Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Acknowledgments xiii
4. Introduction 1
5. I. Beginnings
6. 1. The Pillow Book 9
7. 2. Essays in Idleness 33
8. II. The Late Medieval Era
9. 3. Conversations with Shōtetsu 67
10. 4. "To Unify the Nation and Restore Civil Society" 84
11. 5. "Cottage of Dreams" and "Three Loves" 91
12. 6. A Tenbun Miscellany 96
13. III. The Edo Period
14. 7. Laughs to Keep You Awake 105
15. 8. "On Ōhara" 126
16. 9. Haikai Prose 135
17. 10. Amusements 145
18. 11. Window Musings 159
19. 12. A Miscellany of Stories 179
20. 13. Chats with Myself 188
21. 14. Jeweled Comb Basket 194
22. 15. Idle Chats Beneath a Northern Window 212
23. 16. Blossoms and the Moon 252
24. 17. Year by Year: A Miscellany 272
25. 18. Behind the Koto 286
26. 19. Shunparō's Jottings 291
27. 20. Unusual People of the Modern Age and Kanden's Crop of Jottings 314
28. 21. Hoary Stories 331
29. 22. Haikai Prose 342
30. 23. Clouds of Floating Grasses 349
31. IV. The Modern Period
32. 24. Autumn Ensemble 363
33. 25. Short Works from Long Days 369
34. 26. "Snow" 377
35. 27. "Desk" 382
36. 28. "Fireworks" 385
37. 29. "Laughter" 396
38. 30. "Various Thoughts on the Great Kanto Earthquake" and "My Moral Precepts for Everyday Life" 408
39. 31. "Master Hyakken's Idle Fantasies;' "Bumpy Road;' and "A Long Fence" 417
40. 32. "The Image of an Author" 429
41. 33. "Baby Sparrow;' "Turtledoves;' and "Morning Glories" 435
42. 34. Esprit and Humor 442
43. 35. "Sleepless Nights" and "A Bed for My Books" 454
44. 36. "On Being Down with a Cold" 459
45. 37. "The Road" 463
46. 38. "Kitchen;' "Raindrops;' and "A Memento of the Season" 468
47. 39. "On Surgery" and "Rainy Day" 475
48. 40. "Looking for Gloves" 481
49. 41. One, We Count, Then ... 491
50. 42. Sunday Musings 502
51. 43. Not Much of a Book, but Please .. . and just Be Sure You're Not a Bother to Anyone 513
52. 44. "Myna Bird" 522
53. 45. "Concerning the Order of Culture" 526
54. 46. "On Zuihitsu" 531
55. Interview 536
56. Permissions 539