Yoshida Kenkō (1282–1350)

Kenkō was a Kyoto courtier-poet who took Buddhist orders in 1324. He wrote these 243 short essays when he was in his early fifties, apparently mostly for his own amusement. They didn‘t become widely known until about two hundred years later, but once the book did start circulating, it became established as a minor Japanese classic, treasured for the way it sets out some core elements of the Japanese view of aesthetics, etiquette and religious life.

That aspect of the essays is very interesting to us, of course, a door right into the court world of 14th century Kyoto, but they are also a treasure for their sheer randomness. We get thoughts on the uncouthness of the younger generation, rants against the import of useless stuff from China, careful analysis of exactly how we should enjoy the beauty of moonlight or cherry blossom, anecdotes about priests who get their heads stuck in cauldrons or ox-drivers who get the better of fine gentlemen, as well as some very precise laying down the law about which kinds of fish may be carved in the presence of the emperor.

Kenkō can be delightfully inconsistent on occasion, too — there’s a piece where he goes on about the evils of alcohol for a couple of pages, violently attacking irresponsible people who force booze on their friends and reminding us how boring other people become when they are drunk — and then, mysteriously, he seems to have overcome his hangover and goes on to tell us how wonderful a social stimulant alcohol can be, and what fun it is to see a friend getting tipsy… Kenkō does sometimes come over as a bit of a Polonius, but most of the time he is endearing, witty (although even after 700 years of research, some of his jokes are apparently still quite opaque to Japanese scholars), and very enjoyable to read.

The late Donald Keene was, of course, second to none in the art of making Japanese culture accessible to Westerners: here he gives us a short, helpful introduction, a wonderfully lucid translation of what seems to be a rather difficult and often ambiguous text, and enough notes to give us a good sense of all the deep cultural allusions buried in Kenkō‘s writing.… (more)

This book is difficult to understand. Nary a paragraph goes by without encountering a word or phrase that means nothing to me without consulting the explanatory note, which are many and lengthy. Lots of credit must be given to the translator, not only for rendering a text written almost a millennia ago into modern English, but also for the copious research that must have been done to explicate the myriad of references that make up a huge portion of both the texts included in this volume. I must admit that my eyes sometimes glazed over, particularly when the writers recounted stories of emperors, various aristocrats, or monks, all of whom of course can mean nothing to me. This is obviously no fault of the authors or the translators, and simply a function of passing time and cultural differences. These moments were however worth it for the descriptive and philosophical passages interspersed within. Reading classic Buddhist texts as someone not well versed in the subject always surprise me in their piercing observations on psychology. The religious content here is in turns extremely practical (down to how one should arrange their house or what pets one should keep) and playfully contradictory. One passage in the Tsurezuregusa stood out to me in this regard. The writer starts off the section in a diatribe against drinking alcohol, describing the debauchery it leads to, the depression it invokes, the wasted day recovering from a hangover, and the punishment waiting for drinkers in their next life. However he immediate follows with this:

“Yet, loathsome though one finds it, there are situations when a cup of sake is hard to resist. On a moonlit night, a snowy morning, or beneath the flowering cherry trees, it increases all the pleasures of the moment to bring out the sake cups and settle down to talk serenely together over a drink. ”

The book is rife with ascetic recommendations that are contradicted in the next paragraph. Far from a flaw, it is this recognition of the duality of life that makes this stuff relevant hundreds of years later. The need to control hedonistic tendencies and stay focused on valuing your health and your time is balanced with the knowledge that there are occasions to break even strict tenets. To me, this kind of capacious understand of human psychology is needed to make any sense of what it is to lead a meaningful life.

It’s said that these two texts are classics of Japanese literature, and who am I to argue? I will say that in my opinion, the best sections take their place in the great Japanese genre of Iyashikei, slice of life works of art that encourage the very Buddhist practice of quiet contemplation and intense focus on the beauty of daily life. These impressions can be lost if one doesn’t slow down and pay attention. The great tragedy of our times is that this practice, difficult even in 13th century Japan, has become exponentially more difficult. One of the most haunting parts of this book was the repeated descriptions of wasted life and unpredictability of death. Without conscious practice, the precious, short existence we have on earth will zip by us with terrifying speed, and we will meet death bitter and regretful.… (more)

This small book is a selection of quotes from Essays in Idleness.

The writer begins the book with this statement:

What strange folly, to beguile the tedious hours like this all day before my ink stone, jotting down at random the idle thoughts that cross my mind …

We are then regaled with a selection of those random thoughts, and quite good thoughts some of them are too.

Although written approx 1330 in Japan, a lot of these thoughts are as relevant today in the wider world as they were back then.   Yes, admittedly, some might be a bit dated and endemic but there are some very timeless thoughts for the modern, wider world to enjoy as well.

There's also a delightful curmudgeonliness to the thoughts, like you're listening to your favourite grand parent having a rant about what's bothering them this week.

I shall certainly get a copy of Essays in Idleness and have a full read of Yoshida Kenkō's thoughts.… (more)