ŷ������

A calming, fascinating and hugely enjoyable read. I didn't know what to expect when I started this, but what I got was immensely satisfying. This is a book to be sipped slowly, like a fine brandy. Lots of footnotes, lots of things to think about. A thousand years old and really not much has changed, though so much has changed so much.

Sei Shonagon was a lady in waiting (for lack of a better term) to the Empress in Kyoto, over a thousand years ago. The Pillow Book is very much like what used to be termed a "pocket book" in the 17th-19th centuries: personal notes, memories, poems the author wrote herself or liked, lists of things she liked or disliked. Ostensibly private, it was however a conscious effort at "spin": the author was a member of one ruling clan which felt threatened (with reason, as it turned out) by the rise of another. Sei Shonagon presents an intentionally crafted view of life at the Kyoto court, with emphasis on how "delightful" and charming it all was. (However, she's not above being catty at times, and even a bit petty: in her view "the lower orders" shouldn't even admire their betters, as praise coming from the mouths of the hoi polloi is actually degrading!) At a time when Buddhism and Shinto were officially at loggerheads, we are given many descriptions of pilgrimages and ceremonies, from processions to shamanistic healing sessions. Who knew that a thousand plus years ago, sleeves were so important! For men and women both, the layered effect of kimono sleeves was important enough to make sure they were carefully arranged and in the right colours. If no one was there to see the effect it could spoil an outing in a carriage! Women spent a lot of their time sitting behind blinds and screens, but they managed to see everything they wanted to see. They must have done most of their sleeping during the day, as there are repeated references to sitting up talking all night until the servants bring around the morning washing water. Sei was apparently married, though her husband disappears early in the narrative, and there are several references to amorous encounters that can't all be based on hearsay! Living in a traditional open-plan Japanese building without inner walls doesn't seem to have cramped anyone's sexual style, either. Though Sei had at least two children, they are never mentioned, probably because pregnancy and motherhood were not sophisticated and charming.

The contrast between life in the court of Japan in about the year 970 and in Europe of the same period was intriguing. Over a thousand years ago the Japanese fascination with beautiful paper products and getting "the correct paper" for a particular use was already in place. Apparently it was the gift of a large quantity of top-quality paper that inspired the author to "make a bound book" (hand-bound, too) and start writing. Later she sent a draft of it to the princess, only to have the messenger fumble the parcel and drop it down the stairs!

The translation by Meredith McKinney is absolutely wonderful, preserving the freshness of narration without using ultra-modern turns of phrase that would grate on the ear. Though the numerous footnotes require quite a lot of flipping back and forth, they add a great deal to the reader's understanding.

This is a book that repays repeated readings, like listening to a favourite piece of music. It almost inspires me to start my own journal again, after a hiatus of nearly 40 years.