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Impermanence and the Warrior's Death: The Medieval Aesthetics Kenko Wove into Tsurezuregusa

Yoshida Kenko (c. 1283–1352) was an essayist who lived from the late Kamakura through the Nanbokucho period and wrote Tsurezuregusa. From the impermanence of the dew of Adashino to the heroic death of Kiso Yoshinaka, his essays blend Buddhist insight with the eye of a former warrior and remain in middle-school textbooks 700 years later.

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Yoshida Kenko (c. 1283–1352) wrote Tsurezuregusa (Essays in Idleness), one of Japan’s great literary classics, during the turbulent late Kamakura and Nanbokucho periods. In section 137, his image of the dew of Adashino captures the Buddhist concept of impermanence: things are beautiful precisely because they are fleeting. In section 238 he found beauty in the heroic death of the warrior Kiso Yoshinaka. His essays blend the perspective of a former courtier-warrior with the insight of a Buddhist monk, and remain in middle-school curricula 700 years later. Visitors can explore his heritage at Yoshida Shrine in Kyoto and Kengouin temple on Takagamine.

Setsubun festival at Yoshida Shrine — the historic shrine whose priesthood was held for generations by the Urabe clan, to which Kenko belonged

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Adashino Nenbutsuji — the ancient temple in Sagano whose site Kenko evoked in the 'dew of Adashino' passage on impermanence

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

The Kamo River in Kyoto — scenery conveying the nature and daily life of medieval Kyoto where Tsurezuregusa was written

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Hell Scroll from the Kamakura period — an illustrated scroll conveying the religious worldview and sense of impermanence of the age in which Kenko lived

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Jufukuji in Kamakura — an ancient temple conveying the Zen culture of the Kamakura period in which Kenko lived

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

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Key Figures

Yoshida Kenko

Author of Tsurezuregusa

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