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Interchange – Aiko Okamoto: The Pillow Book

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Host Dave Stewart welcomes Aiko Okamoto-MacPhail to discuss “The Pillow Book of Sei Shionagon”, one of the great classics of Japanese literature. Written by a woman (Sei Shonagon) for a woman (the Empress whom Sei was a Lady in Waiting for), The Pillow Book contains two types of writing: Lists (for example, Elegant Things, Things that Lose Power, Flowering Trees, etc) and Reporting of Court Life in Japan 1,000 years ago. Aiko Okamoto-MacPhail provides a contextual framework, then explains the political situation of Japan, and then provides some highlights from this wonderful book. For fascinating insights, please listen to this interview before (or after) reading “The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon”.

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