A Lady in Kyoto

by Sei Shōnagon

All moonlight is moving, wherever it may be…

Japanese gentlewoman Sei Shonagon invites us to look behind the painted screens in the Emperor’s palace and discover a lost world, in which games of poetry are the highest form of wit, lovers send each other elegant morning-after letters, and appreciation of the natural world – wild geese in autumn, the pure white frost of winter – is one of life’s most exquisite pleasures.

Genres: Nonfiction, Japan, Classics, Japanese Literature

128 pages, Paperback

Published April 17, 2025

About the author

清少納言 in Japanese
Sei Shonagon (c. 966 -1017) was a Japanese author and a court lady who served the Empress Teishi (Sadako) around the year 1000 during the middle Heian period. She is best known as the author of "The Pillow Book" (枕草子 makura no sōshi).

Reviews

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dzisiaj wypije za sei shonagon, co to była za hejterka…… szkoda, że nie mieli Twittera w X wieku na dworze cesarskim

[Mira Madsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

årh manderinænderne!!!

[George Purdy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently published as part of the Penguin Archive series, A Lady in Kyoto offers a remarkable insight into the culture of the 11th-century Japanese imperial court. Written by Sei Shōnagon, a court lady in service to the Empress Teishi, this text recalls the author’s more famous work, The Pillow Book, as both are characterised by her lucid observations and poetic prose. A great work of literary craftsmanship in its own right, A Lady in Kyoto is a beautiful text that, despite its age, remains timeless. Its enduring beauty perhaps means that this work is better read as a long poem rather than a short book. Either way, this is an impressive work of literature that far exceeds the sum of its pages.

[Poppy 🍎 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish more people were into poetry as much as people used to be , she devoured w this

[Aleksandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A most definitely unique read for me🤧


Imagine this: stepping into the silk-draped corridors of Heian-era Japan, only to find that behind the elegant screens and incense smoke lies a sharp-tongued, brilliantly observant court lady with opinions… actually, MANY of them lol


Can you imagine that?


Well, that‘s basically the book at hand




The writing is delicate and biting at once, poetic and yet unabashedly human - observations depicted range from the sublimely beautiful (such as moonlit nights, the first snowfall) to the absurdly petty ones (because just HOW does one dare to wear a poorly matched outfit to court *I mean, same, gotcha girl - let the ✨throwing-shade✨ games begin💅🏻*)




The structure resists modern conventions entirely: there’s no plot, no arc - basically just a succession of impressions, lists aaand reflections

Yet there’s something undeniably compelling about ✨everything✨ here - especially the author‘s wit, precision and her unapologetic love of beauty




One doesn’t (and shouldn‘t) read this for drama or suspense, but for a momentary communion with a singular mind that saw the world in exquisite and a very opinionated detail-

*breathes in*


Well THAT was a mouthful


*clears throat*


Erm, let‘s continue-





SO, is this a classic? Certainly. A page-turner? Not exactly


BUT


b u t-


for those willing to slow down and sip the words like fine tea (or matcha?), there’s much to admire - and occasionally, to smirk at heh🧚🏻‍♀️

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another ancient text that often reads like it could have been written today. These are newly curated (2025) excerpts from “The Pillow Book” - written by a Japanese gentlewoman serving the royal court over 1000 years ago around 995 CE.

Aging parents, crying babies, love triangles, late nights chatting with friends, enjoying the snowfall, being nervous your first day at work. Wondering if you’ll ever live up to expectation, embarrassing mental lapses, anxiously awaiting a message, being out of shape. The human experience transcends time.

Think of it as a more delightful version of Meditations. Only 100 pages. Highly recommend!

[Erofili · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

Sweet little book. At times it reminded me of Clarice Lispectors 'Agua Viva' with its reflections on nature and its seasons. It's always so comforting to see someone describe and view the world the same as you. Everything really is romantic if you open yourself up to it; and language is a beautiful tool for this.

Also, in regards to the actual subject matter of the book, it made me think how lovely traditions are. To have festivals and various occasions happening at different times of the year to look forward to and dress up for. In this sense it reminded me of Greece and how much I appreciate it all and how fortunate I am to be able to experience things like this to this day.

[Elinor Dixon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not quite what I expected but a nice read

[Sarah Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This diva would’ve loved Mary Oliver

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I really do find it astonishing the way a man will fail to be in the slightest bit affected by the moving nature of a woman's deep unhappiness, when he considers abandoning her."

A look into court life in Japan from the perspective of a gentlewoman. With prose, humour and poetry throughout and lots of nature descriptions.

[Ulfah · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's really weird to be listening from a voice from the past. There's a part where she mentioned that she way shy to know that someone will be reading her writings (as the papers she wrote were praised by the Empress and pushed to be published), wouldn't it be so incredible if she knew that 1000 years on, it will still reach other people? :)

Anyways, the book tells about excerpts of her life being the Empress's lady in waiting in Japan, late 900s. It also describes day to day depiction of general things in life, rated by her, such as what things could be grouped as "things that cause anxiety", "things that moves you", "things that makes your heart flutter", etc. Human feelings are so similar, but she was capable to put them in writing, and she brought her sense of what she thinks is or isn't. One of the funny thing, and reflecting her melancholy mind, I'd say, is when she mentioned about a woman who lives alone, with her home un-attended gives such a melancholy vibes, while when she cleaned it up, things became boring, which is true, but a pragmatic mind would prefer the latter! Haha. But it's an enjoyable read. It's really fascinating that there are moments of when things stays quiet and still, of ritual that lasts even to modern time (Inari shrine!), in the midst of our never ending modern noise.

