A lovely book of anecdotes and poetic descriptions of Japan, from the natural world to a typical Japanese home of the period. Unlike many others, this account of Japan describes also the gray and dingy sides of it, along with its beauty.
Excerpt:
The bridge is like a faded print of Hiroshige, Hokusai. Gray and dull, the picture that it makes is one of clear-cut line, a naturalistic etching that is accepted as a part of life and stirs not the emotions. But here and there, despite the ageing of the print, a trace of color lingers. There is the smile of welcome, the sunset glow, the pricking lights of fairyland, the flight of geese against the blue of Heaven far, far above the drab grayness, dirty water, above all the momentarily inconsequential things of life.