Basho  - Quotes

 When composing a verse let there not be a hair's breath separating your mind from what you write; composition of a poem must be done in an instant, like a woodcutter felling a huge tree or a swordsman leaping at a dangerous enemy. 

Tags: composition   creating   haiku   japanese   poetry     


Murasaki Shikibu  - Quotes

 The hanging gate, of something like trelliswork, was propped on a pole, and he could see that the house was tiny and flimsy. He felt a little sorry for the occupants of such a place--and then asked himself who in this world had a temporary shelter.



[Anonymous, Kokinshuu 987:

Where in all this world shall I call home?

A temporary shelter is my home.]



A hut, a jeweled pavilion, they were the same. A pleasantly green vine was climbing a board wall. The white flowers, he said to himself, had a rather self-satisfied look about them.

'I needs must ask the lady far yonder,
 

Tags: imagery   japanese     
David Sedaris  - Quotes

 In Paris the cashiers sit rather than stand. They run your goods over a scanner, tally up the price, and then ask you for exact change. The story they give is that there aren't enough euros to go around.  

Tags: asia   cashiers   europe   euros   hospitality   japan   paris   tokyo     


Haruki Murakami  - Quotes

 From the girl who sat before me now...surged a fresh and physical life force. She was like a small animal that has popped into the world with the coming of spring. Her eyes moved like an independent organism with joy, laughter, anger, amazement, and despair. I hadn't seen a face so vivid and expressive in ages, and I enjoyed watching it live and move. 

Tags: girl   japanese     
Yasunari Kawabata  - Quotes

 The woman was silent, her eyes on the floor. Shimamura had come to a point where he knew he was only parading his masculine shamelessness, and yet it seemed likely enough that the woman was familiar with the failing and need not be shocked by it. He looked at her. Perhaps it was the rich lashes of the downcast eyes that made her face seem warm and sensuous. She shook her head very slightly, and again a faint blush spread over her face. 

Tags: japanese     
Haruki Murakami  - Quotes

 Not that we were incompatible: we just had nothing to talk about. 

Tags: japanese     
Haruki Murakami  - Quotes

 And, well, mine are kind of on the heavy side anyway. The first day or two, I don't want to do ANYTHING. Make sure you keep away from me then.'

I'd like to, but how can I tell?' I asked.

O.K., I'll wear a hat for a couple of days after my period starts. A red one. That should work,' she said with a laugh. 'If you see me on the street and I'm wearing a red hat, don't talk to me, just run away.
 

Tags: humor   japanese     
Arthur Golden  - Quotes

 Oh I'm sure you're right, 

Tags: culture   fiction   geisha   japan   memoirs     
  - Quotes

 strong>TEETH).



From that moment, 'the Father' began to swim through the murky recesses of my mind. Imagine! I thought, men confronting the world
 

Tags: action   adventure   australia   cannibal   headhunter   historical   japan   tribal   warrior   wwii     
Haruki Murakami  - Quotes

 I know I have a pretty good sense for music, but she was better than me. I used to think it was such a waste! I thought,  

Tags: effort   japanese   reiko   talent     
Ryunosuke Akutagawa  - Quotes

 ...O-suzu left whatever work she was doing at her sewing machine and dragged Takeo back to O-yoshi and her son.

How dare you behave so selfishly! Now tell O-yoshi-san that you are sorry. Get down on the mats and make a proper bow!
 

Tags: culture   humor   japanese     
Natsuki Takaya  - Quotes

 Those who hurt others will also hurt themselves. 

Tags: japanese   life   manga     
Ruth Reichl  - Quotes

 ...I was not prepared for the feel of the noodles in my mouth, or the purity of the taste. I had been in Japan for almost a month, but I had never experiences anything like this. The noodles quivered as if they were alive, and leapt into my mouth where they vibrated as if playing inaudible music. 

Tags: food   japan     
Japanese Proverb  - Quotes

 If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty. 

Tags: beauty   japanese   proverb   truth   understandin     
Murasaki Shikibu  - Quotes

  To be pleasant, gentle, calm and self-possessed: this is the basis of good taste and charm in a woman. No matter how amorous or passionate you may be, as long as you are straightforward and refrain from causing others embarrassment, no one will mind. But women who are too vain and act pretentiously, to the extent that they make others feel uncomfortable, will themselves become the object of attention; and once that happens, people will find fault with whatever they say or do; whether it be how they enter a room, how they sit down, how they stand up or how they take their leave. Those who end up contradicting themselves and those who disparage their companions are also carefully watched and listened to all the more. As long as you are free from such faults, people will surely refrain from listening to tittle-tattle and will want to show you sympathy, if only for the sake of politeness.

I am of the opinion that when you intentionally cause hurt to another, or indeed if you do ill through mere thoughtless behavior, you fully deserve to be censured in public. Some people are so good-natured that they can still care for those who despise them, but I myself find it very difficult. Did the Buddha himself in all his compassion ever preach that one should simply ignore those who slander the Three Treasures? How in this sullied world of ours can those who are hard done by be expected to reciprocate in kind?
 

Tags: japanese   philosophy     
Yasunari Kawabata  - Quotes

 But even more than her diary, Shimamura was surprised at her statement that she had carefully cataloged every novel and short story she had read since she was fifteen or sixteen. The record already filled ten notebooks.

 

Tags: japanese     
Ryu Murakami  - Quotes

 I don't need to eat the stuff now because now I'm here-right in the middle of it!The soup I ordered in Colorado had all these little slices of vegetables and things, which at the time just looked like kitchen scrapings to me. But now I'm in the miso soup myself,just like those bits of vegetable. I'm floating around in this giant bowl of it, and that's good enough for me.  

Tags: japan     
Murasaki Shikibu  - Quotes

 The bond between husband and wife is a strong one. Suppose the man had hunted her out and brought her back. The memory of her acts would still be there, and inevitably, sooner or later, it would be cause for rancor. When there are crises, incidents, a woman should try to overlook them, for better or for worse, and make the bond into something durable. The wounds will remain, with the woman and with the man, when there are crises such as I have described. It is very foolish for a woman to let a little dalliance upset her so much that she shows her resentment openly. He has his adventures--but if he has fond memories of their early days together, his and hers, she may be sure that she matters. A commotion means the end of everything. She should be quiet and generous, and when something comes up that quite properly arouses her resentment she should make it known by delicate hints. The man will feel guilty and with tactful guidance he will mend his ways. Too much lenience can make a woman seem charmingly docile and trusting, but it can also make her seem somewhat wanting in substance. We have had instances enough of boats abandoned to the winds and waves.

It may be difficult when someone you are especially fond of, someone beautiful and charming, has been guilty of an indiscretion, but magnanimity produces wonders. They may not always work, but generosity and reasonableness and patience do on the whole seem best.
 

Tags: japanese   philosophy     


Quotes of the Day