# The Dog Pillow

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Early-Edo period Japanese literature

***Inu makura*** or ***The Dog Pillow*** (犬枕) is an early-[Edo period](/source/Edo_period) [Japanese](/source/Japanese_literature) literary [parody](/source/Parody) of *[The Pillow Book](/source/The_Pillow_Book)* of [Sei Shōnagon](/source/Sei_Sh%C5%8Dnagon). The title has also been translated as ***The Mongrel Pillow***.[1]

## *The Pillow Book*

[Sei Shōnagon](/source/Sei_Sh%C5%8Dnagon)'s observations of the [Heian](/source/Heian_period) court at the end of the tenth-century in *[The Pillow Book](/source/The_Pillow_Book)* (枕草子, **Makura no sōshi**) include passages that resemble a [poetic diary](/source/Poetic_diary), others in an [essay-like style](/source/Zuihitsu), as well as a number of poetic catalogues or "detailing of things" (ものはつくし).[2][3] For instance, under the heading Elegant Things: 'a white coat worn over a violet [waistcoat](/source/Japanese_clothing), duck eggs, shaved ice mixed with [liana](/source/Liana) syrup placed in a new silver bowl, rock-crystal [prayer beads](/source/Buddhist_prayer_beads), [wisteria](/source/Wisteria) blossoms, [plum blossoms](/source/Prunus_mume) covered with snow, a beautiful child eating strawberries'.[4]

*Inu makura* similarly comprises a number of such listings under a series of headings, although without the [narrative](/source/Narrative) accompaniment. Combined with the work's brevity, the effect is sustained through 'the possibilities of terseness, juxtaposition, and surprise', by repeating the same situation under a different heading, or by the subtle alteration of a situation.[2] There are in total ninety sections, seventeen of them in the form of kyōka or 'comic [waka](/source/Waka_(poetry))'.[1] The work, without [colophon](/source/Colophon_(publishing)) or title page, and dated variously between 1596 and 1607, is attributed to Hata Sōha (1550–1607), annotator of [Essays in Idleness](/source/Tsurezuregusa), physician to [Toyotomi Hidetsugu](/source/Toyotomi_Hidetsugu), [storyteller (otogishu)](/source/Taikomochi#History) to [Toyotomi Hideyoshi](/source/Toyotomi_Hideyoshi), and later in the employ of [Tokugawa Ieyasu](/source/Tokugawa_Ieyasu).[1][2][5] An early exemplar of [kanazōshi](/source/Kanaz%C5%8Dshi) or 'booklets in the vernacular', it was printed with [wooden movable type](/source/Movable_type#Wooden_movable_type).[2][4]

Illustrative of the work are such sections as Things One Wishes to See: 'the moon, well-performed [Noh](/source/Noh), the furnishings of a [tea house](/source/Chashitsu), the real thoughts of one's lover'; Interesting Things: '[Tsurezuregusa](/source/Tsurezuregusa), arranging coals for the [tea ceremony](/source/Tea_ceremony), a [flower-viewing](/source/Hanami) walk with a boy favourite'; and Things that Stand One's Hair on End: 'putting on [armour](/source/Japanese_armour) in winter without underclothes'.[6]

## Parodies

Such [parodies](/source/Parodies) were amongst the earliest [genres](/source/Genres) of [kanazōshi](/source/Kanaz%C5%8Dshi), updating and transforming [Heian](/source/Heian_period) and later court works into "comic versions of contemporary popular culture".[4] In the 1530s, Dog Tsukubashū (犬筑波集), attributed to [Yamazaki Sōkan](/source/Yamazaki_S%C5%8Dkan) and a response to the first collections of [linked verse](/source/Renga), had been infused with the [haikai](/source/Haikai) spirit, "outlandish [metaphor](/source/Metaphor)", and "irreverent or ribald humour".[7] Following on from *Inu makura*, other parodies emerged: the Fake [Tales of Ise](/source/Tales_of_Ise) (偽物語, *[Nise Monogatari](/source/Nise_Monogatari)*) of 1640; Dog [Tsurezuregusa](/source/Tsurezuregusa) (犬徒然草) of 1653; and Dog [Hyakunin Isshū](/source/Hyakunin_Issh%C5%AB) (犬百人一首) of 1669.[4][8][9]

