We have a lot of classical literary works in Japan, but few of them have disaster as their theme. Almost the only one that comes to our mind is Hōjōki by Kamo no Chōmei. Renowned for its opening lines---- "The flow of the river never ceases, and the water never stays the same."---- and the view of impermanence (mujō), Hojoki focuses on five major disasters and social upheaval (massive fire, tornado, relocation of the capital, famine, and earthquake) that occurred in the period of great change between the Late-Heian and the Early-Kamakura. How can literary works support the memorization of disasters and their transmission to future generation? We will try to consider this important issue of our time through Chōmei’s work which has been read for over 800 years.

NOTE:
- This lecture was conducted only in Japanese.