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WRITER

Sei Shōnagon

966 - 1025

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Sei Shōnagon (清少納言, c. 966–1017 or 1025) was a Japanese author, poet, and a court lady who served the Empress Teishi (Sadako) around the year 1000 during the middle Heian period. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Sei Shōnagon has received more than 394,041 page views. Her biography is available in 52 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 50 in 2019). Sei Shōnagon is the 511th most popular writer (down from 432nd in 2019), the 64th most popular biography from Japan (down from 46th in 2019) and the 10th 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.

Memorability Metrics

  • 390k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 66.21

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 52

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.68

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.86

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Page views of Sei Shōnagons by language


Among WRITERS

Among writers, Sei Shōnagon ranks 511 out of 5,755Before her are Marina Tsvetaeva, George R. R. Martin, J. M. Barrie, Rudaki, Attar of Nishapur, and Henri Barbusse. After her are Natsume Sōseki, Harper Lee, Fausto Cercignani, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Michel Houellebecq, and Ulrich von Hutten.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 966, Sei Shōnagon ranks 1After her are Bjarni Herjólfsson, Rogneda of Polotsk, and Fujiwara no Michinaga. Among people deceased in 1025, Sei Shōnagon ranks 3Before her are Basil II and Bolesław I the Brave. After her are Hugh Magnus, Matilda of Germany, Countess Palatine of Lotharingia, Muhammad III of Córdoba, Burchard of Worms, and Helena.

Others Born in 966

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Others Deceased in 1025

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In Japan

Among people born in Japan, Sei Shōnagon ranks 64 out of 6,048Before her are Akechi Mitsuhide (1526), Yoshihide Suga (1948), Shinzō Abe (1954), Tadamichi Kuribayashi (1891), Emperor Suizei (-669), and Koxinga (1624). After her are Natsume Sōseki (1867), Liv Ullmann (1938), Uesugi Kenshin (1530), Date Masamune (1567), Kazuo Ishiguro (1954), and Fumio Kishida (1957).

Among WRITERS In Japan

Among writers born in Japan, Sei Shōnagon ranks 10Before her are Haruki Murakami (1949), Murasaki Shikibu (973), Osamu Dazai (1909), Yasunari Kawabata (1899), Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1892), and Kenzaburō Ōe (1935). After her are Natsume Sōseki (1867), Kazuo Ishiguro (1954), Masaru Emoto (1943), Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1886), Kōbō Abe (1924), and Sugawara no Michizane (845).