Essays in Idleness

Anyone interested in or studying Japanese history/literature/culture should read this book. It contains a series of short essays (zuihitsu) and reads much like Sei Shonagon's Pillow Book. These essays range from Kenko's moral opinions about various aspects of life to his aesthetic tastes and thoughts about beauty. These essays are Kenko's opinion, yet they can be taken as the opinions of Japan's society at the time of the writing. Therefore there is a great deal of interesting cultural information and meaning behind Kenko's words. So if you are interested in Japanese Buddhism or religion, this book's a must.If you are interested in Japanese aesthetics- aware: the idea that beauty is transient/fleeting, wabi-sabi: by becoming aged and through use, an object's history and experience bestow upon it greater value than an object that is new, the idea that uncertainty/non-uniformity/ and incompletion can inspire imagination- by all means read this.

Too idle to write an essay.

I love this book.

I bought this book for my husband, who asked me to find it for him. He is a retired salesman, sales trainer, life coach and hypnotherapist and has read a LOT of self-help books. He is really enjoying this book and from what he says, the book seems to have a theme of "don't sweat the small stuff" and "it is what it is" to it. For example, if you are unhappy with the way your yard looks in the winter (like we have been), well, it is supposed to look that way. Excellent gift book.

Easy to read yet mentally challenging, beautifully written yet familiar in style. The Tsurezuregusa is a classic of Japanese literature. This series of essays written by a 14th-century Buddhist priest and poet in Kyoto has had an enormous impact on Japanese culture, particularly in its elegant discussions about how to best appreciate the beauty of things. Reading the Tsurezuregusa, you are able to make friends with Kenko himself, and Kenko is a good friend indeed. Donald Keene's translation is a literary gem in its own right. You simply must read this book.

Each of these essays give you something to think about for the rest of however long you think about things. For me it is an essay at a time, with adequate time to reflect.

Beautiful book came like new! Thank a lots

DUE TO THE FACT THAT I HAVE YET TO RECIEVE THIS BOOK THAT I ORDERED ONE MONTH AGO, I GIVE 5 STARS TO THE PERFECT EXERCISE OF THEIR IDLENESS. THEY ALSO MANNAGED TO REMOVE THIS ITEM FROM THE LIST OF "WHERE IS MY STUFF" SO THAT I CANNOT TRACE MY CLAIM. 5 MORE STARS!

Beautiful translation of a classic of Japanese literature, including delightful pictures. Some inconsequential passages, some that are very hard to relate to at this distance of time and culture, and then, suddenly, others that strike to the heart with profundity.

Lovely book

As described and on time. Thoroughly enjoyable

What can i say - one must read and think and then it's up to your life experiences which opens your ears and eyes. Superb say I.

il libro in lingua Inglese, che non ho trovato purtroppo dopo lunghe ricerche in Italiano, è arrivato puntuale ed in perfette condizioni.