Japanese Folklore Quotes

“Alice recalled one of the books Dylan had read to her, a collection of Japanese fairytales. In one, a woman artist practiced kintsugi, repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with powdered gold. There'd been an illustration of a woman bent over a pile of broken pottery pieces, laid out to fit together, with a fine paintbrush in her hand, its bristles dipped in gold. It had enchanted Alice, the idea that breakage and repair were part of the story, not something to be disdained or disguised.”
― Holly Ringland, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart

“Hm? These cherry tomatoes...
they've been dried. Right, Tadokoro?"
"Y-yes, sir! Back home, winter can be really long. In the summer we harvest a lot of vegetables and preserve them so we can have them in winter too. Mostly by sun drying them.
When I was little, I'd help with that part. That's when my Ma -um, I mean, my mother- taught me how to dry them in the oven.
You cut the cherry tomatoes in half, sprinkle them with rock salt and then slowly dry them at a low temperature, around 245* F.
I, um... thought they'd make a nice accent for the terrine..."
"Right. Tomatoes are rich in the amino acid glutamate essential in umami. Drying them concentrates the glutamate, greatly increasing the amount of sweetness the tongue senses.
In Shinomiya's case...
... his nine-vegetable terrine focused on fresh vegetables, with their bright and lively flavors.
But this recette accentuates the savory deliciousness of vegetables preserved over time. Both dishes are vegetable terrines...
... but one centers on the delicacy of the fresh...
... while the other on the savory goodness of the ripe and aged.
They are two completely different approaches to the same ingredient- vegetables!"
"Mmm! This is the flavor that warms the soul. You can feel my darling Megumi's kindness in every bite."
"For certain. If Shinomiya is the "Vegetable Magician"...
... I would say Megumi is... a modest spirit who gifts you with the bounty of nature.
a Vegetable Colobuckle!" *A tiny spirit from Ainu folklore said to live under butterbur leaves*
"No, that's not what she is! Megumi is a spirit who brings happiness and tastiness...
a Vegetable Warashi!" *Childlike spirits from Japanese folklore said to bring good fortune*
"Or perhaps she is that spirit which delivers the bounty of vegetables from the snowy north...
a Vegetable Yukinoko!" *Small snow sprites*
"It's not winter, so you can't call her a snow sprite!"
"How come all of you are picking spirits from Japanese folklore anyway?”
― Yuto Tsukuda, 食戟のソーマ 4 [Shokugeki no Souma 4]

“At night the space is filled with the scent of daphne, philadelphus and Choisya ternata. Protected by walls and hedges, the leaves still rustle in the breeze, whispering to one another or, perhaps, to me. I fancy this part is occupied by relatives of the kami, the sacred spirits of the Japanese forest, which can take the form of trees, of which the Cornus Gloria Birkett is now the most splendid, its pale bracts like a shimmer of creamy-white butterflies come to rest.”
― Nigel Slater, A Thousand Feasts: Small Moments of Joy… A Memoir of Sorts