The Pillow Book - The Pillow Book

This is an essay written in the mid-Heian period by Sei Shonagon. According to the postscript, in the fifth year of the Shoryaku era or the first year of the Chotoku era (994 or 995), the Empress Teishi, the Empress of Emperor Ichijo whom Sei Shonagon served, was presented with a piece of paper by her brother Fujiwara no Korechika, who asked her what she should write on it. She replied, "A pillow is a place for samurai to write," to which she replied, "Get some," and was given the paper, which she wrote on. "Makura" does not refer to a pillow, but to books such as "Utamakura" (a dictionary of verse), "Chintou Sho" (a personal memorandum), and "Makurachu Sho" (a must-have for court attendants), but there is no consensus.

It consists of approximately 300 sections (the Japanese Classical Literature Series has 319 sections), but depending on the content it can be classified into chapters that begin with "--ha" or "--mono," such as "The mountains," "The flowers on the trees," "The birds," "Terrible things," "Hateful things," and "Beautiful things," essays that record the author's original observations and impressions about nature and human affairs, such as "Spring is the dawn," "No days to live," and "The next day of the storm," and diary chapters that recollect what he saw and heard while serving at the Imperial Court, such as "At the house of Daishin Narimasa," "The cat that serves on the upper floor," and "In the Ushitora corner of Seiryoden." There are Ruisanbon (compilations) like the Sakaibon and Maeda-kebon, in which the collection of essays, essays, and diary chapters are all collected together, but Noin's and the three-volume version, which are miscellaneous works written as ideas crossed the boundaries of genre, are considered to be closer to the original form. Noin's version has been in circulation since the early modern period due to Kitamura Kigin's commentary "The Pillow Book: Spring Dawn Excerpt," but since the Showa period, the superiority of the three-volume version has been asserted and it has been in circulation ever since. However, there are still many researchers today who claim that Noin's version is superior.

Although "The Pillow," which the Empress was ordered to write, was meant to be written on her behalf, it was actually written after April of 996 (Chōtoku 2), when the Empress's father, Fujiwara Michitaka, died and power was passed to his younger brother Michinaga, the Empress's brothers, Ise and Takaie, were demoted to Dazai no Gonsochi and Izumo no Gon no Kami, and Sei Shonagon was forced to seclude herself to her private residence due to rumors that she was a collusion with Michinaga's side. The author, who was embroiled in political strife and suffered, wrote this work, which was a record of his personal tastes and preferences, separate from politics and on a different level. However, this first draft was delivered to the Empress by Minamoto no Tsunefusa, who frequented the author's private residence, and was praised. Soon after returning to the court, the author began revising it at the urging of the people. The revised version was completed between October 23, 998 and August 25, 1001 (Choho 3), and a postscript was added, but it is safe to assume that there were also additions, deletions, and corrections made afterwards. The Pillow Book is a work that gradually formed its own literary form as the author continued to write it, and the degree of completion of the work varies from chapter to chapter, but chapters that are strongly conscious of the reader and seek to amaze or laughter from the reader, borrow the poet's eyes and heart, or conversely, chapters in which the author immerses himself in his own world, records his own observations, and attempts to present a new beauty show the culmination of the work. Many of the chapters in the diary were written during the revision period, and even those that seem to be self-praise have been developed from what was achieved in the draft version, and they assert that even in times of despair, the Empress and those around her received the Emperor's grace and lived in a world of beauty and refinement, unrelated to politics. Along with "The Tale of Genji," this is a masterpiece that represents the literary works of women of the imperial court.

[Ueno Osamu]

"The Pillow Book: The Diary of Murasaki Shikibu, edited by Ikeda Kamekan and others (1958, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "The Pillow Book Lecture Series, 4 volumes (1975-1976, Yuseido Publishing)" ▽ "The Pillow Book: New Collection of Japanese Classics, The Pillow Book, edited by Hagiya Boku, 2 volumes (1977, Shinchosha)" ▽ "The Complete Translation of Japanese Classics, 12 and 13, The Pillow Book, edited and translated by Matsuo Satoshi (1984, Shogakukan)" ▽ "The Pillow Book: Annotated by Tanaka Jutaro (1993, Kasama Shoin)" ▽ "The Pillow Book, Volumes 1, 2 and 3, translated and annotated by Uesaka Nobuo and others (Kodansha Academic Library)" ▽ "An Introduction to The Pillow Book, by Inaga Keiji and others (Yuhikaku Shinsho)" ▽ "The New Edition of The Pillow Book, Volumes 1 and 2, translated and annotated by Ishida Jouji (Kadokawa Bunko)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

