Sei Shonagon

Sei Shōnagon (清少納言, lesser councilor of state Sei), (c. 966–1017/1025) was a Japanese author and a court lady who served the Empress Teishi (Sadako) around the year 1000 during the middle Heian period. She is best known as the author of The Pillow Book (枕草子 makura no sōshi). Sei Shōnagon's actual given name is not known. It was the custom among aristocrats in those days to call a court lady (女房 nyōbō?) by a nickname taken from her clan name or a court office belonging either a close male relative. Sei (清?) derives from her father's family name "Kiyohara" (清原) (the native Japanese reading of 清 is kiyo, while the Chinese reading is sei), while Shōnagon (少納言?, lesser councilor of state) refers to a government post. It is unknown which of her relatives held the post of shōnagon. However, she was called "Shōnagon" ("minor counselor") at court. Her actual name has been a topic of debate among scholars, who generally favor Kiyohara Nagiko (清原 諾子?) as a likely possibility. Little is known about her life except what can be found in her writing. She was the daughter of Kiyohara no Motosuke, a scholar and well-known waka poet, who worked as a provincial official. Her grandfather Kiyohara no Fukayabu was also a waka poet. The family were middle-ranking courtiers and had financial difficulties, possibly because they were not granted a revenue-producing office. She married Tachibana no Norimitsu, a government official at 16, and gave birth to a son, Norinaga. In 993, at 27, when she began to serve the Empress Teishi, consort of Emperor Ichijō, she may have been divorced. When her court service ended she may have married Fujiwara no Muneyo, governor of Settsu province, and had a daughter, Koma no Myobu, although some evidence suggests she became a Buddhist nun.