Mapping the Ancient World

Hello everyone,

My discussion is on Sei Shonagon’s, The Pillow Book. It is a dairy-style work of literature that shares the moments of Shonagon’s life during the Heian Period, under the rule of Empress Teishi. We will look closer on her experiences and how it relates and differs from our own. Furthermore, we will be analyzing the significance of her stories and how it helps us see, hear, and feel the world around us. I would also like you to consider how literature, art, and music played a vital role during the Heian era. Can these things still be considered important today?

The article provided below titled “Sei Shonagon and The Matsushima Diary” by R. Keller Kimbrough, describes the life of Shonagon after the death of Empress Teishi. Shonagon greatly admired the Empress, thus her demise had a strong impact on Sei Shonagon. The article mentions speculations of her “latter years as having been marked by adversity.”  It is proposed that “she lived on as an impoverished nun, suffering hardship and humiliation,” one example was when “Sei Shonagon was staying with Master Kiyohara when Lord Yorimitsu sent his Four Guardian Kings to strike him down. The men wanted to kill her because she looked like a priest. ‘I’m a nun,’ she said, and immediately showed them her privates.” A comparison can be made from the once proud Sei Shonagon being humiliated, and reduced to exposing herself. However, these are just surmises, not much is truly known of her latter years.

Sei Shonagon and The Matsushima Diary

I look forward to our discussion.