Recommended listening: Japanese koto music
Story
Her Majesty tore a strip from the edge of my letter and wrote in reply the following splendid poem:
While all about me
is filled with busy fluttering -
flowers and butterflies -
the only one who truly knows
my heart today is you, my friend.
Sei Shōnagon wrote this account in The Pillow Book, one of the greatest works of Japanese literature, in the very early years of the 11th century. The book chronicles the musings of one highly educated woman who served in the court of Empress Teishi during Japan's Heian period. Its mixture of reminiscences, notes of poetic inspiration, and colourful descriptions of court life make it one of the most revealing looks into a medieval woman's world that I have ever read. Shōnagon's willful personality and poetic genius shine through the centuries, as do her relateable gripes about her friends' irritable habits or embarrassing situations. Shōnagon is one sassy lady! I can't recommend the book enough - I was laughing out loud while reading it.
She writes of her various male lovers (whom she sometimes dumps when their poetry pales in comparison to her own) and of the other people at court, but the most important relationship in the book is her friendship with Empress Teishi. The scene illustrated above is one of the last stories recorded in The Pillow Book, just a few months before the Empress's death. By this point, Teishi had fallen from favour as the chief imperial wife and been eclipsed by her younger cousin. She was no longer staying at the palace and, though she was pregnant with the Emperor's child, her future was looking uncertain.
The precarious political situation, however, is entirely absent from Shōnagon's account. Instead she writes of a moving poetic exchange between her and the Empress during Shōnagon's favourite holiday, the Sweet Flag Festival. I drew this day in a way that fulfilled all her poetic expectations about it: an orange tree with "balls of gold" whose flowers bloom in time for the festival; aromatic clumps of sweet flag tied to the roof; the Empress's five-year-old daughter Princess Shūshi wearing the special herbal balls children wear for the festival; deutzia blossoms everywhere; and all beneath an overcast sky, Shōnagon's preferred weather for the occasion. Of these details about her favourite festival, she says, "Of course I can't claim there's anything rare and special about all this, still it's most delightful. After all, the cherry blossom blooms every year, but does anyone find it the less lovely for that?"
While all about me
is filled with busy fluttering -
flowers and butterflies -
the only one who truly knows
my heart today is you, my friend.
Sei Shōnagon wrote this account in The Pillow Book, one of the greatest works of Japanese literature, in the very early years of the 11th century. The book chronicles the musings of one highly educated woman who served in the court of Empress Teishi during Japan's Heian period. Its mixture of reminiscences, notes of poetic inspiration, and colourful descriptions of court life make it one of the most revealing looks into a medieval woman's world that I have ever read. Shōnagon's willful personality and poetic genius shine through the centuries, as do her relateable gripes about her friends' irritable habits or embarrassing situations. Shōnagon is one sassy lady! I can't recommend the book enough - I was laughing out loud while reading it.
She writes of her various male lovers (whom she sometimes dumps when their poetry pales in comparison to her own) and of the other people at court, but the most important relationship in the book is her friendship with Empress Teishi. The scene illustrated above is one of the last stories recorded in The Pillow Book, just a few months before the Empress's death. By this point, Teishi had fallen from favour as the chief imperial wife and been eclipsed by her younger cousin. She was no longer staying at the palace and, though she was pregnant with the Emperor's child, her future was looking uncertain.
The precarious political situation, however, is entirely absent from Shōnagon's account. Instead she writes of a moving poetic exchange between her and the Empress during Shōnagon's favourite holiday, the Sweet Flag Festival. I drew this day in a way that fulfilled all her poetic expectations about it: an orange tree with "balls of gold" whose flowers bloom in time for the festival; aromatic clumps of sweet flag tied to the roof; the Empress's five-year-old daughter Princess Shūshi wearing the special herbal balls children wear for the festival; deutzia blossoms everywhere; and all beneath an overcast sky, Shōnagon's preferred weather for the occasion. Of these details about her favourite festival, she says, "Of course I can't claim there's anything rare and special about all this, still it's most delightful. After all, the cherry blossom blooms every year, but does anyone find it the less lovely for that?"
