The Pillow Book

The Pillow Book (U.K.)
THE PILLOW BOOK tells the story of a Japanese girl, Nagiko Kiohara, growing up in Kyoto, Japan. Each of her birthdays, is marked by two significant customs: her father, a calligrapher and writer, paints a traditional birthday greeting on her face; and her aunt reads to her from the Japanese classic, The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon, an aristocratic lady-in-waiting who lived during the end of the Tenth century in Heian Dynasty Japan. Written in journal fashion, the book describes Sei Shonagon's reverence for Imperial Court life, literature and the natural world. Young Nagiko's aunt persuades her to keep her own pillow book in homage to Sei Shonagon's journal.

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