Noel’s Reviews > The Pillow Book > Status Update

…dealings with the world.

You never find an instance of two people living together who continue to be overawed by each other’s excellence and always treat each other with scrupulous care and respect, so such a relationship is obviously a great rarity.

Copying out a tale or a volume of poems without smearing any ink on the book you’re copying from. If you’re copying it from some beautiful bound book, you try to take immense care, but somehow you always manage to get ink on it.

Two women, let alone a man and a woman, who vow themselves to each other forever, and actually manage to remain on good terms to the end.

Some more I forgot to post:

Refined and elegant things – A girl’s over-robe of white on white over pale violet-grey. The eggs of the spot-billed duck.

Shaved ice with a sweet syrup, served in a shiny new metal bowl.

A crystal rosary. Wisteria flowers. Snow on plum blossoms. An adorable little child eating strawberries.


Oxen – An ox should have a tiny splash of white on its forehead, and the underbelly, legs and tail should all be white.


Cats – Cats should be completely black except for the belly, which should be very white.

Oh, and also this one! From an entry on the proper way for a man to take his leave in the morning:

“Then there’s the man who suddenly remembers he has someone else to call on, leaps up briskly and starts flapping about getting himself ready to depart. There’s a rustle and a swish as he fastens the waist-strings of his trousers, then he rolls up the sleeves of his cloak or hunting costume and thrusts his arms in, tugs the belt good and tight, and next there’s the sound of him kneeling down and settling his lacquered cap on his head, with a sharp tug to the strings to tighten the knot firmly. He’s left his fan and wad of folded paper by the pillow overnight, and naturally the paper’s all got scattered so now he must conduct a search for it – but the darkness prevents him from seeing, so there he is, noisily patting around here and there on the floor, muttering ‘Where is it? Where’s it got to?’ till at last he finds it all. Now he flips open the fan and flaps it boisterously, tucks the paper into the bosom of his clothes, and with a brief ‘Well, I’ll be off then’, out he goes.”

I love this refined and elegant thing: An adorable little child eating strawberries.

Thanks for that sweet image, Noel!