The existence of various editions of Hojoki in Japanese has led to a number of misinterpretations and mistranslations. The oldest and most reliable edition is the so-called Daifukukoji version, a handwritten copy dating to the early Kamakura Period (1192–1333), sometimes wrongly supposed to have been rendered by Chomei himself. This edition, now in the Kyoto National Museum, is the basis of most modern editions and of the present translation. Other popularized or shortened versions vary in their descriptions of Chomei’s hut. They also lack at least parts of the early “disasters” and include poetry by another hand.
[1]The year 1177, in the reign of Emperor Takakura. On August 4 of that year the era name changed to Jisho. The fourth month was actually early summer; the twenty-eighth day would be the night before new moon.
[2]Higuchi was a street that ran east-west, south of Gojo. Tominokoji was a street that ran north-south, just west of Higashi-Kyogoku Street. Almost all the place names recorded in Hojoki exist today, although occasionally the locations have moved somewhat. The palace was to the west of the present-day palace, called the Gosho, in the north-central part of the city.
[3]The year 1180, in the reign of Emperor Antoku. The whirlwind struck Kyoto in the spring. In June of that year, the capital was moved west to Fukuhara, the western part of present-day Kobe City. In November it was moved back to Kyoto. This was a year of great social turbulence. The move of the capital is believed to have been the idea of Taira-no-Kiyomori, Chief Minister (Dajo-daijin), whose clan was to be subsequently defeated in 1185 in the Heike Civil War. Yoritomo, of the victorious Minamoto clan, inaugurated the Kamakura shogunate in the east in July 1192.
[4]The intersection of Nakamikado and Kyogoku avenues. From Nakamikado to Rokujo was about 2 kilometers.
[5]Saga, the fifty-second emperor, reigned from 809 to 823. Heian-kyo (the name for Kyoto at this time) was actually founded in 794, in the reign of Emperor Kanmu, so Chomei was clearly mistaken about the foundation of the city. However, there is a theory that Kyoto may not in fact have become the official capital until the time of Saga.
[6]It has its source in Lake Biwa, west of Kyoto. From Kyoto it flows southwest to Osaka bay. The Yodo was an important waterway for shipping passengers and cargo.
[7]Chomei is referring to familiar episodes relating to different two rulers, the first a legendary Chinese emperor, Yao, and the other the Japanese emperor Nintoku, possibly also legendary. The story concerning the former appears in the Chinese history Shih Chi; that concerning the latter in the chronicles Nihonshoki and Kojiki.
[8]The famine took place in 1181–82, in the reign of Emperor Antoku.
[9]Ryugyo was a son of Minamoto-no-Toshitaka. Hoin was the highest rank of Buddhist monks accorded by the court. Ninna-ji was—and is—a major temple of the Shingon sect located in Ukyo-ku, Kyoto, founded by the Cloistered Emperor Uda. The holy mark of the last rites was aji, the first letter of the Old Sanskrit alphabet. Said to be the source of all sounds and alphabets, in Shingon this character was used as a symbol of the elimination of earthly desires, and placing it on the forehead meant sending the dead to an afterlife beyond bondage to this world (jobutsu).
[10]The area described was the Sakyo area, the eastern side of the capital, the principal part of the city at that time.
[11]Shirakawa is a river that runs into the Kamo River, but here it refers to the area to the east, between the Kamo River and Higashiyama. Nishi-no-kyo was the western half of the capital, at that time not developed.
[12]The years 1132–35.
[13]It was actually in the second year of Genryaku (1185).
[14]In Buddhism earth, water, fire, and wind were believed to be the four elements which made up the universe.
[15]The years 854–57.
[16]Chomei had probably been adopted by his father’s mother. He inherited her house and property.
[17]This literally means the relation was severed; this is usually understood to refer to the death of Chomei’s father and Chomei’s relationship to the grandmother’s family becoming more distant.
[18]This is almost certainly the present-day Ohara to the northeast of Kyoto, as Chomei had befriended a monk there, although there was no mountain called Mount Ohara. So-called Ohara-yama is actually southwest of Kyoto.
[19]Hino is in the southeastern part of present-day Kyoto City, in Fushimi Ward. It is known now for the temple Hokai-ji. The hills are behind this temple. These hills were also known as Toyama.
