Thanks to the pillow book of lady-in-waiting Sei Shonagon, we have a first-person account of court life in Heian Japan. It's part diary, part commonplace book, part essay collection, and thoroughly fascinating.

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Thanks to the pillow book of lady-in-waiting Sei Shonagon, we have a first-person account of court life in Heian Japan. It's part diary, part commonplace book, part essay collection, and thoroughly fascinating. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Thanks to the pillow book of lady-in-waiting Sei Shonagon, we have a first-person account of court life in Heian Japan. It's part diary, part commonplace book, part essay collection, and thoroughly fascinating.

Sei Shonagon and the Heian Court

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/68e4a3d4-b1c2-4765-96d7-ae28007e3707/transcript

This 2021 episode covers three prank stories, including a joke that became a living legend, a large-scale prank that created havoc, and a televised hoax that reminds us all of the importance of critical thinking. 

This 2021 episode covers three prank stories, including a joke that became a living legend, a large-scale prank that created havoc, and a televised hoax that reminds us all of the importance of critical thinking.&nbsp;

SYMHC Classics: Three Legendary Pranks

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/266a8cec-e154-444f-8539-b3db010d02e4/transcript

Holly talks about the various inspirations for her love of embroidery. Tracy shares her experiences with movies and her cat while embroidering.

Holly talks about the various inspirations for her love of embroidery. Tracy shares her experiences with movies and her cat while embroidering.

Behind the Scenes Minis: Embroidery Love Letter

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/30c1164f-5556-43ed-89f9-b3db009cbdbd/transcript

The second part of the discussion of embroidery history covers blackwork and Opus Anglicanum, then embroidery samplers and beetle-wing embroidery.