## See also

- [Japanese literature](/source/Japanese_literature)

- [Japanese poetry](/source/Japanese_poetry)

- [The Lady who Loved Insects](/source/The_Lady_who_Loved_Insects)

- [List of National Treasures of Japan (writings: Japanese books)](/source/List_of_National_Treasures_of_Japan_(writings%3A_Japanese_books))

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Keene_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Keene_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Keene_1-2) [Keene, Donald](/source/Donald_Keene) (1999). *World Within Walls: Japanese Literature of the Pre-Modern Era, 1600-1867*. [Columbia University Press](/source/Columbia_University_Press). pp. 153f. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-231-11467-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-231-11467-2).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Inu_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Inu_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Inu_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Inu_2-3) Putzar, Edward (1968). "Inu Makura: The Dog Pillow". *[Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies](/source/Harvard_Journal_of_Asiatic_Studies)*. **28**. [Harvard–Yenching Institute](/source/Harvard%E2%80%93Yenching_Institute): 98–101. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/2718596](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2718596). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [2718596](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2718596).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Morris, Mark (1980). "Sei Shōnagon's Poetic Catalogues". *[Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies](/source/Harvard_Journal_of_Asiatic_Studies)*. **40** (1). [Harvard–Yenching Institute](/source/Harvard%E2%80%93Yenching_Institute): 5–54. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/2718916](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2718916). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [2718916](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2718916).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Shirane_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Shirane_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Shirane_4-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Shirane_4-3) Shirane, Haruo (2002). [*Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology (1600-1900)*](https://archive.org/details/earlymodernjapan00shir). [Columbia University Press](/source/Columbia_University_Press). pp. [21](https://archive.org/details/earlymodernjapan00shir/page/n47)–4. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-231-10991-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-231-10991-1).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Chance, Linda H. (1997). "Constructing the Classic: Tsurezuregusa in Tokugawa Readings". *[Journal of the American Oriental Society](/source/Journal_of_the_American_Oriental_Society)*. **117** (1). [American Oriental Society](/source/American_Oriental_Society): 39–56. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/605621](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F605621). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [605621](https://www.jstor.org/stable/605621).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Putzar, Edward (1968). "Inu Makura: The Dog Pillow". *[Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies](/source/Harvard_Journal_of_Asiatic_Studies)*. **28**. [Harvard–Yenching Institute](/source/Harvard%E2%80%93Yenching_Institute): 102–4. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/2718596](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2718596). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [2718596](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2718596).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Carter, Steven (1993). *Traditional Japanese Poetry: An Anthology*. [Stanford University Press](/source/Stanford_University_Press). pp. 332, 338. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8047-2212-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8047-2212-9).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Rucinski, Jack (1975). "A Japanese Burlesque: Nise Monogatari". *[Monumenta Nipponica](/source/Monumenta_Nipponica)*. **30** (1). [Sophia University](/source/Sophia_University): 1–18. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/2383693](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2383693). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [2383693](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2383693).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Machotka, Ewa (2009). *Visual genesis of Japanese national identity: Hokusai's Hyakunin isshu*. [Peter Lang](/source/Peter_Lang_(publishing_company)). p. 55. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-90-5201-482-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-90-5201-482-1).

## Further reading

Putzar, Edward (1968). "Inu Makura: The Dog Pillow". *[Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies](/source/Harvard_Journal_of_Asiatic_Studies)*. **28**. [Harvard–Yenching Institute](/source/Harvard%E2%80%93Yenching_Institute): 98–113. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/2718596](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2718596). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [2718596](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2718596).

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