Here are some highlights from her legendary list that you might find if you decide to download the PDF:
People who tell a story with immense excitement but completely miss the punchline or context. 2. Romantic Disappointments
. She lists annoyances that feel timeless: babies crying when you want to listen to something, dogs barking at the wrong time, or someone interrupting a story to add a detail they think you missed. Aesthetic Sensitivity:
Reading these pet peeves is like getting a secret, unfiltered tour of the Heian court. From her position as a lady-in-waiting, Sei details the minute social rituals: the proper way to send a letter, the expected behavior during a clandestine visit, the subtle signs of shifting favoritism among the Empress’s attendants. She describes a world of exquisite pleasures but also of rigid social hierarchy, where "it was unacceptable for people to act outside of their prescribed social role". hateful things sei shonagon pdf
Dogs that bark at inappropriate times, potentially alerting others to a secret visitor.
She finds it unacceptable for a messenger to return a letter crumpled or damaged instead of delivering a reply. Why "Hateful Things" is Still Relevant Today
A mouse scurrying all over the place or dogs barking in chorus for a long time. : Here are some highlights from her legendary list
When you open the PDF, you’ll find that “Hateful Things” is only two pages long. You’ll read it, laugh, close the file—and then spend the rest of the day mentally writing your own list.
“A man who is in a hurry to leave a party, yet insists on tying his shoelaces very slowly.”
Sei Shonagon. The Pillow Book . Translated by Annie Shepley Omori and Kochi Doi, 1911. Project Gutenberg, 2020. PDF. She lists annoyances that feel timeless: babies crying
Sei Shōnagon was not just complaining; she was defining the boundaries of Heian propriety. The things she lists as "hateful" are violations of the sophisticated aesthetic and social etiquette known as miyabi (courtly refinement). For example:
“Hateful Things” belongs to a category of mono no aware (the pathos of things) but twisted toward irritation rather than melancholy. While her contemporary Murasaki Shikibu ( The Tale of Genji ) sought emotional depth, Sei Shōnagon sought witty precision. Her hateful things are not moral evils; they are aesthetic and social failures—small, sharp moments when reality chafes against expectation.