Research:
Абильда, Айжан. “Scythians are creators of embroidery art.” Qazaqstan Tarihy. May 24, 2019. https://e-history.kz/en/news/show/7178#:~:text=Embroidery%20is%20a%20traditional%20East,a%20wedding%20or%20a%20party.
Angus, Jennifer. “Nature’s Sequins.” Cooper Hewitt. Sept. 14, 2018. https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2018/09/14/natures-sequins/
“The art of printing textile.” Musee de L’Impression sur Etoffes. https://www.musee-impression.com/en/the-collection/
Badshah, Nadeem. “Bayeux tapestry to be insured for £800m for British Museum exhibition.” The Guardian. Dec. 27. 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/27/bayeux-tapestry-to-be-insured-for-800m-for-british-museum-exhibition
“Bayeux Tapestry.” UNESCO. https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/bayeux-tapestry
“The Bayeux Tapestry.” La Tapisserie de Bayeux. Bayeux Museum. https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry/
Binswanger, Julia. “These Delicate Needles Made From Animal Bones May Have Helped Prehistoric Humans Sew Warm Winter Clothing.” Smithsonian. Dec. 11, 2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-delicate-needles-made-from-animal-bones-may-have-helped-prehistoric-humans-sew-warm-winter-clothing-180985601/
Britannica Editors. "Scythian art". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 May. 2018, https://www.britannica.com/art/Scythian-art
“Chasuble (Opus Anglicanum).” The Met. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/466660
Chung, Young Yang. “Silken Threads: A History of Embroidery in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.” Abrams. 2005.
Daniels, Margaret Harrington. “Early Pattern Books for Lace and Embroidery.” Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club. https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/articles/nb33_lac.pdf
“DMC.” Textile Research Center Leiden. https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/organisations-and-movements/companies/dmc
“Dragon Robe Decoded.” Sotheby’s. May 23, 2019. https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/dragon-robe-decoded
Embroiderers’ Guild. https://embroiderersguild.com/
Embroiderers’ Guild of America. https://egausa.org/
“Embroidery Techniques from Around the World: Crewel.” Embroiderer’ Guild of America. Oct. 28, 2024. https://egausa.org/embroidery-techniques-from-around-the-world-crewel/
Francfort, H.-P., 2020, “Scythians, Persians, Greeks and Horses: Reflections on Art, Culture Power and Empires in the Light of Frozen Burials and other Excavations”, in: , Londres, British Museum, p. 134-155. https://www.academia.edu/44417916/Francfort_H_P_2020_Scythians_Persians_Greeks_and_Horses_Reflections_on_Art_Culture_Power_and_Empires_in_the_Light_of_Frozen_Burials_and_other_Excavations_in_Londres_British_Museum_p_134_155
“Girlhood Embroidery.” Pilgrim Hall Museum. https://www.pilgrimhall.org/girlhood_embroidery.htm
Gower, John G., and G.C. Macaulay, ed. “The Complete Works of John Gower.” Clarendon Press. 1901. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/71162/71162-h/71162-h.htm#Page_1
“Introducing Opus Anglicanum.” Victoria and Albert Museum. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/about-opus-anglicanum?srsltid=AfmBOor2pOTddjxaPC9AXHvvQuGXD4Tyx9N3zBeISzMSDHX1KnaUnfnL
“Introducing the Scythians.” British Museum. May 30, 2017. https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/introducing-scythians
Nazarova, Yevhenia. “Ukraine's Ancient 'River Guardians.'” Radio Free Europe. Oct. 17, 2021. https://www.rferl.org/a/scythian-dig-ukraine-river-guardians-discovery/31507187.html
"Ancient Peruvian Textiles." The Museum Journal XI, no. 3 (September, 1920): 140-147. Accessed December 22, 2025. https://www.penn.museum/sites/journal/843/
“Embroidery – a history of needlework samplers.” Victoria & Albery Museum. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/embroidery-a-history-of-needlework-samplers
“History of The Broderers.” The Worshipful Company of Broderers. https://broderers.co.uk/history-broderers
