IJSL 2014; 229: 117 – 130 Toshiko Yamaguchi The meaning of death in Kenkō Yoshida’s Tsurezuregusa [Essays in idleness] Abstract: This article discusses the meaning of death in Kenkō Yoshida’s Tsurezu- regusa [Essays in idleness], completed around 1330 at the end of the Kamakura Period (1185–1333). Kenkō, who was a Buddhist monk and hermit, naturally con- strued the concept of death in terms of the impermanence of the world. Taking Lakoian conceptual metaphor theory, in which death is understood as an ab- stract category, as a jumping-of point, I contrast the Buddhist conception of death with diferent conceptualizations of metaphor and metonymy by contem- porary scholars to locate the notion of “death” in the medieval linguistic context. I claim that while death in Essays in idleness is more frequently considered non-literal, it is not interpretable metaphorically. This hints at an alternative, namely, that Kenkō’s concept of death is created metonymically. Impermanence as a literary aesthetic thus crystallizes in the form of death as a syntagmatic metonym. Keywords: death, impermanence, metonymy, Tsurezuregusa [Essays in idleness] DOI 10.1515/ijsl-2014-0020 1 Introduction Death is a spiritual concept that is integral to many religions. Although its exact meaning may vary subtly according to each one, most religions share a common belief that physical death is not the end to human life but is rather an entry to a new phase of life (Spira 2005: 326; Leaman 2006: 170). The existence of an ater- life is central to the monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam; that is, ater the physical termination of a human body, the possibility that life will continue remains. Baker (2005: 366), who is concerned with the Christian doctrine of resurrection, writes that “biological death is not the permanent end of a human being’s existence”, while Leaman (2006: 170) points out that in Islam, the aterlife is considered to be an actual home. The message conveyed here is Toshiko Yamaguchi: University of Malaya. E-mail: tyamag@um.edu.my Authenticated | tyamag@um.edu.my author's copy Download Date | 8/5/14 2:21 AM