HAIKUS INSPIRED BY SEI SHONAGON'S MAKURA NO SOSHI VOLUME II

This bilingual haiku collection is the thirtieth haiku anthology originally written by this author, and was inspired by Makura no soshi (lit., 'the pillow book'), an essay collection by the court lady Sei shonagon (c. 966-c. 1025). Makura no soshi is considered one of The Three Great Essays in Japanese classic literature. Sei shonagon served Empress Teishi (née, Fujiwara no Teishi, 977-1001, married to Emperor Ichijo in 990) in the mid-Heian period. Her essay collection consists of insightful observation of four seasons, fauna and flora, and daily life, which reflect her profound knowledge of classical literature of both China and Japan. Other essays introduce intriguing anecdotes of courtiers in the Imperial Court in the ancient capital Kyoto, as well as her own poems. This haiku collection (2022), the second volume for Makura no soshi, includes 79 essays-from Essay 67 to Essay 145-out of a total of 323 essays that Sei shonagon wrote, along with a summary and annotations for each essay, and presents 88 original haikus by this author.