In fact, the first one-third of the text is a remarkably accurate account of the tectonic changes that were transforming Kyoto’s urban landscape during the late tenth century.
Early success in historical and literary studies may have contributed to Yasutane’s ambition to establish a new and distinct aristocratic lineage, which explains why he changed his family name from Kamo to Yoshishige.
Despite possessing obvious talent and having trained under celebrated teachers of the day, Yasutane ended up having an unremarkable career as a journeyman official within the imperial bureaucracy.
By his own account, it was a lack of funds that inspired him to move away from the capital’s elite northern district to build a “pond pavilion,” a chitei 池亭 in the more humble Rokujō 六条 area in the city’s south.
[3][4] In Hōjōki, Chōmei mimics a number of literary devices found in Chiteiki, describes similar social problems, and eventually goes into seclusion building a small hut.