What Did Heian Nobles Do All Day? A Young Noble's Day in Kyoto 1,000 Years Ago #23

Kyoto, a thousand years ago. What did the nobles of the capital actually do all day? We follow one young nobleman, newly raised to the Fifth Rank, through an autumn day around the year 1000: a morning checklist that starts with reciting a star's name seven times, hair combed only every third day, a diary written between the lines of a calendar, clothes steeped in incense, a letter rewritten until every word is just right, robes whose color shows your rank, a letter sent back because a friend is in ritual seclusion, a guest who won't stop talking, and an evening by the light of an oil lamp. A day shaped by caring what other people think. Note: the main character and his day are a reconstruction based on historical sources. Names, dialogue, feelings and details of the house include creative interpretation. Key sources: Fujiwara no Morosuke, Kujo-dono Yuikai (in Gunsho Ruiju) / Sei Shonagon, The Pillow Book / The Diary of Murasaki Shikibu / Fujiwara no Michinaga, Mido Kanpakuki (UNESCO Memory of the World) / Shoyuki / Kotobank encyclopedias 0:00 Opening 0:33 Heian-kyo, 1,000 Years Ago 1:35 A Morning Checklist 2:53 A Diary Between the Lines 4:04 Getting Ready for a Guest 5:26 One Letter 6:35 Off to the Palace 8:04 The Letter Comes Back 9:38 By Lamplight 10:55 Wrap-up #HowDidPeopleLiveBackThen #HeianPeriod #Kyoto #History #JapaneseHistory #PillowBook #MurasakiShikibu