HOJOKI (“Notes from a Cell”) is one of the literary and philosophical monuments of Japan. Dated 1212. “Notes” appeared before the reader in the form of a kind of philosophical reflection: what is life, why is earthly existence so impermanent and fragile, “people who are born, who die... where do they come from and where do they go?”, to why life in the world, if it is so vain, rest is only in the lap of nature, in a hermit’s cell.

N. Conrad, translator and researcher of Hojoki, formulated its main idea as a philosophy of hermitism. Before us is a story about what circumstances can lead a person to such a significant change in life. “Notes from a Cell” is based on the biography of the author himself; in essence, this is the story of his life and quest, full of deep feelings and experiences.

The first and only complete translation into Russian of “Notes from a Cell” was made by N. Conrad back in 1921.