Yoshida Kenkō’s Essays in Idleness

E420691

Yoshida Kenkō’s Essays in Idleness is a classic 14th-century Japanese collection of reflective and aphoristic essays that meditate on impermanence, aesthetics, and the fleeting nature of human life.

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Predicate Object
instanceOf Japanese essay collection
medieval Japanese literature
zuihitsu
aestheticConcept mono no aware
wabi-sabi
alsoKnownAs Tsurezuregusa NERFINISHED
author Yoshida Kenkō NERFINISHED
contains anecdotes
maxims
moral reflections
observations on court life
personal reflections
countryOfOrigin Japan
culturalSignificance key text for understanding medieval Japanese worldview
dateWritten early 14th century
genre aphoristic literature
essay
hasEnglishTitle Essays in Idleness
influenced Japanese essay tradition
later Japanese aesthetics
modern Japanese literary criticism
influencedBy Buddhist scriptures
The Pillow Book NERFINISHED
language Classical Japanese
literaryForm prose
literaryStatus canonical work in Japanese high culture
classic of Japanese literature
medium manuscript
narrativeVoice first-person
numberOfSections approximately 243
originalTitle Tsurezuregusa NERFINISHED
period Kamakura period
philosophicalTradition Buddhism
Zen-influenced aesthetics
preservationStatus extant
setting medieval Japanese courtly society
studiedIn Japanese literature curricula
subjectMatter daily life
literature
nature
religion
social customs
theme Buddhist thought
aesthetics
impermanence
solitude
the fleeting nature of human life
the vanity of worldly pursuits
transience of beauty
tone contemplative
didactic
melancholic

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Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

The Pillow Book influenced Yoshida Kenkō’s Essays in Idleness
Makura no Sōshi influenced Yoshida Kenkō’s Essays in Idleness
this entity surface form: The Tsurezuregusa