|
was a Japanese author, poet (in the waka form), and essayist. He witnessed a series of natural and social disasters, and, having lost his political backing, was passed over for promotion within the Shinto shrine associated with his family. He decided to turn his back on society, took Buddhist vows, and became a hermit, living outside the capital. This was somewhat unusual for the time, when those who turned their backs on the world usually joined monasteries. Along with the poet-priest Saigyō he is representative of the literary recluses of his time, and his celebrated essay ''Hōjōki'' ("An Account of a Ten-Foot-Square Hut") is representative of the genre known as "recluse literature" (sōan bungaku). ==Early life== Born with the name Kamo no Nagaakira, he was the second son of Kamo no Nagatsugu, ''sho-negi'' or superintendent, of the Lower Kamo (Shimogamo) shrine. He was also known by the title Kikudaifu. The exact year of his birth is unknown, but thought to be either 1153 or 1155, with 1155 being the generally accepted date.〔Kamo, Yanase (1967:141-142)〕〔Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten Henshū Iinkai (1986:398-399)〕 From an early age, he studied poetry and music in a comfortable environment. At the time, the Upper and Lower Kamo Shrines owned large amounts of property around the Kamo River, northeast of the ''Heian'' capital (Kyoto), holding great power and prestige among the aristocracy. The Kamo Festival (Aoi Matsuri), occurring in the middle of the fourth month, was considered the most important Shinto event and is vividly depicted in literature of the time, most notably in Chapter Nine of ''The Tale of Genji''. Chōmei was raised under these religious and material conditions. In 1160, his father was promoted to junior fourth rank, lower grade, which ultimately led the seven-year-old Chōmei to being promoted to fifth rank, junior grade; these were high positions within the Kamo Shrine hierarchy. Ill health and political maneuvering led his father to retire in 1169, however, and in the early 1170s he died. Expecting to fill the vacant role left by his father, Chōmei, then in his late teens, was passed over, and instead his cousin was promoted to this position. In poems in ''Kamo no Chōmei-shū'', Chōmei lamented this development. When Chōmei was in his twenties, he moved to his paternal grandmother's house. Disinheritance may have been the reason. Since Chōmei's father had been the youngest in the family, he inherited his mother's residence. In his thirties, Chōmei states in ''Hōjōki'' that after losing “backing” in his paternal grandmother's house, he was forced out, built a small house near the Kamo River. Chōmei would live here until he became a recluse. In ''Hōjōki'', Chōmei states that he was able to leave the world behind because he was not attached to society by marriage or offspring. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kamo no Chōmei」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|