The Yokibito are the Japanese aristocracy of the Heian Period. At the time of Murasaki Shikibu and Sei Shonagon, around the year 1000, they numbered about five thousand in a land of perhaps five million. The word yokibito literally translates as "the good people" but could be better rendered as "The Beautiful People" or "The Fortunate Ones". The term Japanese can have several meanings: Japanese people - people of Japanese ancestry living in Japan Japanese language Japan Mainland Japan Ethnic Japanese - people of Japanese ancestry living outside Japan Japanese-American - an article primarily about the immigration and integration Japanese-Brazilian - Japanese-Brazilians in the city of São Paulo... Aristocracy is a form of government in which rulership is in the hands of an upper class known as aristocrats. ... History of Japan Paleolithic Jomon Yayoi Yamato period ---Kofun period ---Asuka period Nara period Heian period Kamakura period Muromachi period Azuchi-Momoyama period ---Nanban period Edo period Meiji period Taisho period Showa period ---Japanese expansionism ---Occupied Japan ---Post-Occupation Japan Heisei Overview The Heian period (平安時代) is the last division... Murasaki Shikibu (紫 式部 Murasaki Shikibu, c. ... Sei Shonagon (清少納言, ~965-10??) was a Japanese author and a court lady who served the Empress Teishi some years around 1000, known as the author of The Pillow Book (Makura no soshi). ... For other uses, see number 1000. ...

Sources

Ivan Morris, The World of the Shining Prince