The Pillow Book

Shonagon claims that, while “Darani incantations are best when performed at daybreak,” “sutras are best at twilight,” and “musical performances are best at night” (185). Then, she lists games, dances, plucked instruments, and wind instruments. When she considers instruments, Shonagon thinks about how it sounds “from a distance” and how the sound “approaches” the listener, or vice versa (186).

In Chapter 205, Shonagon lists “spectacles,” including some descriptions of the ideal weather for some spectacle festivals. The Imperial Progress can be a particularly interesting form of spectacle, especially in the fifth month, though “it’s a great pity” for “it no longer occurs” (188). The fifth month is, though, a good time “to make an excursion to a mountain village” (190).

The hotter times of year tend to bring the “cooling sight” of the evening “when the dusk [begins] to blur the shape of things” (190).

In Chapter 209, Shonagon writes about the women who work and sing in the rice fields on the route to Kamo Shrine. She is shocked to hear the mocking contents of their song, however.