I was immediately struck by Kamo no Chomeis An Account of My

Hermitage due to how raw and powerful it seemed. Throughout the piece,
which ranges from detailing wild earthquakes to building huts, Chomei
details a pretty bleak version of the world. At one point, he says Such, then,
is the difficulty of life in this world, such the ephemerality of man and his
dwellings (386). The line I found most interesting, however, was his
assertion that He who depends on another belongs to another; he who takes
care of another is chained by human affection. When a man observes the
conventions, he falls into economic difficulties; when he flouts them, people
wonder if he is mad. Where can we live, what can we do, to find even the
briefest of shelters, the most fleeting peace of mind? (387). This line says
several things about Chomeis character; here, he is parsing out a
fundamental disconnect between Buddhist ideals and living within the
economy of his time. For Chomei, participation in the conventional
economics of his time and the everyday trade practices of those around him
is to be beholden to someone else. Man lives in a constant state of struggle,
balancing peace of mind (trying to attain Nirvana) with interaction with the
world and people around you. How does a good Buddhist still participate in
society since society is so steeped in its obsession of worldly goods? Chomei
decides not to participate in society, and towards the end of the passage
even questions his own sanity. He feels guilty over having even the smallest
of attachments to his 10-foot hut; this shows the level to which a Buddhist
must go in order to renounce every and all worldly possessions from his life
system.
In contrast, Yoshida Kenks Essays on Idleness deal heavily with the
Japanese aesthetic of beauty and how it is inherently fleeting in our world.
He goes on in Essay 25 to bemoan the fact that for anything that is designed,
time will eventually ravage it or the creator wont live long enough to fully
appreciate its beauty. Here, Kenk sounds more like a philosopher than
bureaucrat-turned-monk. He also takes to describing more complex
problems through aesthetic metaphors, such as in Essay 137 where he says
Should we look at the blossoms only in full bloom, or the moon only when it
is unobscured by clouds? No: for to yearn for a moon hidden behind rain
clouds or to ignore the progress of spring from inside drawn blinds is equally
moving, and a source of great charm. This aesthetic observation has a lot
to do with beginnings and endings; Kenk continually wonders when
relationships begin, when they end, and what kind of dynamic exists
between man and woman that keeps the relationship alive. He also posits
that a wise man leaves no treasures behind him on Earth once he dies (140).
I wonder if this also applies to the temple designers he was talking about in
Essay 25 is it better to not design a beautiful temple, knowing that time will
eventually destroy it, or is it better to never design in the first place and
renounce all material and worldly possessions and ideas?

The Memoirs of Lady

Hyegyong
The first 3 memoirs: story of her earlier life and her marriage into
the royal family, and championing (in some cases defending her
natal family.) These memoirs are more personal, and overall
three hangs a shadow: the fate of her husband, Crown Prince
Sado, who was executed in 1762. His reputation after his death
threatens the position of her offspring. * *The fourth memoir:
story of her husband Sado, the most important piece The
memoir of 1795
Genre: Family injunction
The first memoir was written for the benefit of her nephew, in
conformity with the tradition of a family elder writing an
injunction for the instruction of the younger members of the
family, exhorting them to follow in the footsteps of honorable
family elders. It contains a most poignant and endearing account
of how the author, an innocent child of nine, was suddenly
wrenched from her loving home and put in a strange and
awesome court. It is also gives an intimate view of the princesss
natal home, which was that of an exemplary Korean scholar. *
Defend the integrity of her natal family, reclaim the honorable
family tradition * The unspoken subjects of the first memoir:

With his exceptional talent and superior scholarship, Prince

Sado would surely have achieved greatness. Of its own record,
however, illness seeped into his remarkable nature andbegan
to manifest itself in strange symptoms. 1. Her husbands insanity
Her husbands execution in the rice chest
On the thirteenth day, Heaven and Earth clashed and the sun
and moon turned black. When this calamity happened, how
could I desire to live even one second longer! 3
The loss of her son
Silence
The memoir of 1805: breaking the silence
Chronicle the death of her husband at the hands of her father-inlaw * Audience: her grandson King Sunjo Reason: false versions
has proliferated. She felt the need to inform her grandson, the
new king, the exact truth of the incident feeling that my
descriptions might cast a blemish on their virtue. But I cannot
withhold the truth. * Genre: writing a history
I found Lady Hyegyongs Memoirs to be very a very powerful worknot
only do they show the inner machinations and behind-the-scenes life of a
courtly matriarch, but they also offer a psychological evaluation of her time
in the court and what it means to be a woman/wife at the time. Her memoir
of 1795 is an intimate account of her natal family and where she came from;
its style is markedly different from the memoir of 1805 in that this one reads
like a directive or command to her nephewshe is imploring him to heed her
advice to keep her family strong and loyal and in good standing. On page
117, she says Please be mindful of what I have said and do not be
negligent. Now that your child is growing up, instruct him to be harmonious
with the family. Caution your wife and children to attend the ancestral
sacrifices with care and to choose the cleanest and the best sacrificial
offerings. Maintain a clear distinction between your wife and your
concubines so that order will prevail amidst harmony Continue the good
work of my older brother and restore our fallen family. This passage is
spoken as a direct command, unlike almost anything in the memoir of 1805,
and through it we can see Lady Hyegyongs focus on legacyshe has an

inherent need to protect the honor and traditions of her natal family and her
married family (even though her father-in-law had her husband executed).
Also of note in this memoir is the way in which Prince Sados death is
mentioned; it is very non-specific and nondescript. The only mention of it is
on page 85, when Lady Hyegyong says On the thirteenth day, Heaven and
Earth clashed and the sun and moon turned black. When this calamity
happened, how could I desire to live even one second longer!. She
mentions nothing of Sados madness or his enclosure in a rice chest and his
protracted execution of starvationeverything in this account is very
anesthetized. In stark contrast, however, is her memoir of 1805, which goes
into explicit detail of Sados madness, the circumstances leading up to his
execution, and finally the precise method by which he was killed. That
memoir was for her grandson, and unlike 1795 where she was imploring her
nephew to uphold her familys dignity, Lady Hyegyong is solely giving a
truthful and vivid account of the death of her husband. She felt as though
too many false versions of the story had been spread around, so her before
her death she wished to set the record straight for her successors and
younger family. Here, Lady Hyegyongs stylistic voice has shifted from
commanding to historical. It shows great strength on the Ladys part for
being able to so accurately describe the events of her husbands death, and
even more strength considering she is still on good terms with her father-inlaw and that side of the family.