The Pillow Book - Other Pillow Books

Other Pillow Books

More generally, a pillow book is a collection of notebooks or notes which have been collated to show a period of someone or something's life. In Japan such kind of idle notes are generally referred to the zuihitsu genre. Other major works from the same period include Kamo no Chōmei's Hōjōki and Yoshida Kenkō’s Tsurezuregusa. Zuihitsu rose to mainstream popularity in the Edo period, when it found a wide audience in the newly developed merchant classes. Furthermore, it gained a scholarly foothold, as Japanese classical scholars began customarily writing in the ‘’zuihitsu’’ style. Reputable authors from this movement include Motoori Norinaga, Yokoi Yayu, and Matsudaira Sadanobu.

Eleanor Bron and Heather Mallick have both used this form to collect essays. Aidan Chambers' novel This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn is based on the concept of the pillow book. In the case of the fictional character Cordelia Kenn, it shows her life and thoughts so that her daughter can relive her past.

There is a 1996 film of the same name by writer/director Peter Greenaway, which tells a modern story but references Sei Shōnagon's literary work. The film stars Vivian Wu and Ewan McGregor.

The Pillow Book is also the name of a series of three radio thrillers written by Robert Forrest and broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour Drama. These are detective stories with Sei Shōnagon as a principal character and feature many of her lists.