#japanese

Still more horrible was the color of the flames that licked the latticed cabin vents before shooting skyward, as though - might I say? - the sun itself had crashed to earth, spewing its heavenly fire in all directions. ↗

— Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

#japan #japanese #japanese-literature #japan

People used to say that on moonless nights Her Ladyship's broad-skirted scarlet trousers would glide eerily along the outdoor corridor, never touching the floor. ↗

— Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

#japanese #japanese-literature #japan

Directly beneath the Lotus Pond of Paradise lay the lower depths of Hell, and as He peered through the crystalline waters, He could see the River of Three Crossings and the Mountain of Needles as clearly as if He were viewing pictures in a peep-box. ↗

— Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

#japan #japanese #japanese-literature #japan

Le persone che si lasciano incantare, che seguono in massa qualcuno che non produce niente, non capisce niente, ma parla bene in maniera persuasiva. A queste persone non passa neanche per l’anticamera del cervello che potrebbero sbagliarsi. Non riescono neanche a immaginare che possono ferire qualcuno irreparabilmente, senza motivo. Non si assumono la minima responsabilità degli effetti della loro condotta. Sono loro, quelli di cui ho paura. Sono loro quelli che vedo in sogno. Nel sogno tutto tace, e mi appaiono delle persone senza volto. Il silenzio si infiltra ovunque come acqua fredda, e in quel silenzio, tutto si scioglie. ↗

— Haruki Murakami

#japanese-literature #murakami #japan

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. ↗

— Matsuo Bashō

#creating #haiku #japanese #poetry #zen

Young people get the foolish idea that what is new for them must be new for everybody else too. No matter how unconventional they get, they're just repeating what others before them have done. ↗

— Yukio Mishima

#japanese-literature #classics

Asakawa himself didn't much care if the company made money or lost it. All that mattered to him was whether or not the work was engaging. No matter how easy a job was physically, if it didn't involve imagination, it usually ended up exhausting you. ↗

— Koji Suzuki

#imagination

I could have sworn that the man's eyes were no longer watching his daughter dying in agony, that instead the gorgeous colors of flames and the sight of a woman suffering in them were giving him joy beyond measure. ↗

— Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

#japan #japanese #japanese-literature #japan

Working in Hollywood, it's clear the more money you have, the more technology you can get. So you can build a whole Japanese set. Only in Hollywood! ↗

— Ziyi Zhang

#clear #get #hollywood #japanese #money

It was necessary to bluff the Japanese camp commanders, with whatever authority I could muster, that I had come officially to ensure that the surrender terms were being complied with and that living conditions for the POWs were being immediately improved. ↗

— Wilfred Burchett

#being #bluff #camp #come #commanders