The Pillow Book

E86156

The Pillow Book is a classic Japanese literary work by court lady Sei Shōnagon, consisting of witty, observant essays and lists that vividly depict court life and aesthetics during the Heian period.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
The Pillow Book canonical 8
枕草子 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Heian-period literature
Japanese literary work
essay collection
zuihitsu
adaptedAs films
stage works
alsoKnownAs Makura no Sōshi
associatedWith Empress Shōshi
surface form: Empress Teishi
author Sei Shōnagon
contains anecdotes
lists
personal reflections
poetic allusions
countryOfOrigin Japan
culturalSignificance key source on Heian court culture
genre diary literature
essay
zuihitsu
hasTheme aesthetic sensibility
courtly romance
impermanence
social observation
influenced Japanese essay tradition
Yoshida Kenkō’s Essays in Idleness
later zuihitsu works
literaryForm prose
literaryMovement Heian court literature
literaryStatus classic of Japanese literature
mainSubject Heian court life
aesthetics
observations
narrativePerspective first-person
originalLanguage Classical Japanese
preservationStatus survives in multiple textual recensions
primaryAudience Heian court aristocrats
setting Kyoto Imperial Palace
surface form: Imperial court in Kyoto
studiedIn Japanese literature curricula
style fragmentary
observant
subjective
witty
timePeriodDescribed Heian period
titleInJapanese The Pillow Book self-linksurface differs
surface form: 枕草子
writtenByCulture Heian aristocracy
writtenByOccupation court lady
writtenCirca early 11th century
late 10th century

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (9)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Heian period significantWork The Pillow Book
Classical Japanese hasCanonicalWork The Pillow Book
Sei Shōnagon notableWork The Pillow Book
The Pillow Book titleInJapanese The Pillow Book self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: 枕草子
Peter Greenaway notableWork The Pillow Book
Imperial court of Japan (historically) notableWorkProduced The Pillow Book
subject surface form: Imperial court of Japan
Makura no Sōshi hasTranslation The Pillow Book
Makura no Sōshi titleTranslation The Pillow Book
Heian court literature notableWork The Pillow Book