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Sections 78–82
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
“Splendid things” include ornamental swords, Buddhist religious images, and wisteria blossoms. Another is a chamberlain of the sixth rank, who is allowed to wear special green robes and damask material. When a former member of a lower rank becomes a chamberlain, it’s as if he’s gone from total inconsequence to “heavenly” status.
When such a chamberlain brings a message to the Empress’s household, the gentlewoman who receives it will even take care with the presentation of her sleeve as she slips her arm through the blind. And instead of abasing himself before the gentlemen of the household, he’s now their equal. He even enjoys personal contact with the Emperor and dreads the loss of this at the end of his term of service.
The elegant presentation of one’s sleeve (through the blind, it’s all the chamberlain might see) is an important element of female courtiers’ dress, because of the ritualized separation between men and women in the court.
Themes
“Things of elegant beauty” include a pretty girl dressed casually, a book on fine paper, a charming cat walking on the veranda, the chamberlains who distribute balls of herbs for the Sweet Flag Festival, and “a knotted letter of violet paper.”
The Sweet Flag Festival marked the change of seasons, which was always considered to be an ominous day—hence the distribution of herb balls for protection against evil spirits. Again, Sei’s recognition of elegance in everyday things (beautiful paper, a cat on the veranda) speaks to the importance of okashi (delight) in the Japanese literary tradition.
Themes
Empress Teishi sends 12 ladies to serve as Gosechi dancers and arranges especially charming outfits for the young girls. One night near the end of the festival, one of the ladies, named Kohyoe, asks for help retying the cord of her festival robe. Sanekata rather suggestively helps her and also recites a flirtatious poem. The girl doesn’t respond, and the other ladies don’t help. Finally, Sei can no longer stand it and sends a punning poem in reply.
The Gosechi festival was a popular court event in which young girls performed dances, culminating in the Dance of the Heavenly Maidens during the First Fruits Festival. Sleeves were a courting device, because they were often a man’s first glimpse of a woman. According to court etiquette, the appropriate response to Sanekata’s poem is for the girl to send a prompt spur-of-the-moment poem in reply. She seems too embarrassed to do so, however, so Sei comes to her aid.
Themes
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Somehow the palace becomes especially delightful at the time of the Gosechi Festival—there’s special clothing, groups of senior courtiers singing and laughing, and the sight of a dozing dancer’s face in the glow of lamplight.
The Gosechi Festival was quite exhausting for the youngest of the dancers, and Sei finds the sight of the sleeping girls part of the aesthetic charm of the day.
Themes
