ARTHU R WAL EY ’S TR AN SL ATIO N O F: THE P IL L OW B OO K O F

SEI SHŌ NAGON

Presentation by Kenneth Plank

BACKGROUND

Who are Sei Shōnagon and Arthur Waley?

SEI SHŌ NAGO N ( C . 966 - C . 1020 )13th century ink drawing

( 1921 replica by Yamatoe Dokokai)

Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi

(2012)

THE PILLOW BOOK(C. 993-1002)

• Zuihitsu (“Follow the brush”)

• T. Purcell and W. G. Aston (1889)

• Arthur Waley (1928)

• Ivan Morris (1967)

• Meredith McKinney (2006)

ARTHUR WALEY (1889-1966)

• Orientalist and Sinologist

• A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems (1918)

• The Tale of Genji (1921-1933)

• The Pillow Book (1928)

• Monkey: A Folk-Tale of China (1942)

• Honors

PROBLEMATIC FOR HISTORIANS

Issues with Waley’s translation of The Pillow Book

INCOMPLETE

Waley's Trans-lationWhat Was Left Out

TWO VOICES OVERLAPPED

AN ENGLISHMAN'S STORY

THE POSITIVES

Not without merit

ARTISTIC EXPRESSION

SEI SHŌ NAGAN’S VO ICE PEEKS THR O UGH

QUESTIONS

How can I help you?