Artist's Comments
This was a very challenging picture to draw for many reasons! Shōnagon is very particular about which colours are appropriate to wear for which seasons, so I combed through The Pillow Book looking for colours she'd consider acceptable for this time of year (late spring/early summer). She is wearing junihitoe, the '12-layered robe', in summery shades of maroon, lapis lazuli, wisteria, deutzia, dark leaf green, azure, and clove-tan, with a lavender Chinese jacket and an indigo brocaded train, all above scarlet skirted trousers. The architecture was also difficult, but in the end, I am happy with the result. It took me a few weeks on and off, but I'm proud it's finally done! ~ February 14, 2018
Note: More information is available about this illustration on the Bloopers page!
Note: More information is available about this illustration on the Bloopers page!
Resources
Want to learn more about the life of women in Japan's Heian Era? Here are some recommended resources.
The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon
The book that started it all! Shōnagon's account of life in Empress Teishi's court is absorbing, witty, flirtatious, petty, and poetic! The appendix includes a lot of helpful information about the clothing of the period, which Shōnagon spends lots of time describing.
"Women Writers in Ancient Japan" by James Wiener
An interview with Professor Lynne K. Miyake about the female writers who founded Japanese literature while the men composed in the more dignified Chinese. Learn more about Shōnagon and the wider context of educated women writers in which she lived.
"A Fashionable Lady in Heian/Fujiwara Japan" by Nancy Duong
An illustrated guide to women's fashion in Heian Japan, complete with an illuminating comparison to Chinese fashion of the day. The artist also has a factsheet about ohaguro, the practice of painting one's teeth black that was extremely common in Shōnagon's time among both men and women of the upper classes. Shōnagon complains in The Pillow Book about how irritating it is when a woman clacks the brush loudly against her teeth while dyeing them black in the morning!
The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu
The most famous piece of Japanese literature for almost a thousand years. Written by Shōnagon's rival Murasaki Shikibu, it is sometimes said to be the world's first novel and features a romanticised version of life at court. Murasaki Shikibu's own introspective diary offers an interesting contrast to Shōnagon's lively report.
"Women's Voices from Heian Japan" by David and Carol Harr
An introduction to what life was like for women in the Heian period, especially detailing the fluid marriages and social mobility that women in the higher ranks of society experienced. The claims about The Tale of Genji are exaggerated, but this is otherwise a great overview of women in the period.
The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon
The book that started it all! Shōnagon's account of life in Empress Teishi's court is absorbing, witty, flirtatious, petty, and poetic! The appendix includes a lot of helpful information about the clothing of the period, which Shōnagon spends lots of time describing.
"Women Writers in Ancient Japan" by James Wiener
An interview with Professor Lynne K. Miyake about the female writers who founded Japanese literature while the men composed in the more dignified Chinese. Learn more about Shōnagon and the wider context of educated women writers in which she lived.
"A Fashionable Lady in Heian/Fujiwara Japan" by Nancy Duong
An illustrated guide to women's fashion in Heian Japan, complete with an illuminating comparison to Chinese fashion of the day. The artist also has a factsheet about ohaguro, the practice of painting one's teeth black that was extremely common in Shōnagon's time among both men and women of the upper classes. Shōnagon complains in The Pillow Book about how irritating it is when a woman clacks the brush loudly against her teeth while dyeing them black in the morning!
The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu
The most famous piece of Japanese literature for almost a thousand years. Written by Shōnagon's rival Murasaki Shikibu, it is sometimes said to be the world's first novel and features a romanticised version of life at court. Murasaki Shikibu's own introspective diary offers an interesting contrast to Shōnagon's lively report.
"Women's Voices from Heian Japan" by David and Carol Harr
An introduction to what life was like for women in the Heian period, especially detailing the fluid marriages and social mobility that women in the higher ranks of society experienced. The claims about The Tale of Genji are exaggerated, but this is otherwise a great overview of women in the period.