Thank you Sei Shonagon for writing your thoughts and shared it with us.

ps: I wonder if it's the same book as the Pillow book which she also wrote?

[Bethan Croome · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because I was listening to a podcast about the middle Heian period and learnt of Sei Shongan. I found it fascinating that she was writing lyrical, detailed, and deeply personal observations about her life at the Imperial Court in Kyoto during the 990's. What struck me most is how many of her thoughts and complaints wouldn't feel out of place today. Despite the time gap of over a thousand years, and vast differences in culture and environment, it's intriguing how similar humans remain at the core. Our concerns, irritations, vanities, and desires echo across the centuries. This is an interesting read if you're into history and hearing female voices from history which is unfortunately a rarity.

[Komal Hashmi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed these reminiscences. It is interesting how this book was written ages ago but the various emotions evoked by ordinary and simply things in life are so so so relatable. It is usual to find joy and happiness in things, but to have such profoundly relatable feelings about things that may cause anxiety, disgust, frustrations or any negative emotion is absolutely incredible. I felt like underlining all those pages. It was beautifully simple yet profound book and to be honest, a best read for when you are having a bad day.

[mint · Rating 5 out of 5]

she had a lot of opinions and even referenced that herself in the closing section, but that just strengthens the human aspect of this. being human is hating things but still finding the beauty in a lot of tiny aspects we don’t think about a lot, i really liked her perspective on this even with her snarky remarks //

she would’ve loved twitter

[Miguel Brogueira Rodrigues · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful imagery

[Deni · Rating 5 out of 5]

sensibilă, simplă și liniștitoare.
exact cum aș descrie clasicii japonezi, generally speaking

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

-fascinating
-slightly insane to think she was writing this around the year 1000
-this will be in part due to the translation but so much of her words on what she enjoys and relationships feels so modern
-time travel in the best way

[Prayash Giria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extracted from the longer ‘Pillow Book’, A Lady in Kyoto is a collection of thoughts, observations, and anecdotes penned down by a waiting lady of the Empress of Japan back in the 11th century. It reads much like a diary or a scrapbook, replete with lists of things that arouse specific feelings, or brief re-tellings of incidents that caught her fancy, with no distinct, overarching narrative. As loose as that may sound, it ends up offering an endearing insight into the life and times of Japan a thousand years ago, especially the aesthetic preferences of the day, and in that may be of intense interest to Japanophiles. Personally, however, I loved how so many pieces of the book felt relatable even today, and that it’s the perfect length to not feel like a boring archive (which I suspect the lengthier source material might end up resembling).

[rikaaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This judgemental diva

[Phil Sun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This slim collection of 11th-century Japanese writer and courtier Sei Shōnagon's writings came about when the Empress handed her a bundle of paper:

"I set to work with this boundless pile of paper to fill it to the last sheet with all manner of odd things, so no doubt there's much in these pages that makes no sense.... I merely wrote for my personal amusement things that I myself have thought and felt, and I never intended that it should be placed alongside other books and judged on a par with them. I'm utterly perplexed to hear that people who've read my work have said it makes them feel humble in the face of it."

Odd things: temple visits, court intrigues, flirtations, the colours of a lady's robes, the nature of lovers' assignments, the state of men, impressions of clouds and flowers and dilapidated houses in moonlight, more.

Shōnagon adores her Empress, recalling their first encounter: "It was a fearfully cold time of year, and the glimpse of her hands emerging from the wonderful, glowing pale plum-pink sleeves filled me with deep awe. I remember gazing at them in astonishment, still fresh from home and new to all I saw, and thinking, 'I never knew someone so marvellous could exist.'"

A millennia later, we, aside from scholars of Japanese history, have forgotten the name of that Empress. But what has survived the long passage of time is Sei Shōnagon's "odd things", fleeting and modest pleasures, as fresh as they were when she wrote these sentences for her personal amusement. (Isn't a book a kind of resurrection? Not only of a person, but of everything that person experienced and felt?)

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

honestly a really good read. I found most of the things in this book very random and some even nonsensical and I think that was also partially the point of the book. I mean really what this is is a collection of random thoughts, stories, poems that the author has encountered and has wanted to write down, hence the very sporadic structure of this book. Surprisingly though I found a lot of things also sort of resonated with me or I felt as though they could be relatable which isn't something I'd expect from a book that's over a thousand years old but here we are.

[Alex Fossett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful train of thought and a peak inside the mind of another - honest and conversational

[Gemma Winter]

Never expected this to be this gorgeous

[Karlijn Van Oest · Rating 4 out of 5]

never read a book that’s been written like this. offers such unique perspectives on everyday life

[Tanvi Kusum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda weird to relate to a woman who was alive a 1000 years ago.

[Bastiaan Mozes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and beautiful

[Merle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me a long whole to read as I wanted to savour each chapter, a little treat.
Evoked my interest in poetry.