[20]Amida is the Japanese name for the Tathagata Amitabha, associated with the popular belief that chanting his name leads one to be received in the Western Paradise. The Pure Land faith holds that Amida takes the newly dead to Paradise borne on a purple cloud. Fugen is the Japanese name for Samantabhadra, one of the bodhisattvas often depicted with Shakamuni guarding him at his side, the other being Monju (Manjushiri), the bodhisattva of wisdom and intellect. Fugen is the bodhisattva of intellect and compassion, often invoked in prayers for longevity. Usually depicted riding a white elephant. The Lotus Sutra (Hoke-kyo) is one of the most important sutras in Mahayana Buddhism.
[21]A devotional collection of scriptural excerpts, mainly concerning the Western Paradise, taken from various older sources. This is a most important volume as it influenced the flowering of faith in the Pure Land.
[22]A “folding koto” could literally be folded in half, while a “jointed” biwa had a detachable neck, for ease of carrying.
[23]The line refers to a poem by Manzei-shami (sometimes, as here, abbreviated to Manshami) in the eighth-century anthology Man’yoshu: “What shall I liken this world to? / It is like all traces of the white-topped waves / left by the morning boats / and now quite gone.”
[24]A town by the river in present-day Uji City. To the southwest of Hino.
[25]The Xunyang, that flows into the Yangtze. This is a reference to a poem by Pai Lo-tien: “I saw off a guest one night / at the side of the Xunyang / Maple leaves and flowers of reeds / in the lonely autumn.”
[26]A high-ranking eleventh-century court officer who was a poet and master biwa player. His style of music was known as Katsura style.
[27]“Song of Autumn Breezes” (“Shufuraku”) is a piece of music written for koto. It is thought to be the music of Amida coming to take one to Paradise. “Flowing Water” (“Ryusen”) is for biwa and is music reserved for the initiated.
[28]The plants listed in this section in the original are cogon grass (mebana); “rock-pear” (iwanashi), a shrub in the rhododendron family that bears small white round-shaped fruit in spring; bulbil (nukago), also very small and round, which grows from the joints of the leaves of yam; and dropwort (seri).
[29]All the places mentioned here and following are utamakura, places famed in poetry. They can be seen from the top of the hill behind Hino, toward the west and in order from the nearest to the farthest. Sumiyama and Kasatori are to the east of Hino. Iwama and Ishiyama both refer to temples, Iwama-dera and Ishiyama-dera in present-day Otsu City. Awazu is the present-day Awazu-cho, in Otsu City. This was formerly the site of a pine forest by Lake Biwa.
[30]In the original, Semiuta-no-okina refers to the poet Semimaru. Semiuta was a kind of song played on a koto. The term probably meant an old man who was a master performer of semiuta. The place referred to is probably the shrine Seki-no-myojin, dedicated to Semimaru.
[31]In the original, Sarumaro Mochigimi, the latter word probably referring to his court rank. He is thought to have been a poet, although nothing definite is known about him.
[32]In present-day Uji City.
[33]This is a reference to a poem by Saigyo (1118–90): “Deep in the mountains / No sounds of birds around me / Only the frightful sounds of owls.” In fact, Chomei wishes us to understand a contrary feeling, that unlike the great Saigyo he has no awe for the hills: the truth is he may not even be so deep in them.
[34]The term used is the Buddhist one, sangai, literally, “the three worlds”: the world of desire, the world of “color” and the world without “color.” The world of desire is the lowest and is for those bound by sexual desire and desire for food. The world of “color” is for those who are rid of these two desires. The things in this world are all very fine and delicate. The world without “color” is the highest and is for beings who are rid of all earthly desires. It is for those in constant meditation.
[35]The phrase was borrowed from Chuang Tzu.
[36]Vimalakirti (Jomyokoji in the original) was an enlightened disciple of Buddha who lived in a small room. There is a sutra with his name. Suddhipanthaka (Shurihandoku), also a disciple of Buddha, famously took four months to remember one short prayer but finally became arakan (arhat).
[37]Chomei’s given name as a monk. The second year of Kenryaku was 1212, in the reign of Emperor Juntoku.