I currently went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and it was a very eye seeing experience. This was my first time going and I didn’t know what to expect but I was also excited to see the many exhibits that they had to offer. One of the main exhibits that grasped my attention was old European century palace decor. I was so intrigued of how different houses looked in the inside especially the interior texture. I was able to see the living interiors of kings and queens and how they decorated. It was amazing because each wall of the living rooms and even master rooms were designed to have the highest quality of luxury including gold texture around the beds, and chandeliers hanging above the bed. It was so beautiful because you can really see that kings and queens were the tipping point of lavish in their time. This exhibit interested me a lot because I was able to compare it to the houses that we have now and our own interior texture. Now a days you don’t see rooms or houses made out of gold or extravagant objects laying across the floor. I truly was amazed and learned a lot about old European texture.

        The pillow book allows readers to emerge themselves into the lifestyle of Japanese culture told through Sei shonagon during her many observations of the world she sees. I truly enjoyed this reading because theirs so many descriptive images that allow readers to really analyze each line and find a significant meaning behind it. From the start of the reading I was drawn to Sei Shonagon metaphors, her wording, and her distinct sense of her surroundings.I found the second paragraph in the beginning of the book to be interesting when she talks about the four seasons. But when she spoke about summer I was drawn to her descriptive images. She mentions “In summer, the night-moonlit nights, of course, but also at the dark of the moon, it’s beautiful when fireflies are dancing everywhere in a mazy flight. And it’s delightful too to see just one or two flies through the darkness, glowing softly. Rain falling on a summer night is also lovely.” Each line goes with each other, the words of each line has their own unique meaning which gives a bigger sense of how summer is portrayed. She mentions fireflies are dancing in a mazy flight; fireflies are small insects that only come out at night. I found fireflies to be important because when fireflies begin to come out at night that’s a sign that summer is arriving. I see Fireflies as a symbol of summer, warm weather. The second line says fly through the darkness, glowing softly. Darkness I found to be a descriptive word in this line because in darkness you can’t see anything it’s pitch black, but fireflies use their light to brighten up the summer sky. Glowing softly, I interpreted as the fireflies providing light at night but their light is dim and at the same time their dim light is powerful enough to brighten the summer night. Sei Shonagon finds the beauty of each season and truly reflects upon it through her writing.

      I found the second paragraph in the beginning of the book to be interesting when she talks about the four seasons. But when she spoke about summer I was drawn to her descriptive images. She mentions “In summer, the night-moonlit nights, of course, but also at the dark of the moon, it’s beautiful when fireflies are dancing everywhere in a mazy flight. And it’s delightful too to see just one or two flies through the darkness, glowing softly. Rain falling on a summer night is also lovely.” Each line goes with each other, the words of each line has their own unique meaning which gives a bigger sense of how summer is portrayed. She mentions fireflies are dancing in a mazy flight; fireflies are small insects that only come out at night. I found fireflies to be important because when fireflies begin to come out at night that’s a sign that summer is arriving. I see Fireflies as a symbol of summer, warm weather. The second line says fly through the darkness, glowing softly. Darkness I found to be a descriptive word in this line because in darkness you can’t see anything it’s pitch black, but fireflies use their light to brighten up the summer sky. Glowing softly, I interpreted as the fireflies providing light at night but their light is dim and at the same time their dim light is powerful enough to brighten the summer night. Sei Shonagon finds the beauty of each season and truly reflects upon it through her writing.

Questions:

1: Whats significant about Sei Shonagon describing the four season in such a descriptive way.

2: What universal meaning can you get from reading The Pillow Book?