Sei Shonagon's The Pillow Book (1002) | Book Review and Analysis

A reflection on Sei Shonagon's The Pillow Book (枕草子, makura no soshi). English translation by Meredith McKinney published by Penguin in 2006.

On keeping a journal (I promised to talk about The Pillow Book here):
   • On Keeping a Journal  

My thoughts on Tales of Ise:
   • The Tales of Ise: The Underrated Gem of He...  

Want more on Japanese literature written by women?
The Stories of Ichiyo Higuchi:    • The Stories of Ichiyo Higuchi  
Fumiko Hayashi's Floating Clouds:    • Fumiko Hayashi's Floating Clouds (1949) | ...  
Yuko Tsushima's Woman Running in the Mountains:    • Yuko Tsushima's Woman Running in the Mount...  

And a few other classics:
Junichiro Tanizaki's The Makioka Sisters:    • Junichiro Tanizaki's The Makioka Sisters (...  
Natsume Soseki's I Am a Cat:    • Natsume Soseki's I Am a Cat (1905-6) | Boo...  
Yasunari Kawabata's The Old Capital:    • Yasunari Kawabata's The Old Capital (1962)...  
Yukio Mishima's Short Stories:    • Yukio Mishima's Death in Midsummer and Oth...  
Michio Takeyama's Harp of Burma:    • Michio Takeyama's Harp of Burma (1946) & K...  
Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira:    • Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira (1982-1990) | Book...  

Contents:
00:00 – Epigraph
00:20 – Three classics of Heian literature
01:19 – Sei Shonagon and the origin and purpose of The Pillow Book
02:21 – Title
02:39 – Content
03:16 – The Pillow Book and social media
03:52 – Some themes and a few quotations
05:12 – Sei Shonagon's persona
05:35 – Writing for oneself
06:20 – Conclusion and a piece of advice