Pillow Book AssignmentSei Shōnagon, court lady of Empress Teishi, was born in 966 AD during the Heian era. Also known as the author of the Pillow Book due to her personal accounts and opinions she wrote while serving the empress. To understand this book we must understand the culture in which she grew up; which was heavily influenced by Shinto. Shinto is a way of life and probably a religion, it has changed slightly over the years but the fundamental connections remain the same: Tama and Kami. The Kami, the spirits, are in a certain sense worshiped/honored in Shinto practices. Tama is the power in everything in nature, including us, and some people have more tama than others. Pre-Buddhism women were believed to have more Tama than men, due to their ability to give birth; but Buddhism helped promote male dominance in Japan. Therefore, at the time of Sei's birth, she was living in a culture that favored men slightly more than women. In this historical context we can analyze Sei's writings. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First we can see how he incorporated his love of nature into his writings. His belief in the tama of nature is extremely evident when he says, “When the sun sets, the heart is moved by the sound of the wind and the buzzing of insects.” Analyzing it, we can first see the power of the wind. He believes that if you listen carefully enough, it has the power to move hearts. Listen closer and you can also hear the buzzing of insects which, although tiny, also has the power to move hearts. He also uses a lot of imagery to express his feelings towards nature's tama: "The willow trees are also very charming in this season, with the buds still closed like silkworms in their cocoons." Normally charming is used to express the appearance of another human being, but she uses the word to express her feelings towards the willows. This helps us understand his vision of the power that is in nature, and his respect and love for it. Sei also incorporated Kami into his writings, often referring to people in power. For example, the head squire is a high official and is viewed with a lot of respect. Similarly nature may have a spirit in a waterfall, which it will regard with equal or perhaps even greater respect than the officer. Which is extremely common in Japanese culture, due to the belief that spirits can be within the forces of nature; and in some cases they can attract good luck to the earth. Although not particularly during Six's existence, farmers sometimes erected temporary shrines to attract spirits who would bless them with a good harvest. The belief that spirits provide good luck was common in Asian culture and helped facilitate the growth of more shrines dedicated to Kami objects and people. Sei also talks about things she doesn't like in her writing "Hateful Things", for example: "Envying others and complaining about one's lot". She believes that we should be content with what we have and not see the other side of the fence as more green, rather be happy with what we currently have. He also talks about hating long stories: "If one manages to reveal some facts, to inform everyone in the most detailed way, as if one knew everything from the beginning - oh, how I hate it! " This is interesting considering she writes about her own experiences, but understandable because she believes it is necessary to get to the heart of the story. This shows how opinionated she was, which was a.