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The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 8h

The other ladies in attendance sat together, talking and laughing; but I stayed by myself, leaning against one of the pillars between the main hall and the veranda.

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The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 1d

through one of the gates of the Palace enclosure, I could dimly make out a garden fence, near which a number of ladies, several of them from the Office of the Grounds, went to and fro.

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The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 1d

I remember one occasion when I visited the Palace to see the procession of blue horses. Several senior courtiers were standing outside the guard-house of the Left Division; they had borrowed bows from the escorts, and, with much laughter, were twanging them to make the horses prance. Looking

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The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 2d

A man whom one loves gets drunk and keeps repeating himself.

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The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 3d

One has sent a friend a verse that turned out fairly well. How depressing when there is no reply-poem!

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The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 4d

To pass a place where babies are playing.

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The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 5d

The objects used during the Display of Dolls.

The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 6d

Shaved ice mixed with liana syrup and put in a new silver bowl.

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The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 7d

A lamp strand.

The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 8d

Oxen should have very small foreheads with white hair; their underbellies, the ends of their legs, and the tips of their tails should also be white.

The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 9d

To feel that one is disliked by others is surely one of the saddest things in the world, and no one, however foolish, could wish such a thing on himself.

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The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 10d

To find a piece of deep violet or grape-colored material that has been pressed between the pages of a notebook.

The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 11d

Parents, convinced that their ugly child is adorable, pet him and repeat the things he has said, imitating his voice.

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The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 12d

An elderly man who has overslept and who wakes up with a start; or a greybeard munching on some acorns that he has plucked.

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The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 13d

To notice that one’s elegant Chinese mirror has become a little cloudy.

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The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 14d

In spring it the dawn that is most beautiful. As the light creeps over the hills, their outlines are dyed a faint red and wisps of purplish cloud trail over them.

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The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 15d

No doubt she was thinking of recent conversations when I had remarked in her hearing, “If I do not come first in people’s affections, I had just soon not be loved at all; in fact I would rather be hated or even maltreated. It is better to be dead than to be loved in second or third place.”

The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 16d

Attendants and escorts should be slim. I prefer gentlemen also to be on the slender side, at least when young. Stout men always strike me as sleepy-looking.

The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 17d

I imagine that there can be nothing so delightful as to be loved by everyone – one’s parents, one’s master, and all the people with whom one is on close terms.

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The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 18d

It is beautiful indeed when snow has fallen during the night, but splendid too when the ground is white with frost

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The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 19d

During the hot months it is a great delight to sit on the veranda, enjoying the cool of the evening and observing how the outlines of objects gradually become blurred. At such a moment I particularly enjoy the sight of a gentleman’s carriage, preceded by outriders clearing the way.

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The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 20d

Men’s eyes: when they are too narrow, they look feminine. On the other hand, if they were as large as metal bowls, I should find them rather frightening.

The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 21d

I like horses to be chestnut, piebald, dapple-grey, or black roan, with white patches near their shoulders and feet; I also like horses with light chestnut coats and extremely white manes and tails – so white, indeed, that their hair looks like mulberry threads.

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The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 22d

To notice that one’s elegant Chinese mirror has become a little cloudy.

The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon @thepillowbookbot.bsky.social · 23d

indifferent and went to see another woman instead. Everyone, even people who were not directly concerned, felt indignant about this callous behavior, and the woman’s family was much grieved. The man himself, however, showed not the slightest pity.

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