平安中期の随筆。清少納言(せいしょうなごん)の作。跋文(ばつぶん)によると、清少納言が仕える一条(いちじょう)天皇の中宮定子(ていし)に、正暦(しょうりゃく)5年、長徳(ちょうとく)元年（994、995）のころに、中宮の兄藤原伊周(これちか)が紙を献上したことがあり、中宮から「これに何を書かまし」と尋ねられたので、「枕にこそは侍(はべ)らめ」と答えたところ、「さば、得てよ」とその紙を下賜されたので書いたという。「枕」は寝具の枕ではなく、「歌枕」（歌語辞典）、「枕頭(ちんとう)書」（座右の備忘録）、「枕中書」（宮仕え必携）などの書物を意味するようだが定説はない。

　ほぼ300段（日本古典文学大系本は319段）からなるが、内容によって、「山は」「木の花は」「鳥は」や「すさまじきもの」「にくきもの」「うつくしきもの」のように、「――は」や「――もの」で始まる類聚(るいじゅう)章段、「春は曙(あけぼの)」「生(お)ひさきなく」「野分(のわき)のまたの日こそ」のように、自然や人事に対して独自の観察や感懐を記す随想章段、「大進生昌(なりまさ)の家に」「上にさぶらふ御猫は」「清涼殿の丑寅(うしとら)のすみの」のように、宮仕え中の見聞を回想する日記章段に分類される。堺(さかい)本・前田家本のように、類聚・随想・日記の章段がそれぞれ一まとまりになっている類纂(るいさん)本もあるが、ジャンルを超えて思い付くままに執筆した雑纂本の形をとる能因(のういん)本・三巻本が本来の形に近いと考えられている。北村季吟(きぎん)の注釈書『枕草子春曙(しゅんしょ)抄』により、近世初頭以来、能因本が流布したが、昭和に入って三巻本の優秀さが主張され流布している。しかし、今日なお能因本の優秀さを主張する研究者も少なくない。

　中宮に執筆を命じられた「枕」は、中宮にかわって書く性質のものであったが、実際に執筆したのは、中宮の父藤原道隆(みちたか)が没して政権が弟の道長(みちなが)に移り、中宮の兄弟伊周・隆家(たかいえ)が大宰権帥(だざいのごんのそち)・出雲権守(いずもごんのかみ)に左遷され、清少納言が道長方に内通しているといった噂(うわさ)をたてられて私邸に籠居(ろうきょ)した996年（長徳2）4月以後のことである。政争に巻き込まれて苦しむ作者が執筆したものは、政治と一線を画し、次元を異にする私的な好尚の記録となったであろうが、こうした初稿本が、作者の私邸に出入りしていた源経房(つねふさ)によって中宮のもとに届けられて賞賛を博し、まもなく再出仕した作者は人々の慫慂(しょうよう)を受けて改稿に着手。改稿本は998年10月23日より1001年（長保3）8月25日の間にいちおうの完成をみ、跋文が添えられるが、その後の加除訂正もあったと考えてよかろう。『枕草子』は、書き続けるうちにしだいに独自の文学を形成した作品であり、作品の完成度は章段ごとに異なるが、読者を強く意識して読者の驚嘆や哄笑(こうしょう)を求める章段や、詩人の眼(め)や心を借り、あるいは逆に、自己の世界に沈潜して自己の観察を記し、新たな美を提示しようとする章段はその到達点を示している。日記章段には改稿時の作も多く、自賛談のようにみえる章段も、草稿本で獲得したものを発展させて、中宮と中宮を取り巻く人々が失意の時代にあっても、天皇の恩寵(おんちょう)を受けて政治とは無縁に美と好尚の世界に生きたことを主張している。『源氏物語』とともに、王朝女流文学を代表する傑作である。

［上野　理］

『池田亀鑑他校注『日本古典文学大系19　枕草子　紫式部日記』（1958・岩波書店）』▽『『枕草子講座』全4冊（1975～1976・有精堂出版）』▽『萩谷朴校注『新潮日本古典集成　枕草子』全2冊（1977・新潮社）』▽『松尾聡校注・訳『完訳日本の古典12・13　枕草子』（1984・小学館）』▽『田中重太郎校注『校注　枕冊子』（1993・笠間書院）』▽『上坂信男他訳注『枕草子』上中下（講談社学術文庫）』▽『稲賀敬二他著『枕草子入門』（有斐閣新書）』▽『石田穣二訳注『新版枕草子』上下（角川文庫）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例