“The History of Britain's Bayeux Tapestry.” Reading Museum. https://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/collections/britains-bayeux-tapestry/history-britains-bayeux-tapestry
Kennedy, Maev. “British Museum to go more than skin deep with Scythian exhibition.” The Guardian. May 30, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/may/30/british-museum-skin-scythian-exhibition-tattoo-empire
Lattanzio, Giaga. “Byzantine.” Fashion History Timeline. FITNYC. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/byzantine/
Leslie, Catherine Amoroso. “Needlework Through History: An Encyclopedia.” Greenwood Press. 2007.
Libes, Kenna. “Beetle-Wing Embroidery in Nineteenth-Century Fashion.” Fashion History Timeline. FITNYC. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/beetle-wing-19thcentury/
Liu Y, Li Y, Li X, Qin L. The origin and dispersal of the domesticated Chinese oak silkworm, Antheraea pernyi, in China: a reconstruction based on ancient texts. J Insect Sci. 2010;10:180. doi: 10.1673/031.010.14140
“Mrs. Jacob Wendell (Mary Barrett, 1832–1912).” The New York Historical. https://emuseum.nyhistory.org/objects/68658/mrs-jacob-wendell-mary-barrett-18321912
Muntz, Eugene and Louisa J. Davis. “A short history of tapestry. From the earliest times to the end of the 18th century.” London. Cassel & Co. 1885. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofta00mntz/page/n3/mode/2up
Pohl, Benjamin. “Chewing over the Norman Conquest: the Bayeux Tapestryas monastic mealtime reading.” Historical Research. 2025. https://academic.oup.com/histres/advance-article/doi/10.1093/hisres/htaf029/8377922
Puiu, Tibi. “Pristine 2,300-year-old Scythian woman’s boot found in frozen Altai mountains.” ZME Science. Dec. 29, 2021. https://www.zmescience.com/science/scythian-boots-0532/
Razzall, Katie. “Bayeux Tapestry to return to UK on loan after 900 years.” BBC. July 8, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c14ev1z6d5go
Royal School of Needlework. https://royal-needlework.org.uk/
Salmony, Alfred. “The Archaeological Background of textile Production in Soviet Russia Territory.” The Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club. Volume 26. No. 2. 1942. https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/periodicals/nb_42_2.pdf
“Sampler.” Victoria & Albert Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O46183/sampler-jane-bostocke/
Schӧnsperger, Johann. “Ein ney Furmbüchlein. 1525-1528. Met Museum Collection. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/354716
Schӧnsperger, Johann. “Ein new Modelbuch … “ 1524. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/354660
Shrader, Dustin. “Embroidery Through the Ages.” Impressions. July 28, 2023. https://impressionsmagazine.com/process-technique/embroidery-through-the-ages/39234/#:~:text=The%20Age%2DOld%20Beginning&text=We%20tend%20to%20typically%20think,to%20generation%20across%20the%20millennia.
“Silk Roads Programme.” UNESCO. https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/silkroad-interactive-map
Sons of Norway's Cultural Skills Program. “Unit 8: Hardanger Embroidery.” 2018. https://www.sofn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/unit8hardanger_rev8.11.pdf
“Suzhou Embroidery.” Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art.” https://asia-archive.si.edu/learn/for-educators/teaching-china-with-the-smithsonian/videos/suzhou-embroidery/
Teall, John L., Nicol, Donald MacGillivray. "Byzantine Empire". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Dec. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Byzantine-Empire
Warner, Pamela. “Embroidery: A History.” B.T. Bedford, Ltd. 1991.
Watt, James C. Y., and Anne E. Wardwell. “When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian and Chinese Textiles.” Metropolitan Museum of Art. Harry N. Abrams. New York. 1997. https://cdn.sanity.io/files/cctd4ker/production/d781d44d3048d49257072d610034400182246d3e.pdf
Watt, Melinda. “Textile Production in Europe: Embroidery, 1600–1800.” The Met. Oct. 1, 2003. https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/textile-production-in-europe-embroidery-1600-1800

