Neve sottile

Let me hide at least a petalIn the sleeve of my flower-viewing robe,That I may remember the spring. Five years ago, we planted two trees in our enclosed garden, a gingko biloba, which bright yellow unique fan-shaped leaves beguile in autumn , and a cherry tree, for its refined and daintily color

A sweeping, propulsive masterpiece, the story of four sisters with divergent paths in a Japan caught between two eras in the late 1930s. When I first read this, ten years ago, I was drawn to the setpieces, particularly the famous, dramatic flood scene. And those are indeed great, but the subtleties

The yearly peregrination to the natural spectacle of the cherry blossoming in Kyoto is a millenary tradition in Japan. The symbolism attached to that ritual renders the transience of beauty. The constant collision between the explosion of exuberant vitality and the withering that precedes the inevit Leggi tutto

“The ancients waited for cherry blossoms, grieved when they were gone, and lamented their passing in countless poems. How very ordinary the poems had seemed to Sachiko when she read them as a girl, but now she knew, as well as one could know, that grieving over fallen cherry blossoms was more than a Leggi tutto

My 'better late than never' review. Several weeks ago, I put out a request for a recommendation of a good Japanese book to read. My good friend Marita immediately popped up with The Makioka Sisters. This recommendation was seconded by friend Silvia Cachia. I read their reviews and ordered the book,

Çok, çok güzeldi! Ancak bir yanımda buruldu. Sebebi elbette Tanizaki'nin Türkçe'ye çevrilmiş eserlerinin hepsini okuduğum için. Umut ediyorum ki, H. Murakami'nin tüm dünyada yarattığı zelzele biraz daha sürer ve insanların Japon Edebiyatı'na ilgileri artar. Ayrıca Japon gelenekselliğine sırtını dönmü Leggi tutto

I wasn’t sure what to expect from my first time reading Tanizaki, but feeling like I was reading a cross between a Tolstoy, Wharton and Austen novel set in pre-WWII Japan was definitely not what I was expecting. And what an amazing surprise it was, to feel in somehow familiar territory whilst readin Leggi tutto

I'm not sure how (or why?) I made it through this novel. True, I did drag my feet, but at the time, had a lot going on and did not have much dedicated reading time...nevertheless, each evening, I couldn't wait to get to this book to laze through a few pages with the endearing (and infuriating at tim Leggi tutto

This is one of Junichiro Tanizaki's major novels covering a family of women in early 20th C Japan. It is beautifully written with extremely well fleshed out characters and an entrancing plot. It is probably my favourite Tanizaki book.

1930 ların Japonyası nasıldı, Japonya o yıllarda dünyaya nasıl bakardı, Japonyada insanlar nasıl yaşar ,hem gelenekçi hem yenilikçi nasıl oluyorlar gibi sorulara cevap bulduran, bu sitede bir arkadaşın yorumunda gördüğüm tavsiyeye uyarak bir harita ve not defteri ile japon müzikleri eşliğinde okurke Leggi tutto