Yoshida Kenko

Yoshida Kenko (吉田兼好) (c. 1283 – c. 1350-52) was a Japanese monk and author of the collection of essays Tsurezuregusa (Essays in Idleness), a classic of early medieval Japanese literature.

Biography

Kenko was born 1283 as the son of an administration official. His original name was Urabe Kaneyoshi (卜部兼好). After he grew up he became an officer of the imperial palace guards. Later in life he changed his name to Yoshida Kenko, retired from public life and became a Buddhist monk and hermit. His reasons for becoming a hermit have led to a lot of speculation but remain eventually obscure. It has been conjectured that either his unhappy love for the daughter of the prefect of Iga or his mourning over the death of emperor Go-Uda caused his withdrawal from the world.

Although he also wrote poetry and entered some poetry contests at the imperial court (his participation in 1335 and 1344 is documented) his enduring fame is based on his collection of 243 short essays which was published posthumously. Although most commonly called "Essays in Idleness", a more precise translation of the title would be "Notes from Leisure Hours" or simply "Leisure Hour Notes". Themes of these essays are for example the beauty of the changing seasons and nature in general, the transience of life, traditions, friendship etc. These essays were written in the zuihitsu style. The name zuihitsu means "follow the brush", and the purpose of this style of writing was to allow the writers brush to skip from one topic to the next, led only by the direction of their thoughts.

Influence of Tsurezuregusa on Japanese Literature

The Tsurezuregusa was already popular in the 15th century and was considered a classic from the 17th century onward until today. The Tsurezuregusa is part of the modern Japanese highschool curriculum, as well as that of the International Baccalaureate program.

See also

Chance, Linda H (1997). Formless in Form: Kenko, "Tsurezuregusa," and the Rhetoric of Japanese Fragmentary Prose. Stanford: Stanford UP.

Keene, Donald (1967). Essays in Idleness: The Tsurezuregusa of Kenko.