I don’t remember where I was referred to Sei Shonagon’s The Pillow Book (Het hoofdkussenboek), but I’m pretty sure it was from a list or book by Pieter Steinz. I found a used version of The Pillow Book on Marketplace and could start on it within a few days after having to cut it out of a tight wrap of tape.

The Pillow Book immediately reminded me of the atmosphere Nooteboom paints in his stories about his Japanese travel stories and of the atmosphere in Hokusai’s prints. Shonagon paints a very interesting atmospheric picture of the life of Japanese nobility in the 9th or 10th century. It is truly one of those books that inspires you to walk around with your notebook again to write down the world around you because it is not as self-evident as you might think when you are in it daily.