Point of View

Because it is a journal, The Pillow Book is written from a first-person point of view. Shonagon is the narrator, but she doesn't always involve herself in her journal entries. Sometimes she just tells a story or records an overheard conversation. In such cases, the point of view changes to third-person just for that particular journal entry.

Sei Shonagon is a lady-in-waiting for the Empress of Japan in the late-10th century A.D. She was about thirty years old at the time of writing this journal. She refers to herself as an old woman at thirty years of age. At this point in her life, she has a great deal of experience in the court and is very familiar with the other courtiers. Her older brother is also a member of Court, and she seems to have a lot of clout with the others.

Setting