The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon: The Diary of a Courtesan in Tenth Century Japan by Arthur Waley & Dennis Washburn Ph.d

Author:Arthur Waley & Dennis Washburn Ph.d. [Waley, Arthur & Washburn, Dennis Ph.d.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Non-Fiction, Biography, Poetry, Classics
ISBN: 9784805311080
Google: 9UHLbwAACAAJ
Amazon: 4805311088
Barnesnoble: 4805311088
Goodreads: 8980058
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Published: 1002-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

MASAHIRO

Everyone laughs at Masahiro.† It must really be very painful for his parents and friends. If he is seen anywhere with at all a decent-looking servant in attendance upon him, someone is sure to send for the fellow and ask him whether he can be in his senses, to wait upon such a master. Everything at his house is extremely well done and he chooses his clothes with unusually good taste; but the only result is to make people say: “How nice those things would look on anyone else!”

It is true that he does sometimes talk in the most peculiar way. For example, he was sending home some things he had been using when on duty at the Palace and he called for two messengers. One came, saying that there was not more there than one man could easily carry. “You idiot,” said Masahiro, “I asked for two messengers because there is someone else’s things here as well as my own. You can’t ask one man to carry two men’s stuff, any more than you can put two pints into a one-pint pot.” What he meant no one knew; but there was loud laughter.

Once someone brought him a letter, asking for an immediate reply. “What a moment to choose!” Masahiro cried. “I can hear beans crackling on the stove. And why is there never either ink or brushes in this house? Someone must steal them. If it were something to eat or drink that got stolen, I could understand.…”

When the Emperor’s mother, Princess Senshi, was ill, Masahiro was sent from the Palace to inquire after her. When he came back, we asked him what gentleman had been in waiting upon the Princess. “So-and-so and so-and-so,” he said, mentioning four or five names. “No one else?” we said. “Oh yes,” answered Masahiro, “there were others there, only they had gone away.”

Once when I happened to be alone he came up to me and said: “My dear lady, I have something I must tell you about at once.” “Well, what is it?” I asked. “Something,” he said, “that I have just heard one of the gentlemen say.” And coming quite close to my curtain: “I overheard someone who instead of saying ‘Bring your body up closer to mine,’ said ‘Bring your five limbs* ..:’” and he went off into fits of laughter.

Once on the second of the three Appointment nights† it fell to Masahiro to go round oiling the lamps. He rested his foot on the pedestal of a lamp-stand, and as it happened to have been recently covered with yutan* and was not yet dry, it stuck to him, and as soon as he started to move away the lamp-stand toppled over. So fast was the framework stuck to his stockinged foot, that the lamp banged along after him as he walked, causing a regular earthquake at each step.

The Palace roll-call† has a special charm. Those who are actually waiting upon his Majesty do not have to attend it, but are checked offon the spot by officers who come from seat to seat.

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