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Kamo no Chōmei

Kamo no Chōmei

1155 –July 24, 1216

Waka poet, Essayist, Lutenist, Kannushi, Literary scholar

Lived 61 years

Born in
Heian-kyō
Passed away in
Toyama

Kamo no Chōmei (鴨 長明; 1153 or 1155–1216) 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).

Notable works: Hōjōki, Mumyōshō, Hosshinshū

Source: Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamo_no_Ch%C5%8Dmei