When a 13th-Century Essay Hits Close to Home

This week, Julia, Rider, and Tod read and discuss the essay “Hojoki: or, An Account of My Hut,” written in the 13th century by the Japanese poet and essayist Kamo no Chōmei about his time living in a ten-foot by ten-foot hut in the mountains.

From the episode:

Tod Goldberg: Having someone talk about the value of stillness and the essentials of life—like what can be gleaned from being alone in nature, during a time when a lot of us are alone in whatever sort of nature we have—was very compelling. I mean, we’ve talked about this previously, but I am so intimate now with the creatures that live around my house, like deeply aware of it, and aware of the ecosystem that they’re a part of, too. Reading this at the same time, it sort of reminds me of the reasons why a lot of folks read the Bible, which is old solutions to new problems, right? Nothing that you are experiencing has not been experienced before. To know that horrible disease and destruction and political tumult and all these things that eventually drove this guy up into the hills—the only thing that’s different is he didn’t have an iPad.

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