The second part of the discussion of embroidery history covers blackwork and Opus Anglicanum, then embroidery samplers and beetle-wing embroidery.
Research:
<ul>
<li>Абильда, Айжан. &ldquo;Scythians are creators of embroidery art.&rdquo; Qazaqstan Tarihy. May 24, 2019. https://e-history.kz/en/news/show/7178#:~:text=Embroidery%20is%20a%20traditional%20East,a%20wedding%20or%20a%20party.</li>
<li>Angus, Jennifer. &ldquo;Nature&rsquo;s Sequins.&rdquo; Cooper Hewitt. Sept. 14, 2018. https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2018/09/14/natures-sequins/</li>
<li>&ldquo;The art of printing textile.&rdquo; Musee de L&rsquo;Impression sur Etoffes. https://www.musee-impression.com/en/the-collection/</li>
<li>Badshah, Nadeem. &ldquo;Bayeux tapestry to be insured for &pound;800m for British Museum exhibition.&rdquo; The Guardian. Dec. 27. 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/27/bayeux-tapestry-to-be-insured-for-800m-for-british-museum-exhibition</li>
<li>&ldquo;Bayeux Tapestry.&rdquo; UNESCO. https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/bayeux-tapestry</li>
<li>&ldquo;The Bayeux Tapestry.&rdquo; La Tapisserie de Bayeux. Bayeux Museum. https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry/</li>
<li>Binswanger, Julia. &ldquo;These Delicate Needles Made From Animal Bones May Have Helped Prehistoric Humans Sew Warm Winter Clothing.&rdquo; Smithsonian. Dec. 11, 2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-delicate-needles-made-from-animal-bones-may-have-helped-prehistoric-humans-sew-warm-winter-clothing-180985601/</li>
<li>Britannica Editors. "Scythian art".&nbsp;Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 May. 2018, https://www.britannica.com/art/Scythian-art</li>
<li>&ldquo;Chasuble (Opus Anglicanum).&rdquo; The Met. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/466660</li>
<li>Chung, Young Yang. &ldquo;Silken Threads: A History of Embroidery in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.&rdquo; Abrams. 2005.</li>
<li>Daniels, Margaret Harrington. &ldquo;Early Pattern Books for Lace and Embroidery.&rdquo; Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club. https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/articles/nb33_lac.pdf</li>
<li>&ldquo;DMC.&rdquo; Textile Research Center Leiden. https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/organisations-and-movements/companies/dmc</li>
<li>&ldquo;Dragon Robe Decoded.&rdquo; Sotheby&rsquo;s. May 23, 2019. https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/dragon-robe-decoded</li>
<li>Embroiderers&rsquo; Guild. https://embroiderersguild.com/</li>
<li>Embroiderers&rsquo; Guild of America. https://egausa.org/</li>
<li>&ldquo;Embroidery Techniques from Around the World: Crewel.&rdquo; Embroiderer&rsquo; Guild of America. Oct. 28, 2024. https://egausa.org/embroidery-techniques-from-around-the-world-crewel/</li>
<li>Francfort, H.-P., 2020, &ldquo;Scythians, Persians, Greeks and Horses: Reflections on Art, Culture Power and Empires in the Light of Frozen Burials and other Excavations&rdquo;, in: , Londres, British Museum, p. 134-155. https://www.academia.edu/44417916/Francfort_H_P_2020_Scythians_Persians_Greeks_and_Horses_Reflections_on_Art_Culture_Power_and_Empires_in_the_Light_of_Frozen_Burials_and_other_Excavations_in_Londres_British_Museum_p_134_155</li>
<li>&ldquo;Girlhood Embroidery.&rdquo; Pilgrim Hall Museum. https://www.pilgrimhall.org/girlhood_embroidery.htm</li>
<li>Gower, John G., and G.C. Macaulay, ed. &ldquo;The Complete Works of John Gower.&rdquo; Clarendon Press. 1901. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/71162/71162-h/71162-h.htm#Page_1</li>
<li>&ldquo;Introducing Opus Anglicanum.&rdquo; Victoria and Albert Museum. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/about-opus-anglicanum?srsltid=AfmBOor2pOTddjxaPC9AXHvvQuGXD4Tyx9N3zBeISzMSDHX1KnaUnfnL</li>
<li>&ldquo;Introducing the Scythians.&rdquo; British Museum. May 30, 2017. https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/introducing-scythians</li>
<li>Nazarova, Yevhenia. &ldquo;Ukraine's Ancient 'River Guardians.'&rdquo; Radio Free Europe. Oct. 17, 2021. https://www.rferl.org/a/scythian-dig-ukraine-river-guardians-discovery/31507187.html</li>
<li>"Ancient Peruvian Textiles."&nbsp;The Museum Journal&nbsp;XI, no. 3 (September, 1920): 140-147. Accessed December 22, 2025. https://www.penn.museum/sites/journal/843/</li>
<li>&ldquo;Embroidery &ndash; a history of needlework samplers.&rdquo; Victoria &amp; Albery Museum. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/embroidery-a-history-of-needlework-samplers</li>
<li>&ldquo;History of The Broderers.&rdquo; The Worshipful Company of Broderers. https://broderers.co.uk/history-broderers</li>
<li>&ldquo;The History of Britain's Bayeux Tapestry.&rdquo; Reading Museum. https://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/collections/britains-bayeux-tapestry/history-britains-bayeux-tapestry</li>
