Kirigamine highland in Nagano






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Writing English

Image
It has been four months since I began this blog. In the beginning, I often wondered whether my English was correct. Although I’ve managed to write every post in English, I can’t say my English has improved much. For many Japanese learners, articles and prepositions are particularly challenging, largely because they don’t exist in the same way in Japanese.    My younger daughter took this photo in Shanghai. The Japanese on the sign is a little odd, but perhaps it’s still better than my English. Writing in English can be frustrating. Yet at the same time, I sometimes feel an indescribable sense of freedom—as if, by writing in English, I’m momentarily released from the Japanese language and culture that shaped me for so many years.  
Read more

Flowers at Dusk

Image
They say, in Japan, that cherry blossoms, the sakura, is the symbol of the joyful moment and the transience, which is associated with Buddhistic influence. The flowers in full bloom come suddenly and fall soon. It is epitomized as " mono no aware ". Cherry blossoms also can be the symbol of sadness. Ichiyo Higuchi depicted the saddest scene with falling flowers in her first novella, 'Flowers at Dusk' . Flowers at Dusk (Yamizakura) by Ichiyo Higuchi, 1892. Ryonosuke is 22 years old and Chiyo is 16 years old. They grew up together as childhood friends. At dusk on the Day of the Martial Guardian in February, they go out to enjoy browsing at community events. Chiyo clings to Ryonosuke's arm as they stroll along. And then her girlfriends see them and tease, "You two certainly look friendly! What are you up to?" Since this happened, Chiyo has become aware of yearning for him. However, Ryonosuke hasn't noticed her love. Chiyo gets sick. She s...
Read more

The Shadow of the Wind

Image
The Shadow of the Wind is a novel by the Spanish writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón, originally published in Spanish in 2001. It has since been translated into more than forty languages, published in over fifty countries, and, according to the author’s website, has sold more than twelve million copies worldwide. I read the English edition. In 1945, in post–Civil War Barcelona under Franco’s regime, ten‑year‑old Daniel Sempere is taken by his father to the secret Cemetery of Forgotten Books. There, Daniel is drawn to a novel titled The Shadow of the Wind and becomes fascinated by its mysterious author, Julián Carax. He reads the book quickly and is deeply moved. Daniel soon meets Clara, a beautiful twenty‑one‑year‑old blind woman who knows Carax’s works well, and he develops a romantic interest in her. One night, he encounters a faceless figure in the dark—Lain Coubert, the devil in Carax’s novel. The stranger offers Daniel a large sum of money for his copy of The Shadow of the Wind , intendin...
Read more