{"product_id":"9780141192109-essays-in-idleness","title":"Essays in Idleness","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eand Hojoki\u003cbr\u003eOffers two works on life's fleeting pleasures by Buddhist monks from medieval Japan, but each shows a different world-view. This book includes ribald stories of drunken monks to aching nostalgia for the fading traditions of the Japanese court.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese two works on life's fleeting pleasures are by Buddhist monks from medieval Japan, but each shows a different world-view. In the short memoir \u003ci\u003eHôjôki\u003c\/i\u003e, Chômei recounts his decision to withdraw from worldly affairs and live as a hermit in a tiny hut in the mountains, contemplating the impermanence of human existence. Kenko, however, displays a fascination with more earthy matters in his collection of anecdotes, advice and observations. From ribald stories of drunken monks to aching nostalgia for the fading traditions of the Japanese court, \u003ci\u003eEssays in Idleness\u003c\/i\u003e is a constantly surprising work that ranges across the spectrum of human experience. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMeredith McKinney's excellent new translation also includes notes and an introduction exploring the spiritual and historical background of the works.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChômei was born into a family of Shinto priests in around 1155, at at time when the stable world of the court was rapidly breaking up. He became an important though minor poet of his day, and at the age of fifty, withdrew from the world to become a tonsured monk. He died in around 1216.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKenkô was born around 1283 in Kyoto. He probably became a monk in his late twenties, and was also noted as a calligrapher. Today he is remembered for his wise and witty aphorisms, 'Essays in Idleness'.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMeredith McKinney, who has also translated Sei Shonagon's \u003ci\u003eThe Pillow Book\u003c\/i\u003e for Penguin Classics, is a translator of both contemporary and classical Japanese literature. She lived in Japan for twenty years and is currently a visitng fellow at the Australian National University in Canberra.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'[\u003ci\u003eEssays in Idleness\u003c\/i\u003e is] a most delightful book, and one that has served as a model of Japanese style and taste since the 17th century. These cameo-like vignettes reflect the importance of the little, fleeting futile things, and each essay is Kenko himself' \u003ci\u003eAsian Student\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40942898544737,"sku":"9780141192109","price":8.51,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/stand_39227228.jpg?v=1767849610","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780141192109-essays-in-idleness","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}