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sabbatical_jaer's review against another edition
4.0
Schitterende, geinige verzameling van 14de eeuwse Japanse aforismen, parabellen, korte essays en beschouwingen. Af een toe een beetje maffe stukjes waarvan de strekking me geheel onduidelijk bleef, maar dat vond ik dan wel weer geestig. Verder ook voldoende stukjes die intentioneel geinig bedoeld waren en dat effect dan ook bewerkstelligde.
Ik las dit boek voor m'n studie over ledigheid en het was dan ook verfrissend om te lezen hoe Kenko ledigheid als iets goeds zag.
Meer hier over kun je lezen in m'n essay op m'n blog.
De vertaler J.Vos heeft een schitterend werk opgeleverd met maar liefst 299 voetnoten waarin hij duiding geeft aan alle verwijzingen naar andere oeroude Aziatische literaire werken die Kenko maakt.
Ik las dit boek voor m'n studie over ledigheid en het was dan ook verfrissend om te lezen hoe Kenko ledigheid als iets goeds zag.
Meer hier over kun je lezen in m'n essay op m'n blog.
De vertaler J.Vos heeft een schitterend werk opgeleverd met maar liefst 299 voetnoten waarin hij duiding geeft aan alle verwijzingen naar andere oeroude Aziatische literaire werken die Kenko maakt.
acesaru's review
5.0
The thing I enjoyed most about reading this was getting a feel for the author through each essay. The essays themselves varied from thought-provoking topics that are relevant for humanity as a whole, to personal grievances Kenko had with Japanese society at the time. There were plenty of times were a passage would make me stop, put the book down, and think about it for a while. But there were definitely other times when I found myself disagreeing with the author, even rolling my eyes at how he talked about social status and how much better things were "in the good ol' days." That really didn't make me enjoy this work any less though. Instead, I found Kenko's varied opinions a really fascinating character study of him as an individual, as well as a peek into the time in which he lived.
jadzia's review against another edition
4.0
"Zapiski dla zabicia czasu" to lektura przyjemna, do wyrywkowego czytania, niekoniecznie na raz - u mnie się ciągnęła przez kilka dobrych miesięcy, nie dlatego, że mnie nudziła, ale dlatego, że wydała mi się warta dawkowania sobie tych krótkich szkiców. Teksty są nie tylko ciekawym źródłem informacji na temat kultury i historii Japonii, ale też odznaczają się niezwykłą celnością cytatów (niektórych) i mądrości. Cały czas mnie zaskakuje jak mało człowiek się zmienia w swojej naturze - na tyle mało, że teksty powstałe w XIV wieku są nadal tak aktualne. Wiadomo, ze trochę się zmieniamy z czasem, nasze wierzenia, nauka, kultura, ale w głębi pozostajemy wciąż tacy sami, poszukujący, zastanawiający się nad sensem, dobrem etc. Co mnie jeszcze uderzyło to fakt, że był to tekst tak obcy mi kulturowo, a jednak, z przypisami, nie był on niezrozumiały czy śmieszny.
kara666's review
2.0
This is a miscellany. It is a collection of various thoughts and things and events that the author finds interesting. A journal basically, or a diary. Some of it was uninteresting to me though, and did not translate at all. Proper etiquette is discussed. What constitutes refined behavior, and other matters. He talks a lot about how this tradition has been performed during the time of this or that emperor.
Where the book shines is with regards to aesthetics. Yoshida shows a taste on things which is rooted on buddhist philosophy. Probably the best paragraphs in the book are the ones under the heading 'On Different Points of View," where the beauty of imperfect things are discussed. It begins:
"Is it only when the flowers are in full bloom and when the moon is shining in spotless perfection that we ought to gaze at them?"
From there it goes on a rather interesting sort of exposition, describing and praising refined behavior and condemning the unrefined behavior of some people.
The perspective is intimate (similar to the 'slice-of-life' genre in Japanese anime and manga), and might surprise you in how 'modern' the sentiment of the author is. It is a trove of information on the culture and behavior of people during the author's time.
My version is the 1914 translation by William N. Porter, and since I have no knowledge of Japanese, I cannot make any comment on it. This version is freely available online and I enjoin the reader to have a go at it, and read it in her Iphone or Android phone using an ebookreader while waiting for someone or going on a public commute in a train or any public vehicle, as she could find something of interest to her in it.
Where the book shines is with regards to aesthetics. Yoshida shows a taste on things which is rooted on buddhist philosophy. Probably the best paragraphs in the book are the ones under the heading 'On Different Points of View," where the beauty of imperfect things are discussed. It begins:
"Is it only when the flowers are in full bloom and when the moon is shining in spotless perfection that we ought to gaze at them?"
From there it goes on a rather interesting sort of exposition, describing and praising refined behavior and condemning the unrefined behavior of some people.
The perspective is intimate (similar to the 'slice-of-life' genre in Japanese anime and manga), and might surprise you in how 'modern' the sentiment of the author is. It is a trove of information on the culture and behavior of people during the author's time.
My version is the 1914 translation by William N. Porter, and since I have no knowledge of Japanese, I cannot make any comment on it. This version is freely available online and I enjoin the reader to have a go at it, and read it in her Iphone or Android phone using an ebookreader while waiting for someone or going on a public commute in a train or any public vehicle, as she could find something of interest to her in it.
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