Pillow Book by Sei Shonagan

After reading this brief section of “The Pillow Book,” I believe that the things, events or situations she considers not good or proper are those that differ from the unique cultural value and concept of Miyabi. Miyabi is a refined courtly taste and a perfection of form and color. Many of the things, events and situations described directly differs from this concept and in ancient Japanese societies, this concept was very much valued and important. This is especially shown in the 5th example of hateful things in which Sei Shonagon describes “the sight of men in their cups who shout, poke fingers in their mouths, stroke their beards, and pass on the wine to their neighbors with cries…” This example shows how Sei Shonagon has seen well-bred people behaving like this and violating the concept of Miyabi which has caused it to be distasteful. In my opinion, the concept of Miyabi and the reasoning of her evaluation is based on social aspects as Miyabi was formed upon a concept of how to behave socially.a. A Man who has nothing in particular to recommend him discusses all sorts of subjects at random as though he knew everything.
I agree with this example because I have met a lot of these types of people throughout my life and I find them absolutely annoying. They are perfect examples of what I believe to be jack of all trades and master of none. It especially annoys me when they talk about a topic in which I study or have done a lot of research on and they end up telling a lot of false facts which I know to not be true.
b. One is in the middle of a story when someone butts in and tries to show that he is the only clever person in the room. Such a person is hateful, and so, indeed, is anyone, child or adult, who tries to push himself forward.
This example really resonated with me because throughout attending a lot of networking events, I have realized that these people are despicable. When a person is in the middle of saying something, I find it really rude to cut in