Stray Toki

“With each retelling, Saigo’s composure grew greater, his soliloquy to Beppu longer, and the poignancy of the moment more intense. Because Saigo had come to represent samurai valor, his death had to represent samurai tradition. Physiology notwithstanding, tradition demanded that Saigo sit on a shattered hip and serenely ask Beppu to help him die. Saigo had become a legend, and the Japanese media decided to print the legend, not the man.”
― Mark J. Ravina, The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori

“In order for Japan to become an equal member of the international community, the western perception of time had to be accepted. The western calendar was
adopted with much complaint in 1872, with the decision that the third day of the succeeding twelfth month would become the first day of 1873. The decree added:
On this day a ceremony…will be held, and the Emperor will inform the sun goddess and the imperial ancestors of the change…. The day will be divided into 24 hours instead of twelve two-hour periods, as hitherto.”
― Jilly Traganou, The Tokaido Road: Travelling and Representation in Edo and Meiji Japan

“Совет ничего не стоит. Мы можем пожалеть для человека сто йен, но советы мы можем раздавать бесплатно, как воду. Советы почти никогда не сближают нас с людьми. Восемь или девять из десяти наших советов заставляют людей покраснеть, смутиться и затаить злобу.”
― Yukio Mishima, Книга самурая

“One of the reasons Japanese culture is so intriguing (and confounding) to westerners is not that it seems so foreign, but that it seems so familiar—at least at first. The packaging registers with our sensibilities, but the actual content does not. Innocent-looking anime characters sprout sudden porno appendages; morning chat shows digress into screaming fits; and musicians that dress like goth metalheads sound like fourth-tier Orlando boy-band members. Shinsaibashi has that same bewildering familiarity. Just as I convince myself that it’s another noisy mall, I’m nearly run down by a drunken bi- cyclist, and then accosted by a fuzzy store mascot.”
― Brian Raftery, Don't Stop Believin': How Karaoke Conquered the World and Changed My Life