I think Chōmei said everything that need be said on the matter — and more eloquently than I would — in Hōjōki [i.e. 10-Foot Square Hut.]
For elaboration, see…
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Tag Archives: Hōjōki
BOOKS: “Hōjōki” by Kamo no Chōmei; Trans. by Matthew Stavros
Hojoki: A Buddhist Reflection on Solitude: Imperfection and Transcendence – Bilingual English and Japanese Texts with Free Online Audio Recordings by Kamo no ChōmeiMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
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Release Date: May 7, 2024 [for Tuttle’s bilingual edition]
This is the Japanese Walden, except that it was written several hundred years before Thoreau’s essay and was predominantly philosophically informed by Buddhism rather than Transcendentalism. (Though those philosophical systems do agree on a number of points, most relevantly that materialism is not a sound route to happiness.) Like Walden, Hōjōki is an autobiographical promotion of the hermitic lifestyle. Both works sing the virtues of life in a simple, rustic cabin in a natural setting, a life of minimalism and subsistence living.
There are many translations of this work available, and so I’ll spend the remainder of this review on what differentiates this edition from the two others that I’ve read. First and foremost, the other versions I’m familiar with were presented as prose essays. This edition is presented in verse, which I understand to be the form that the original Japanese work employed. I should say that in some places the work comes across as poetic in the conventional sense, though in others it seems like a versified essay.
Secondly, this edition has a few handy ancillary features. One is that it is bilingual. Romanized Japanese allows the reader to experience the sound quality of the original. This edition also has graphics in the form of maps, artwork, and photographs. Some of the graphics support or expand upon the information delivery while others seem to be more a matter of creating atmospherics. Also, there are explanatory endnotes that help readers unacquainted with Kamakura Period Japan to understand some of the book’s references that might otherwise remain unclear.
I enjoyed and benefited from reading this edition, even having read others. If you are looking for insight into the ascetic life, I’d highly recommend it.
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Five Wise Lines from Chōmei’s Hōjōki
drawing by Kikuchi Yōsai
On flows the river ceaselessly, nor does its water ever stay the same.
Kamo no Chōmei, Hōjōki
No one owns a splendid view, so nothing prevents the heart’s delight in it.
Kamo no Chōmei, Hōjōki
Knowing what the world holds and its ways, I desire nothing from it, nor chase after its prizes. My one craving is to be at peace; my one pleasure is to live free from troubles.
Kamo no Chōmei, Hōjōki
These days, I divide myself into two uses — these hands are my servants, these feet my transport.
Kamo no Chōmei, Hōjōki
When I chance to go down to the capital, I am ashamed of my lowly beggar status, but once back here again I pity those who chase after the sordid rewards of the world.
Kamo no Chōmei, Hōjōki
Reference: Saigyō Hōshi, Kamo no Chōmei, Yoshida Kenkō. 2021. Three Japanese Buddhist Monks. New York: Penguin Books. 112pp.
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