Japanese 2451:JAPANESE LITERATURE INTRANSLATIONINSTRUCTOR: DR. NAOMI FUKUMORI(Fukumori-sensei)January 25, 2018
2Announcements •Pillow Book-style list due today after class and also as submission on Carmen (the lists will be compiled as a PDF, with your names removed)
3•The Author of the Pillow Book, Sei Shōnagon – Daughter of a provincial governor (middle-rank aristocrat) – Family famous for literary talents – Served as lady-in-waiting to an empress who was the daughter of a Fujiwara regent
4•The Literary Salon – Fujiwara regents recruit the most talented women to serve their daughters – Ladies-in-waiting write to entertain, also to contribute to cultural cachet of patron – Court service as a social education for women, cf., passage 12 “When I Make Myself Imagine” •Political/Cultural Rivalry – Emperor Ichijō(r. 986-1011) had two consorts, each with a group of gifted ladies-in-waiting •Empress Teishi皇后定子: father Fujiwara Michitaka藤原道隆; Sei Shōnagon •Empress Shōshi中宮彰子: father, Fujiwara Michinaga藤原道長; Murasaki Shikibu 紫式部(author of Tale of Genji)
5•Sei Shōnagon’s patron suffers decline when her father, the regent, dies – Work notable for not revealing tragic consequences of this loss of political backing; maintains tone of okashi
63 Types of Passages• Lists: “Depressing Things” (#13, pp. 40-44), “Hateful Things” (#14, pp. 83-86), “Elegant Things” (#29, p. 91) •Essays: “When I Make Myself Imagine” (#12, pp.80-81), “A Preacher Ought to Be Good-Looking” (#21, 86-87) •Diary Passages: Relates actual events in life of Sei Shônagon; “The Sliding Screen in the Back of the Hall” (#11, pp. 78-80)
7•What makes The Pillow Booka masterpiece?
