1992 Volume 1 Issue 1 Pages 20-28
Hojoki by Kamo-no-Chomei (1155-1216) is an intensive study of the meaning of 'dwelling,' taking the 'impermanence of a person and his place' in this world as its main theme. In the first of its two volumes, he describes in an objective and scientific manner various aspects of the 'impermanence of a person and his place' in this world by analyzing his encounters with a great fire, a tornado, a relocation of the capital, a famine and a big earthquake and his suffering from living in the city. His general posture is defensive and evasive in the first volume, while it turns to become positive in the second volume where he starts his search for a safe and peaceful dwelling place after he has changed his residence several times. His 'Hojo' is a smallest living space with a minimal set of required conditions and made of a transportable prefabricated structure. He may have adopted the prefabricated structure to provide a wider selection of choices for a building site. On the basis of his description of 'Hinoyama,' a building site of his choice, and our survey of the place where 'Hojo' is believed to have been located, his selection of the site is a true reflection of his design concept of a dwelling place as a combination of 'a place and a space.' Chapters of Hojoki are in the chronological order, reflecting the author's development of the concept. A general description of a dwelling in the early chapters changes gradually into a definitive account of the 'Hojo' in Hinoyama. The concept of 'impermanence,' which is the main theme in the first volume, changes into a positive and creative pursuit of life in 'Hojo,' and finally turns into a meditative reflection upon his life itself at his death. This conceptual development of Kamo-no-Chomei is surprisingly similar to what O.F.Bollnow has to say about 'Wohnen.' The common object of the two is a search for the true meaning of a dwelling place.
