Yoshida Kenkō

Buddhist monk Yoshida Kenko writes “Essays in Idleness” around 1340 in the classical Japanese literary style.

Kenkō was probably born in 1283, the son of an administration official.

His original name was Urabe Kaneyoshi.

He had become an officer of guards at the Imperial palace, later retired from public life, changed his name to Yoshida Kenkō, and became a Buddhist monk and hermit.

The reasons for this are unknown, but it has been conjectured that either his unhappy love for the daughter of the prefect of Iga Province or his mourning over the death of Emperor Go-Daigo caused his transformation.

He also writes poetry and enters some poetry contests at the imperial court (his participation in 1335 and 1344 is documented), but Kenkō's enduring fame is based on Tsurezuregusa, his collection of two hundred and forty-three short essays, published posthumously.

Traditionally translated as "Essays in Idleness," a more accurate translation would be "Notes from Leisure Hours" or "Leisure Hour Notes."

Themes of the essays include the beauty of nature, the transience of life, traditions, friendship, and other abstract concepts.

The work is written in the zuihitsu ("follow-the-brush") style, a type of stream-of-consciousness writing that allows the writer's brush to skip from one topic to the next, led only by the direction of thoughts.

Some are brief remarks of only a sentence or two; others recount a story over a few pages, often with discursive personal commentary added.

The Tsurezuregusa will become popular in the fifteenth century and from the seventeenth century onward will be considered a classic.

It is part of the modern Japanese high school curriculum, as well in some International Baccalaureate Diploma Program schools.