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Sei Shōnagon and The Pillow Book — The Aesthetics of Okashi in 'In Spring, the Dawn' and Her Absolute Loyalty

Sei Shōnagon was a lady-in-waiting to Empress Teishi and author of The Pillow Book, one of the greatest works of Japanese prose. Her aesthetic concept of 'okashi' (delight) continues to captivate readers over a thousand years later.

A deep read

Sei Shōnagon (c. 966–1025) served as a lady-in-waiting to Empress Teishi (Sadako), consort of Emperor Ichijō. Her masterwork, The Pillow Book (Makura no Sōshi), opens with the celebrated ‘In spring, the dawn’ passage and captures court life, nature, and human behavior through the aesthetic concept of ‘okashi’ (bright, witty delight). This stands in contrast to Murasaki Shikibu’s ‘mono no aware’ (a gentle, poignant sensitivity). Sei Shōnagon immortalized Empress Teishi’s beauty and intelligence in her writing, even as political power shifted to Fujiwara no Michinaga. Today, Sennyu-ji temple in Kyoto connects visitors to the world of Heian court culture she so vividly described.

Portrait of Sei Shōnagon, the Heian lady-in-waiting whose Pillow Book is still read a thousand years later

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Replica model of Heiankyo — the capital of Kyoto as it appeared in the Heian period when Sei Shōnagon lived there

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Heian court ritual — the elegant court life that Sei Shōnagon described in The Pillow Book

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Hyakunin Isshu poem cards — the waka poems of Heian ladies-in-waiting are still cherished today

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Heian period court dress — the aesthetic world of the Heian court depicted in The Pillow Book

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

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Key Figures

Sei Shōnagon

Author of The Pillow Book

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