary work. Six passages from the book were first translated into English in 1889 by T. A. Purcell and W. G. Aston. Other notable English translations have been the partial translation by Arthur Waley in 1928, the first complete translation by Ivan Morris in 1967, and Meredith McKinney's complete translation in 2006.

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