Moonlight, sake, spring blossom, idle moments, a woman s hair – these exquisite reflections on life s fleeting pleasures by a thirteenth-century Japanese monk are delicately attuned to nature and the senses.

Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin s 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.

Yoshida Kenko (c. 1283-1352). Kenko s work is included in Penguin Classics in Essays in Idleness and Hojoki.