A Lady in Kyoto

Sei Shonagon

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Paperback

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Japanese

Penguin
15 July 2025

Diaries, letters & journals; History; Social & cultural history

Series: Penguin Archive

90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books

All moonlight is moving, wherever it may be...

Japanese gentlewoman Sei Shonagon invites us to look behind the painted screens in the Emperor's palace and discover a lost world, in which games of poetry are the highest form of wit, lovers send each other elegant morning-after letters, and appreciation of the natural world - wild geese in autumn, the pure white frost of winter - is one of life's most exquisite pleasures.

By: Sei Shonagon
Imprint: Penguin
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 182mm, Width: 112mm, Spine: 8mm
Weight: 81g
ISBN: 9780241752081
ISBN 10: 0241752086
Series: Penguin Archive
Pages: 128
Publication Date: 15 July 2025
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Sei Shonagon (?966-?1017) was a gentlewoman in the court of Empress Teishi, in what is now Kyoto, Japan. She lived at the height of the Heian period and used the ins and outs of life at court to inspire her writing.