<li>Kennedy, Maev. &ldquo;British Museum to go more than skin deep with Scythian exhibition.&rdquo; The Guardian. May 30, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/may/30/british-museum-skin-scythian-exhibition-tattoo-empire</li>
<li>Lattanzio, Giaga. &ldquo;Byzantine.&rdquo; Fashion History Timeline. FITNYC. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/byzantine/</li>
<li>Leslie, Catherine Amoroso. &ldquo;Needlework Through History: An Encyclopedia.&rdquo; Greenwood Press. 2007.</li>
<li>Libes, Kenna. &ldquo;Beetle-Wing Embroidery in Nineteenth-Century Fashion.&rdquo; Fashion History Timeline. FITNYC. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/beetle-wing-19thcentury/</li>
<li>Liu Y, Li Y, Li X, Qin L. The origin and dispersal of the domesticated Chinese oak silkworm, Antheraea pernyi, in China: a reconstruction based on ancient texts. J Insect Sci. 2010;10:180. doi: 10.1673/031.010.14140</li>
<li>&ldquo;Mrs. Jacob Wendell (Mary Barrett, 1832&ndash;1912).&rdquo; The New York Historical. https://emuseum.nyhistory.org/objects/68658/mrs-jacob-wendell-mary-barrett-18321912</li>
<li>Muntz, Eugene and Louisa J. Davis. &ldquo;A short history of tapestry. From the earliest times to the end of the 18th century.&rdquo; London. Cassel &amp; Co. 1885. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofta00mntz/page/n3/mode/2up</li>
<li>Pohl, Benjamin. &ldquo;Chewing over the Norman Conquest: the&nbsp;Bayeux Tapestryas monastic mealtime reading.&rdquo;&nbsp;Historical Research. 2025. https://academic.oup.com/histres/advance-article/doi/10.1093/hisres/htaf029/8377922</li>
<li>Puiu, Tibi. &ldquo;Pristine 2,300-year-old Scythian woman&rsquo;s boot found in frozen Altai mountains.&rdquo; ZME Science. Dec. 29, 2021. https://www.zmescience.com/science/scythian-boots-0532/</li>
<li>Razzall, Katie. &ldquo;Bayeux Tapestry to return to UK on loan after 900 years.&rdquo; BBC. July 8, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c14ev1z6d5go</li>
<li>Royal School of Needlework. https://royal-needlework.org.uk/</li>
<li>Salmony, Alfred. &ldquo;The Archaeological Background of textile Production in Soviet Russia Territory.&rdquo; The Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club. Volume 26. No. 2. 1942. https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/periodicals/nb_42_2.pdf</li>
<li>&ldquo;Sampler.&rdquo; Victoria &amp; Albert Museum. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O46183/sampler-jane-bostocke/</li>
<li>Schӧnsperger, Johann. &ldquo;Ein ney Furmb&uuml;chlein. 1525-1528. Met Museum Collection. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/354716</li>
<li>Schӧnsperger, Johann. &ldquo;Ein new Modelbuch &hellip; &ldquo; 1524. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/354660</li>
<li>Shrader, Dustin. &ldquo;Embroidery Through the Ages.&rdquo; Impressions. July 28, 2023. https://impressionsmagazine.com/process-technique/embroidery-through-the-ages/39234/#:~:text=The%20Age%2DOld%20Beginning&amp;text=We%20tend%20to%20typically%20think,to%20generation%20across%20the%20millennia.</li>
<li>&ldquo;Silk Roads Programme.&rdquo; UNESCO. https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/silkroad-interactive-map</li>
<li>Sons of Norway's Cultural Skills Program. &ldquo;Unit 8: Hardanger Embroidery.&rdquo; 2018. https://www.sofn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/unit8hardanger_rev8.11.pdf</li>
<li>&ldquo;Suzhou Embroidery.&rdquo; Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art.&rdquo; https://asia-archive.si.edu/learn/for-educators/teaching-china-with-the-smithsonian/videos/suzhou-embroidery/</li>
<li>Teall, John L., Nicol, Donald MacGillivray. "Byzantine Empire".&nbsp;Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Dec. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Byzantine-Empire</li>
<li>Warner, Pamela. &ldquo;Embroidery: A History.&rdquo; B.T. Bedford, Ltd. 1991.</li>
<li>Watt, James C. Y., and Anne E. Wardwell. &ldquo;When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian and Chinese Textiles.&rdquo; Metropolitan Museum of Art. Harry N. Abrams. New York. 1997. https://cdn.sanity.io/files/cctd4ker/production/d781d44d3048d49257072d610034400182246d3e.pdf</li>
<li>Watt, Melinda. &ldquo;Textile Production in Europe: Embroidery, 1600&ndash;1800.&rdquo; The Met. Oct. 1, 2003. https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/textile-production-in-europe-embroidery-1600-1800</li>
</ul>

The second part of the discussion of embroidery history covers blackwork and Opus Anglicanum, then embroidery samplers and beetle-wing embroidery.

Embroidery History Sampler, Part 2

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/e132d5a7-c23e-41f6-bcdb-b3d700211500/transcript

Sei Shonagon and the Heian Court

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