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Sei Shōnagon

Sei Shōnagon was a Japanese lady-in-waiting, poet, essayist, diarist, writer and historian (966–1025). She was born in Heian-kyō and died in Kyoto.

Also recorded as Sei Shonagon · Sei Shounagon

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Japan, 1896 Series: Ancient Patterns Prints; woodcuts Triptych; color woodblock prints Gift of Carl Holmes (M.71.100.59a-c) Japanese Art

Kobayashi Kiyochika (Japan, 1847-1915) · Image: http://collections.lacma.org/sites/default/files/remote_images/piction/ma-2724447-O3.jpg Gallery: http://collections.lacma.org/node/238197 archive copy at the Wayback Machine · Public domain

Biography

The authorities additionally record the headings Sei Shonagon and Sei Shounagon. Her recorded language was Japanese. Her recorded confession was Buddhism.

She was the child of Kiyohara no Motosuke. She married Tachibana no Norimitsu and Fujiwara no Muneyo. 2 children are recorded: Tachibana no Norinaga and Jōtōmoninkomanomyōbu.

Sei Shōnagon is recorded as lady-in-waiting, poet, essayist, diarist and writer.

Japan, 1896 Series: Ancient Patterns Prints; woodcuts Triptych; color woodblock prints Gift of Carl Holmes (M.71.100.59a-c) Japanese Art

Japan, 1896 Series: Ancient Patterns Prints; woodcuts Triptych; color woodblock prints Gift of Carl Holmes (M.71.100.59a-c) Japanese Art

Kobayashi Kiyochika (Japan, 1847-1915) · Image: http://collections.lacma.org/sites/default/files/remote_images/piction/ma-2724445-O3.jpg Gallery: http://collections.lacma.org/node/238197 archive copy at the Wayback Machine

Japan, 1896 Series: Ancient Patterns Prints; woodcuts Triptych; color woodblock prints Gift of Carl Holmes (M.71.100.59a-c) Japanese Art

Japan, 1896 Series: Ancient Patterns Prints; woodcuts Triptych; color woodblock prints Gift of Carl Holmes (M.71.100.59a-c) Japanese Art

Kobayashi Kiyochika (Japan, 1847-1915) · Image: http://collections.lacma.org/sites/default/files/remote_images/piction/ma-2724443-O3.jpg Gallery: http://collections.lacma.org/node/238197 archive copy at the Wayback Machine

Catalogued output

Works

  • The Pillow Book

    1002

  • Sei Shonagon-shu. 枕草子精講

  • Prentice Hall Literature--Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes--World Literature. 枕草子全釋. 現代語訳枕草子

  • Prentice Hall Literature--World Masterpieces. 堺本枕冊子. 校訂三卷本枕草子. 校本枕冊子

  • Lointain et proche. 堺本枕草子. 枕草子評釋

  • Les notes de chevet de Séi Shonagon

  • Thèse. 枕草子

  • El libro de la Almohada

  • Makura no sōshi

  • Sankanbon Makura no sōshi honbun shūsei

  • Cartea pernei

  • Note del guanciale

The complete catalogue · 24

  • The Pillow Book

    1002

  • Sei Shonagon-shu. 枕草子精講

  • Prentice Hall Literature--Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes--World Literature. 枕草子全釋. 現代語訳枕草子

  • Prentice Hall Literature--World Masterpieces. 堺本枕冊子. 校訂三卷本枕草子. 校本枕冊子

  • Lointain et proche. 堺本枕草子. 枕草子評釋

  • Les notes de chevet de Séi Shonagon

  • Thèse. 枕草子

  • El libro de la Almohada

  • Makura no sōshi

  • Sankanbon Makura no sōshi honbun shūsei

  • Cartea pernei

  • Note del guanciale

  • The pillow book of Sei Shonagon

  • Das Kopfkissenbuch

  • Kōchū Makura no sōshi

  • Les notes de chevet de Séi Shōnagon', dame d'honneur au palais de Kyōto

  • Makura no sōshi hyōshaku

  • Makura no sōshi nukigaki

  • Makura no sōshi shō

  • Sei Shōnagon shū

  • The sketch book of the Lady Sei Shōnagon

  • The pillow book of Sei Sho nagon

  • Makura no soshi shuchu

  • The pillow-book of Sei Shonagon

Dated record

Life and career

Explore 966–1983

  1. 966

    Life

    Sei Shōnagon born at Heian-kyō.

  2. 1002

    The Pillow Book.

  3. 1025

    Life

    Sei Shōnagon died in 1025 at Kyoto.

  4. 1971

    Institution

    The pillow book of Sei Shonagon digitised by Internet Archive.

  5. 1983

    Institution

    Sin Sol (1983) is digitised and catalogued by Internet Archive.

The full dated record · 5 entries

  1. 966

    Sei Shōnagon born at Heian-kyō.

  2. 1002

    The Pillow Book.

  3. 1025

    Sei Shōnagon died in 1025 at Kyoto.

  4. 1971

    The pillow book of Sei Shonagon digitised by Internet Archive.

  5. 1983

    Sin Sol (1983) is digitised and catalogued by Internet Archive.

Named by the record

Places

Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.

  • Kyoto
Death or burial
Plotted from the places the record itself names, at the scale of their own extent.
Named but not plotted · 1

  • Heian-kyō

    Birth place

Primary material

Documents and archives

scholarly publication

reference work

authority file

Literature

Bibliography

Selections from The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon: First Excerpt, Literary Imagination, 2026. Sei Shōnagon: Makura no sōshi, Kindlers Literatur Lexikon (KLL), 2020. 534 pp.

  • Sei Shônagon. <em>El libro de la almohada</em>

  • Iván A. Pinto Román y Osvaldo Gavidia Cannon (trad. Y notas)

  • Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2002

  • (Colección Orientalia, 6), Estudios de Asia y África, 2003

A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.

Citations

References

Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.

Held on the record

Further particulars

Open the remaining particulars

Those registers additionally record the forms Seishōnagon, Shonagon, Sei, Sei-Shōnagon, Sei Shonagon, Sei, Shōnagon, 清, 少納言, Sei Schonagon and Shōnagon, Sei.

The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.

Elsewhere in Books

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