Quote for the Day

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An Account from my Hut, Kamo no Shomei, quotation

From The Miscellany of a Japanese Priest by Kenko,

14th century, referencing Kamo no Chomei)

‘When reforms bring no benefit, it is better to leave things as they are.’

 

Personal Space

It’s amazing how

time vanishes so quickly.

I had always thought

this was a temporary

dwelling, but I hear

many of my friends have died

since I de-camped here

to this simplification

of my lifestyle and habits.

I am a recluse,

but I know tranquillity.

My house is my own,

custom-designed for my needs

and not for others’ pleasures.

Nature and Companionship

The companionship

of one who is much younger

is satisfying,

if you can adjust your pace –

both walking in step.

Enjoying beauteous Nature,

one is truly free;

sustenance will come from her;

there is sufficient to share.

Tame animals will

show trust in human beings,

reminding me that

it is a different world

and one I’m glad I’ve chosen.

Sewing Geisha

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geisha, pen ink drawing

A Place of Own’s Own

Now I am sixty,

all I need is a shelter

and I pay no heed

to feng shui, or to roots.

Taking up tent pegs;

being able to move at

the drop of a hat

is all I care about now.

I have my books and my lute.

Who would ask for more?

I can collect free firewood;

I enjoy the view;

my prayers are spontaneous;

I make music for myself.

 

(koto:  Wikipedia)

No-Win Situations

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An Account of my Hut, choka, Hojoki, Kamono

(Wikipedia:  Kamo no Chomei by Kikuchi Yosai)

 

Poem based on the above’s An Account of My Hut:

 

If you live next door

to the wealthy, you will be

mostly uneasy,

for you will have to tone down

your own highs and lows,

or become a sycophant,

in the knowledge that

you are not even rated.

If you live in town,

there are disadvantages

and, in the country,

public transport is lacking.

You can’t win as thieves like both

isolation and big crowds.

Even a Samurai Sobs

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Buddha, choka, Kamono An Account of My Hut, samurai, Todaiji

(Image Todaiji Buddha: Wikipedia)

 

When a child is crushed

in a terrible earthquake,

even a samurai sobs.

The after- tremors:

they are quite terrifying.

It was bad enough

when the Todaiji Buddha’s

head fell off, so long ago.

But, what did it signify?

Anything at all?

Man’s vanity was rife then

and it exists now.

What is the point of trying

to analyse it?  No point.

You can bet your boots

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An Account of my Hut, choka, Fukuhara, Kamo no Chomei, Kyoto

Something so simple

as the capital changing

made everyone move,

except for the redundant.

Highly-prized estates

fell into rack and ruin.

Men were uncertain.

Suddenly they all shifted

right back to where they’d come from.

Well, Fukuhara

was found to be limiting.

You can bet your boots

old houses were not re-built

in terms of former grandeur.

Priorities

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choka, Kamono

Second choka inspired by Kamono’s ‘An Account of My Hut’:

 

Winds will sweep away

Man’s attempts at division

and segregation.

Disaster exceptional?

Don’t believe it’s so.

People interpret events;

seek correlations.

Houses float downriver.

The poor don’t philosophise:

they don’t have the time

and they value what’s useful,

rather than ephemera.

Mutability

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An Account of my Hut, choka, Donald Keene, Hojoki Kamono, melancholy, mutability

Now deriving inspiration from Donald Keene’s translation of Hojoki

Kamono’s  An Account of My Hut.

 

Here’s my first somewhat melancholy choka:

 

Of all the people

that I knew, only a few

are left.  Now my friends

evaporate like bubbles,

or foam on water.

Why do we bother to build

enduring dwellings?

They will not benefit us,

nor necessarily last.

Some burn to ashes;

earthquakes destroy foundations.

Which ones will remain?

It is unpredictable,

as Life itself, one must think.