1.
Hōjōki (An Account of My Hut)
A short essay written in 1212 by 鴨長明. After describing the fires, whirlwind, famine, and earthquake that struck Kyoto, the author tells of retiring to a tiny hut about three meters square (a 方丈) to live simply. It is the classic statement of impermanence in Japanese prose.
The opening compares human life and dwellings to the water of a river and to bubbles, and is quoted whenever people reflect on how quickly things change.
Common expressions
- 行く川の流れは絶えずして、しかももとの水にあらず: "The flowing river never stops, and yet the water is never the same" — the opening line
- よどみに浮かぶうたかた: foam floating on still water — the image of fleeting life
- 方丈: a room ten feet square; also the abbot's quarters in a Zen temple
Cultural note
Because it records real disasters in plain detail, Hōjōki is also read as early disaster literature, and interest in it rose again after the 2011 earthquake.