Aug 15, 2025
📜 Hōjōki – Kamo no Chōmei’s Timeless View of Impermanence
“The flow of the river is ceaseless, and yet the water is never the same.” 🌊
This opening line from Hōjōki is one of the most famous expressions of impermanence in Japanese literature.
Kamo no Chōmei was not a social man 🤫—often reclusive, sometimes stubborn—who cherished a solitary life in a tiny hut. 🏡 In his quiet retreat, he found joy in detachment and peace away from the bustle of the world.
It’s a work young readers may find distant, but as we age, its quiet truth sinks deeper into the heart. 💭 Few writings capture life’s transience so simply, yet so beautifully.