 How Sei Shonagon shaped the literature of Japan
In tenth century Japan, a noblewoman was writing literature that would shape the way the Japanese language was to evolve. Sei Shonagon was a lady in waiting to the Empress Sadako, and her witty observations form a piece of work called The Pillow Book. The writing has been adapted for the Woman’s Hour serial this week, and Jenni is joined by the drama’s director, Lu Kemp, and by Japanese academic Hitomi Tobe to discuss Sei Shonagon and the legacy she left to the next millennium of literature in Japan.
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