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Sections 5–19
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Pillow Book, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Court Life vs. Common Life
Poetry and Social Relationships
Aesthetic Beauty, Delight, and Cultural Tradition
Romance and Official Duty
Summary
Analysis
In the Seiryōden (imperial palace), there is a set of sliding panels which are decorated with terrifying creatures. One day there is a large vase filled with cherry branches, beside which sits Korechika, a visiting Grand Counsellor. Everyone—the ladies and Korechika—are dressed in the cherry blossom combination. When the Empress comes outside to join him, everyone agrees that it’s a scene of “sheer splendour”; Korechika even recites a poem.
The legendary creatures depicted on the panels were understood to serve as a spiritually protective device, and for Sei, they add to the overall “splendor” of the scene. The cherry blossom combination is a pale pink color which is considered suitable to the season. Korechika’s recitation of a poem crowns the occasion as aesthetically pleasing to all present.
Themes
At this point, the Empress folds a piece of paper and tells the ladies that she wants each of them to write down “the first ancient poem that springs to mind.” The ladies feel daunted by this task, and Sei draws a blank at first. Finally, she writes down a poem in which she replaces the phrase “flower of spring” with “your face, my lady.” When the Empress looks over the poems, she tells them that she just wanted to know what was in their hearts.
Korechika’s poem prompts a poetry game—the first of many to come. Such games were meant to test the ladies’ knowledge of classical poetry, a hallmark of the court, and give them a chance to display that knowledge. Sei perceives that it’s also a chance to praise the Empress, showing that she knows how to use such moments to her advantage.
Themes
On another occasion, the Empress read out the opening lines of various poems from the Kokinshu and asked her ladies to complete the poems. Even though most of the ladies have copied the Kokinshu many times and memorized its contents, they stumble over the answers. This prompts the Empress to tell a story of a previous Emperor who spent a whole night quizzing his consort in this way, and she never made a single mistake. During these proceedings, the consort’s father even had sutras recited on her behalf.
The Kokinshu was a classic compilation of Japanese poetry which members of the Heian imperial court invested much energy in studying. The ladies’ nervousness suggests that they put a great deal of stock in the outcome of such poetry challenges—in this context, poetry is not merely a form of art or entertainment, but a way of proving one’s competence and showing loyalty to the Empress. Sutras are portions of Buddhist scripture, in this case being prayerfully recited on behalf of the young woman being mercilessly quizzed.
Themes
