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Quote by Matsuo Bashō

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The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches

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Matsuo Bashō

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“Knowing that it is the earth we tread, we learn to tread carefully, lest it be rent open. Realizing that it is the heavens that hang above us, we come to fear the echoing thunderbolt. The world demands that we battle with others for the sake of our own reputation, and so we undergo the sufferings bred of illusion. While we live in this world with its daily business, forced to walk the tightrope of profit and loss, true love is an empty thing, and the wealth before our eyes mere dust.”

ArtPhilosophyPoetryExistentialismModernismJapanese LiteratureFloating World
Book:The Three-Cornered World
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“...He said defensively, "But from now on, Japan is sure to develop." "Japan's headed for a fall," the man said coolly. Say a thing like that in Kumamoto and you'd get a punch in the nose, or be called a traitor. The atmosphere Sanshiro grew up in left no room in his head for such an idea. Just because he was young, was the man having some fun at his expense? The man kept on grinning. Yet his way of talking was perfectly composed. Not knowing what to think, Sanshiro held his tongue. His companion went on, "Tokyo is bigger than Kumamoto. Japan is bigger than Tokyo. And what's bigger than Japan is..." He paused and looked at Sanshiro, who was listening intently. "...the inside of your head. That's bigger than Japan. Don't let yourself get bogged down. You may believe your way of thinking is for the good of the nation, but you could actually be bringing it down." When he heard this, Sanshiro felt he had indeed left Kumamoto. And he realized, too, what a small person his Kumamoto self had been.”

JapanModernismJapanese LiteratureMeijiTurn Of The Century
Book:Sanshirō
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“Giây phút nhìn con thở yếu ớt vì uống quá nhiều thuốc ngủ, cha tưởng chừng tim mình ngừng đập. Dù thế nào, cha cũng phải vững vàng trước mặt mẹ con, nhưng lòng cha hoàn toàn trống rỗng, như thể trái tim đã đi đâu mất rồi. Cha cuống cuồng gọi xe cấp cứu, nhưng bác sĩ nói rằng coi như hết hy vọng, rằng có thể con sẽ phải sống thực vật suốt đời. Dù vậy, họ vẫn dốc lòng cứu con. Con còn ít tuổi, các y bác sĩ đã cố gắng hết sức để mang con trở về bằng mọi giá. Nhìn cảnh ấy, cha cảm động biết chừng nào. Và con hồi sinh một cách thần kỳ như để đáp lại nhiệt huyết của mọi người. Đúng lúc ấy cha đã nghĩ, người tốt hay xấu đều không còn quan trọng...”

VietnamColorfulJapanese LiteratureVietnamese
Author:Eto Mori
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“People called Mother a beauty, when she was young. I remember her very well in those days—until I was fourteen or fifteen she was as beautiful as ever. When I compare that memory of her with Satsuko, the contrast is really striking. Satsuko is also called a beauty. That was the main reason why Jokichi married her. But between these two beauties, between the 1890’s and now, what a change has taken place in the physical appearance of the Japanese woman! For example, Mother’s feet were beautiful too, but Satsuko’s have an altogether different kind of beauty. They hardly seem to belong to a woman of the same race. Mother had dainty feet, small enough to nestle in the palm of my hand, and as she tripped along in her straw sandals she took extremely short, mincing steps with her toes turned in. (I am reminded that in my dream Mother’s feet were bare except for her sandals, even though she was dressed to go visiting. Perhaps she was deliberately showing off her feet to me.) All Meiji women had that pigeon-like walk, not just beauties. As for Satsuko’s feet, they are elegantly long and slender; she boasts that ordinary Japanese shoes are too wide for her. On the contrary, my mother’s feet were fairly broad, rather like those of the Bodhisattva of Mercy in the Sangatstudo in Nara. Also, the women of their day were short in stature. Women under five feet were not uncommon. Having been born in the Meiji era, I am only about five feet two myself, but Satsuko is an inch and a half taller.”

Japanese LiteratureFootbinding
Book:Diary of a Mad Old Man
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“Светлината блясва в човешкия живот само за най-кратък миг, вероятно за броени секунди. Ако тази светлина помръкне, без да си успял да доловиш откровението, което тя съдържа, втори шанс няма. Вероятно ще ти се наложи да изживееш остатъка от живота си в безнадеждните дълбини на самотата и съжалението. В този сумрачен свят вече не се стремиш към нищо и не очакваш нищо. Носиш в себе си само изсъхналия труп на онова, което е трябвало да бъде.”

Japanese Literature
Book:The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
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“どうしてみんなこれほどまで孤独にならなくてはならにのだろう、僕はそう思った。どうしてそんなに孤独になる必要があるのだ。これだけ多くの人々がこの世界に生きていて、それぞれに他者の中に何かを求めあっていて、なのになぜ我々はここまで孤絶しなくてはならないのだ。何のために？この惑星は人々の寂寥を滋養として回転を続けているのか。 ¿Por qué nos sentimos tan solos? ¿Qué necesidad hay? ¿Por qué y para qué aislarnos del resto de la gente si somos tantos los que vivimos en este mundo y cada uno de nosotros busca y espera algo de los demás? ¿Acaso este planeta gira únicamente para nutrirse de la desolación de las personas?”

Japanese LiteratureHaruki Murakami
Book:Sputnik Sweetheart
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