Although both Kenko's Tsurezuregusa and Shonagon's Makura no soshi, by virtue of sharing a genre, are similar in many ways, it is through their differences that we can best discern the aesthetics of Shonagon's time. As discussed by Keene in the preface to his translation, Kenko's work was composed during a tumultuous time for the Japanese ruling class; the emperor Go-Daigo had succeeded in overthrowing the ruling Houjou family in his second coup, but very little is mentioned of this event. Indeed, the vignettes have a very dispassionate tone about them with regards to the reality in which it was written. The real world events that are referenced are utilized more as learning experiences and situations to meditate on, as one would expect from a medieval Buddhist monk.
By contrast, Shonagon's work does not share this distanced perspective. Though written after a similarly stressful time for some in the ruling class (Shonagon's patron the Empress Teishi in particular), and though this conflict is similarly left unaddressed, Shonagon's "essays" instead focus on romanticizing the court in which she once lived. This leads to a few aesthetic anomalies, which show in stark contrast to the consistency of Kenko's work. For one, as a historical text, though Shonagon does not address the situation, she does address those involved in the situation (*note to self: issue of gender? issue of relation to events? read further), and her anecdotes are focus less on lessons to be learned and more on the interpersonal relationships of the figures in said anecdotes. More importantly, and more surprisingly, this indicates that though she describes transient, impermanent objects as "delightful" or "beautiful", the Makura no Soshi itself denies this very aesthetic decision. In this, the court of the Empress Teishi is not impermanent, and does not end; it is glorified, and eternalized through Shonagon's documentation. While one could say the same of the Tsurezuregusa of Kenko, it should be noted that Kenko's work may not have been intended for public dissemination, while there is sufficient evidence to lend credence to the speculation that Shonagon wrote this to glorify her patron, making this contradiction noteworthy (*note to self: what can be said of this contradiction? Examine diaries of Murasaki Shikibu and read further in the Kagero Nikki for this one.)
*Headdesk headdesk headdesk.* Humanities! English! Krarrkk
