10 Quotes by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki

We do not dislike everything that shines, but we do prefer a pensive lustre to a shallow brilliance, a murky light that, whether in a stone or an artifact, bespeaks a sheen of antiquity. . . . we do love things that bear the marks of grime, soot, and weather, and we love the colours and the sheen that call to mind the past that made them".

We find beauty not in the thing itself but in the patterns of shadows, the light and the darkness, that one thing against another creates.

My darling Naomi, I don't just love you, I worship you. You're my treasure. You're a diamond that I found and polished. I'll buy you anything that'll make you beautiful. I'll give you my whole salary.

Un genio conversa con otro genio cara a cara, lo que no solo supone una alegría recíproca, sino también una dicha para el universo entero. Esa alegría existe y el universo existe también. El día que los genios no se reconozcan unos a otros, el mundo se oscurecerá y la Tierra dejará de dar vueltas sobre su eje

El muchacho le explicó, como pronunciando un sermón, que el mundo de los hombres era vil y estaba lleno de mentiras. En él, solo el arte conducía a la vida verdadera y eterna, y él mismo era grande porque sabía lo que se encontraba más allá de las puertas del arte. La muchacha no podía dudar de la nobleza de sus palabras.

In the mansion called literature I would have the eaves deep and the walls dark, I would push back into the shadows the things that come forward too clearly, I would strip away the useless decoration. I do not ask that this be done everywhere, but perhaps we may be allowed at least one mansion where we can turn off the electric lights and see what it is like without them.

Teinosuke preferred not to be too deeply involved in domestic problems, and particularly with regard to Etsuko's upbringing he was of the view that matters might best be left to his wife. Lately, however, with the outbreak of the China Incident, he had become conscious of the need to train strong, reliant women, women able to support the man behind the gun.

The heart of mine is only one, it cannot be known by anybody but myself.

Our cooking depends upon shadows and is inseparable from darkness