WRITER

Sei Shōnagon

966 - 1025

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Sei Shōnagon (清少納言; [sei ɕoː.naꜜ.ɡoɴ, seː-, -ŋoɴ], c. 966–1017 or 1025), or Seijo (清女; [seꜜi.(d)ʑo, seꜜː-], lit. 'Lady Sei'), was a Japanese author, poet, and court lady who served the Empress Teishi (Sadako) around the year 1000, during the middle Heian period. She is the author of The Pillow Book (枕草子, makura no sōshi). Read more on Wikipedia

Her biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Sei Shōnagon is the 612th most popular writer (up from 676th in 2019), the 79th most popular biography from Japan (up from 106th in 2019) and the 12th most popular Japanese Writer.

Sei Shōnagon is most famous for her work "The Pillow Book" which is a collection of short essays, anecdotes, and observations about life at the imperial court.

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Among WRITERS

Among writers, Sei Shōnagon ranks 612 out of 7,302. Before her are Bert Hellinger, Ellen G. White, Dino Buzzati, Titus Pomponius Atticus, Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, and Ludwig Tieck. After her are Alain Robbe-Grillet, Amin Maalouf, Aulus Gellius, Harold Pinter, Maria Leopoldina of Austria, and Saint Naum.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 966, Sei Shōnagon ranks 1. After her are Bjarni Herjólfsson, Rogneda of Polotsk, and Fujiwara no Michinaga. Among people deceased in 1025, Sei Shōnagon ranks 3. Before her are Basil II, and Bolesław I the Brave. After her are Hugh Magnus, Matilda of Germany, Countess Palatine of Lotharingia, Helena, Muhammad III of Córdoba, Al-Qasim al-Ma'mun, Burchard of Worms, Al-Qadi Abd al-Jabbar, and Eustathius of Constantinople.

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In Japan

Among people born in Japan, Sei Shōnagon ranks 79 out of 6,245. Before her are Kenzō Tange (1913), Nichiren (1222), Tomoe Gozen (1157), Emperor Annei (-577), Kazuo Ishiguro (1954), and Shirō Ishii (1892). After her are Emperor Momozono (1741), Ishida Mitsunari (1559), Yoichiro Nambu (1921), Toyotomi Hideyori (1593), Uesugi Kenshin (1530), and Naoto Kan (1946).

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Among WRITERS In Japan

Among writers born in Japan, Sei Shōnagon ranks 12. Before her are Murasaki Shikibu (973), Osamu Dazai (1909), Kenzaburō Ōe (1935), Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1892), Natsume Sōseki (1867), and Kazuo Ishiguro (1954). After her are Kōbō Abe (1924), Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1886), Zeami Motokiyo (1363), Masaru Emoto (1943), Kobayashi Issa (1763), and Shoko Asahara (1955).

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