Matthew Stavros is a historian of Japan at the University of Sydney and the former director of the Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies. He is the author of Kyoto: An Urban History of Japan's Premodern Capital (University of Hawaii Press, 2014) and numerous articles on Kyoto's architectural and urban history. His research focuses primarily on the material culture of premodern Japan and eastern Asia, with particular interest in cities, buildings, and religious monuments. He trained in architectural and urban history at Kyoto University and read history at Princeton University where he earned a Ph.D. He teaches modern and classical Japanese language, Japanese history and historiography, and more broadly on the histories and cultures of East and Southeast Asia. For digital resources and learning materials related to Hojoki, visit http: //www.mstavros.com

Reginald Jackson is an artist and associate professor of pre-modern Japanese literature and performance at the University of Michigan. He is the author of Textures of Mourning: Calligraphy, Mortality, and the Tale of Genji Scrolls and A Proximate Remove: Queering Intimacy and Loss in The Tale of Genji.

"Chomei's original text follows Stavros' translation to create a fully bilingual edition, and the book includes maps of the ancient capital so that the full scope of the tragedies Chomei records -- pestilence, fire, earthquakes, raging winds -- can be appreciated by readers, especially those who will draw parallels to their own experiences living amid a global pandemic." --The Japan Times, "Hojoki': The paradox of desire and detachment in recluse literature"

"The impermanence of the world is a thread that weaves its way through Hojoki. Three other Buddhist themes are used to group the 14 short chapters in Matthew's translation: Suffering, Detachment and Transcendence." --John Dougill: "Writers in Kyoto," author of Zen Gardens and Temples of Kyoto, Japan's World Heritage Sites, and more.

"Stavros' new translation is marked by the literary quality of his English. Choosing to render Chomei's prose into verse, the English is lyrical and sounds beautiful when read aloud...The text is complemented by photographs of Kyoto taken by the author." --Books on Asia