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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What color were the Shigei Sha's under-robes when Shonagon first saw her at Toka Palace?

2. What was the spirit of the Captain from the Inner Palace Guards said to be haunting?

3. What kind of lodging did Shonagon stay in in "Shortly after the Twentieth of the Ninth Month?"

4. What caused the lamp to tip when Masahiro was responsible for filling the lamps with oil?

5. In "Wind Instruments" what instrument did Shonagon say was charming for a man to carry when he went out on horseback or on foot?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Shonagon spend a long time at home after the Chancellor's death?

2. Why did the priest tell the women to keep talking all night after overhearing their conversation about where the wood for the Chamberlains' batons come from and talking about the names of clothing?

3. Why was Shonagon concerned about having to write the opening lines to a few lines of poetry she received when Kinto was present?

4. Why did Shonagon say that no one pays attention to a Palace Chaplain when he walks by?

5. Why was Shonagon impressed when the Empress guessed that the cherry blossoms had been ruined by the rain?

6. What did Shonagon hope to find out by seeing the Shigei Sha and what conclusion did she come to?

7. When the ladies visited the guard house in "While We Were in Mourning for the Chancellor" why did the guards get angry with them?

8. Why did Tadanobu tell Nobukata about the secret code he and Shonagon spoke in?

9. Why was Shonagon happy to receive a note from a man that read "the rain that swells the water?"

10. Why did Shonagon want to change places with the woman she met on her way up the hill to the Upper Shrine?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What was Shonagon's relationship with the Empress like? Was Shonagon merely a servant or were they friends? How do we know this?

Essay Topic 2

What was life in the women's apartments like for Shonagon? What was the building like? How did the people interact? What role did the apartments have in Shonagon's social life?

Essay Topic 3

How was The Pillow Book discovered and made public? Did Shonagon mean to have others read her work? What evidence is there that she may have meant for the book to go public?

(see the answer keys)

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