Hojoki: Visions of a Torn World

by Kamo no Chomei, Michael Hofmann

Overview

A luminous translation of the classic Buddhist poem

Japan's capital city of Kyoto was devastated by earthquake, storm, and fire in the late 12th century. Retreating from "this unkind world," the poet and Buddhist priest Kamo-no-Chomei left the capital for the forested mountains, where he eventually constructed his famous "ten-foot-square" hut.

From this solitary vantage point Chomei produced Hojoki, an extraordinary literary work that describes all he has seen of human misery and his new life of simple chores, walks, and acts of kindness. Yet at the end he questions his own sanity and the integrity of his purpose. Has he perhaps grown too attached to his detachment?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781880656228
Publisher:	Stone Bridge Press
Publication date:	07/01/1998
Series:	Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	521,278
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.30(d)

Editorial Reviews

This new translation by Yamaguchi and Jenkins...differs primarily in that it is a single volume and that it is done in verse rather than prose. Being available as an affordable book, Choomei's work may now rightfully receive attention from a wider audience....While I doubt...that it will find a lasting place in many college syllabi, perhaps it will serve to stimulate someone to produce, for example, a volume including a translation of the Hoojooki together with other works of a like genre.
— Journal of Buddhist Ethics

David L. Gardiner