Noel’s Reviews > The Pillow Book > Status Update
Noel
is on page 85 of 364
Toward the middle of the twelfth month there’s a great fall of snow. The ladies decide they should have a snow mountain built in the garden. All the servants at home are asked to come help create an “absolutely towering snow mountain” under the threat of losing three days’ pay. The Empress asks everyone how long they think the mountain will last. Everyone gives opinions ranging over a week or two, but…
— 13 hours, 22 min ago
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Noel
is on page 119 of 364
Things that lose by being painted – Pinks. Sweet flag. Cherry blossom. Men and women described in tales as looking splendid.
Things that gain by being painted – Pine trees. Autumn fields. Mountain villages. Mountain paths.
Winter is best when it’s fearfully cold, while summer is most summer-like when it’s impossibly hot.
— 8 hours, 9 min ago
Things that gain by being painted – Pine trees. Autumn fields. Mountain villages. Mountain paths.
Winter is best when it’s fearfully cold, while summer is most summer-like when it’s impossibly hot.
Noel
is on page 75 of 364
Things that create the appearance of deep emotion – The sound of your voice when you’re constantly blowing your runny nose as you talk.
Plucking your eyebrows.
(Finally on my reading break after days of being sleep deprived, so hopefully I’ll get through this the next week.)
— Nov 09, 2025 03:58PM
Plucking your eyebrows.
(Finally on my reading break after days of being sleep deprived, so hopefully I’ll get through this the next week.)
Noel
is on page 62 of 364
Rare things – A son-in-law who’s praised by his wife’s father. Likewise, a wife who’s loved by her mother-in-law.
A pair of silver tweezers that can actually pull out hairs properly.
A retainer who doesn’t speak ill of his master.
A person who is without a single quirk. Someone who’s superior in both appearance and character, and who’s remained utterly blameless throughout his long…
[…]
— Oct 04, 2025 07:17AM
A pair of silver tweezers that can actually pull out hairs properly.
A retainer who doesn’t speak ill of his master.
A person who is without a single quirk. Someone who’s superior in both appearance and character, and who’s remained utterly blameless throughout his long…
[…]
Noel
is on page 47 of 364
Shōnagon finds it “unsuitable” that snow falls on the houses of the common folk. “Moonlight shining into such houses is also a great shame.”
— Oct 03, 2025 02:34PM
Noel
is on page 30 of 364
Things that make your heart beat fast – A sparrow with nestlings. Going past a place where tiny children are playing. Lighting some fine incense and then lying down alone to sleep. Looking into a Chinese mirror that’s a little clouded. A fine gentleman pulls up in his carriage and sends in some request.
To wash your hair, apply your makeup and put on clothes that are well-scented with incense.
[…]
— Sep 26, 2025 10:16PM
To wash your hair, apply your makeup and put on clothes that are well-scented with incense.
[…]
Noel
is on page 12 of 364
Footnote: “Only cats of fourth and fifth rank were permitted in the Emperor’s palace.”
— Sep 23, 2025 07:24PM
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…Shōnagon says it’ll last beyond the tenth day of the first month. As they prepare to return to the imperial palace, Shōnagon tells one of the gardeners to take great care of the mountain and make sure no children climb on it and destroy it, and that the Empress intends to reward him with a special gift. She sends a constant stream of messengers day and night, “just to keep him reminded of how very important it is.” But the Empress doesn’t want to see Shōnagon win. So, the day before the one Shōnagon guessed, she sends her own servants to destroy the mountain and forbids the gardener—“wringing his hands and pleading”—from telling anyone from Shōnagon’s place about it, “on pain of having his house destroyed.” Such fun!
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Such fun indeed... The pettiness of haughty rulers never fail to flabbergast me.
