was a Japanese author, poet (in the waka form), and essayist. He witnessed a series of natural and social disasters, and, having lost his political backing, was passed over for promotion within the Shinto shrine associated with his family. He decided to turn his back on society, took Buddhist vows, and became a hermit, living outside the capital. This was somewhat unusual for the time, when those who turned their backs on the world usually joined monasteries. Along with the poet-priest Saigyà  he is representative of the literary recluses of his time, and his celebrated essay Hà Âjà Âki ("An Account of a Ten-Foot-Square Hut") is representative of the genre known as "recluse literature" (sà Âan bungaku).
Born with the name Kamo no Nagaakira, he was the second son of Kamo no Nagatsugu, sho-negi or superintendent, of the Lower Kamo (Shimogamo) shrine. He was also known by the title Kikudaifu. The exact year of his birth is unknown, but thought to be either 1153 or 1155, with 1155 being the generally accepted date. From an early age, he studied poetry and music in a comfortable environment. At the time, the Upper and Lower Kamo Shrines owned large amounts of property around the Kamo River, northeast of the Heian capital (Kyoto), holding great power and prestige among the aristocracy. The Kamo Festival (Aoi Matsuri), occurring in the middle of the fourth month, was considered the most important Shinto event and is vividly depicted in literature of the time, most notably in Chapter Nine of The Tale of Genji. Chà Âmei was raised under these religious and material conditions.
In 1160, his father was promoted to junior fourth rank, lower grade, which ultimately led the seven-year-old Chà Âmei to being promoted to fifth rank, junior grade; these were high positions within the Kamo Shrine hierarchy. Ill health and political maneuvering led his father to retire in 1169, however, and in the early 1170s he died. Expecting to fill the vacant role left by his father, Chà Âmei, then in his late teens, was passed over, and instead his cousin was promoted to this position. In poems in Kamo no Chà Âmei-shà «, Chà Âmei lamented this development.
When Chà Âmei was in his twenties, he moved to his paternal grandmother's house. Disinheritance may have been the reason. Since Chà Âmei's father had been the youngest in the family, he inherited his mother's residence. In his thirties, Chà Âmei states in Hà Âjà Âki that after losing âÂÂbackingâ in his paternal grandmother's house, he was forced out, built a small house near the Kamo River. Chà Âmei would live here until he became a recluse.
In Hà Âjà Âki, Chà Âmei states that he was able to leave the world behind because he was not attached to society by marriage or offspring.
The Hà Âjà Âki is Chà Âmei's notebook while he lived "in a small hut" in a suburb of the capital Fukuwara. "His work contains, as well as an obviously first-hand description of Fukuwara, a striking account of material conditions in the capital in the years from 1177 to 1182."
After his father's death, Chà Âmei became more interested in poetry, and three poets were influential to his literary growth. His mentor Shà Âmyà  (1112-1187) was of the Rokujà  school, which did not receive much recognition because of a lack of patrons from the Imperial household. As his mentor, Shà Âmyà  taught Chà Âmei the finer techniques and styles of court poetry. Kamo no Shigeyasu, the head Shinto priest of the Upper Kamo Shrine, was also instrumental in developing Chà Âmei's skill as a poet, inviting him to his poetry contests. Through Shigeyasu's influence and support, Chà Âmei completed a book of poems called Kamo no Chà Âmei-shà « ("Collection") in 1181. Another important figure in the development of Chà Âmei's poetry was the poet priest Shun'e. Through his poetry circle, known as Karin'en (Grove of Poetry), an amalgam of people, including Shinto and Buddhist Priests, low- to mid-ranking courtiers and women in the court, shared their writings. The tales from these meetings filled a large part of Chà Âmei's Mumyà Âshà Â.
Music played a significant role throughout Chà Âmei's life. His musical mentor, Nakahara Ariyasu, was instrumental in his development, and Chà Âmei, known as Kikudaifu by his audience, was noted for his skill. According to an account by Minamoto no Ienaga, Chà Âmei's love for music was revealed in the sorrow he felt when he had to return a biwa (lute) called Tenari to the emperor.
In his thirties, Chà Âmei enjoyed moderate success in poetry contests and inclusion into anthologies, such as the Senzaishà «. With inventive phrasing to describe nature, such as "semi no ogawa" to describe the Kamo river, Chà Âmei caused a bit of controversy. Entering the poem, with this phrase, into the Kamo Shrine's official poetry contest, he lost because the judge thought he was writing about a river that did not exist. Chà Âmei insisted, however, that the phrase had been used before and was included in the records of the shrine. Chà Âmei seems to have offended his cousin, who had assumed Nagatsugu's position of sho-negi. This episode shows that Chà Âmei still held a grudge against his cousin for becoming the new sho-negi. To rub in the embarrassment, the poem with this phrase was later included in the Shin Kokinshà «.
Chà Âmei reached a turning point in his mid-forties. His patron, the cloistered emperor Go-Toba, supported his poetry writing. To create an anthology (Shinkokinshà «) to rival the Kokinshà «, Go-Toba organized the Imperial Poetry Office, filled with numerous elite courtiers and literati, among whom Chà Âmei was assigned as a lower level member. As a member of this organization, Chà Âmei enjoyed benefits that would otherwise not have been given to him, including visits to the Imperial Garden to view the cherry blossoms in bloom. Chà Âmei worked for the Imperial Poetry Office until he decided to become a recluse in 1204.
Chà Âmei's specific reasons for becoming a recluse are unclear, but a string of bad luck, specifically the death of his father and his inability to fill the position left behind by him, may have caused him to leave court life. He spent the next five years in Ohara, at the foot of Mount Hiei, but considered his time here as a failure, and so he moved to Hino, in the hills southeast of the capital, where he spent the rest of his life. The design of the hut he built in Hino was inspired by the dwelling of the Buddhist recluse Vimalakirti. The Vimalakirti Sutra exerted a profound influence on Hà Âjà Âki. Chà Âmei wrote Mumyà Âshà Â, Hosshinshà «, and Hà Âjà Âki while living as a recluse. Though Chà Âmei states in Hà Âjà Âki that he never left his dwelling, a separate account states that he made a trip to Kamakura to visit the shà Âgun and poet Minamoto no Sanetomo.
During his later life, Chà Âmei maintained a socio-historical perspective that was rare in court poets of the time. The accounts of chaos in the capital in the first part of Hà Âjà Âki suggest Chà Âmei's social interests, and he contrasts them with his peaceful life as a Buddhist in seclusion. His account coincides with the spread of Buddhism to the general populace; and his careful depictions of the natural surroundings of his hut and of the natural and social disasters in the capital form a unique microscopic and macroscopic view of life during a violent period of transition. Attention to nature and self-reflection characterize the genre of recluse literature, and Chà Âmei was its pre-eminent practitioner.
Chà Âmei died on the tenth day of the intercalary six-month of 1216, when he asked Zenjaku to complete a Kà Âshiki for him.