Sei Shōnagon

Sei Shōnagon

▪ Japanese writer
born c. 966, Japan
died c. 1025, Japan

      diarist and poet, a witty, learned lady of the court, whose Pillow Book (Makura no sōshi), apart from its brilliant and original Japanese prose style, is the best modern-day source of information on Japanese court life in the Heian period (784–1185).

      Sei Shōnagon was the daughter of the poet Kiyohara Motosuke and was in the service of the empress Sadako at the capital of Heian-kyō (Kyōto) from about 991 to 1000. Her Pillow Book, which covers the period of her life at court, consists in part of vividly recounted memoirs of her impressions and observations and in part of categories such as “Annoying Things” or “Things Which Distract in Moments of Boredom” within which she lists and classifies the people, events, and objects around her. The work is notable for Sei Shōnagon's sensitive descriptions of nature and everyday life and for its mingling of appreciative sentiments and the detached, even caustic, value judgments typical of a sophisticated court lady.

      Sei Shōnagon was apparently not a beauty, but her ready wit and intelligence secured her place at court. Those qualities, according to the diary of her contemporary Murasaki Shikibu, also won her numerous enemies. Though capable of great tenderness, Sei Shōnagon was often merciless in the display of her wit, and she showed little sympathy for those unfortunates whose ignorance or poverty rendered them ridiculous in her eyes. Her ability to catch allusions or to compose in an instant a verse exactly suited to each occasion is evident in the bedside jottings that are contained in her Pillow Book. Legend states that Sei Shōnagon spent her old age in misery and loneliness. English translations of the Pillow Book were prepared by Arthur Waley (1929) and Ivan Morris (1967).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Sei Shōnagon — Sei Shōnagon, Illustration des späten 17. Jhs. Sei Shōnagon (jap. 清 少納言, Sei Shōnagon; * um 966; † um 1025) war eine Schriftstellerin und Hofdame am japanischen Kaiserhof während der Heian Zeit. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Sei Shōnagon — (清少納言), (c.966 1017) was a Japanese author and a court lady who served the Empress Teishi/Empress Sadako around the year 1000 during the middle Heian Period, and is best known as the author of The Pillow Book (枕草子 makura no sōshi ). Sei Shōnagon… …   Wikipedia

  • Sei Shōnagon — Sei Shonagon Dame Sei Shōnagon (清少納言, Sei Shōnagon …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sei Shōnagon — Sei Shōnagon, dibujo de Kikuchi Yōsai. Sei Shōnagon (清少納言, Sei Shōnagon …   Wikipedia Español

  • Sei-Shōnagon — Sei Shonagon Dame Sei Shōnagon (清少納言, 965 10??) est une femme de lettres japonaise qui a écrit vers l an 1000 ce qui est considéré comme une des œuvres majeures de la littérature japonaise et mondiale et parfois comme la première forme romancée.… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sei Shonagon — Sei Shōnagon Sei Shonagon Dame Sei Shōnagon (清少納言, 965 10??) est une femme de lettres japonaise qui a écrit vers l an 1000 ce qui est considéré comme une des œuvres majeures de la littérature japonaise et mondiale et parfois comme la première… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sei Shônagon — Sei Shōnagon Sei Shonagon Dame Sei Shōnagon (清少納言, 965 10??) est une femme de lettres japonaise qui a écrit vers l an 1000 ce qui est considéré comme une des œuvres majeures de la littérature japonaise et mondiale et parfois comme la première… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sei Shōnagon —   [seɪ ʃo ], japanische Hofdame aus der Gelehrtenfamilie Kiyohara, * um 966, ✝ um 1016 (?); stand im Dienst der kaiserlichen Gemahlin Fujiwara no Sadako und verfasste die Miszellensammlung (Zuihitsu) Makura no sōshi (Kopfkissenbuch; um 1000), in… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • SEI-SHONAGON — SEI SH 牢NAGON (965 env. apr. 1013) Dame de la cour du Japon, auteur des Notes de l’appuie tête (Makura no s 拏shi ), l’un des deux chefs d’œuvre de la littérature japonaise des environs de l’an mille. Entrée au service de l’impératrice Sadako en… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Sei Shônagon — (fin Xe s. début XIe s.) écrivain japonais. Elle est l auteur du Makura no sôshi (Notes de chevet), l un des chefs d oeuvre de la littérature japonaise …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Sei Shonagon — Die Hofdame Sei Shōnagon Sei Shōnagon (jap. 清少納言 Sei Shōnagon; * um 966; † um 1025) war eine Hofdame am japanischen Kaiserhof während der Heian Zeit. Von 1001 bis 1010 führte sie ein Tagebuch, das unter dem Titel makura no sōshi (枕草子, dt.:… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”