The Japanese Way: Reflection
On Hidden Flowers: The Safflower
These quotes are taken from chapter two where all the men are discussing different types of women. Upon reflection it seems as though they were distinctly discussing some of the women Genji gets with. One of them being the Safflower.
"the really facinating girl is the one of whom no one has ever heard, the strangly appealing one who lives by herself, hidden away in some ruinous overgrown old house..." (24)(Genji and To no Chujo have never heard of the princess and she is living in a ruiness house)
"her brothers face is non too prepossessing either, and there she is in the womans quarters, far at the back, where you expect nothing unusual;proud spirted, and giving a touch of distinction to everything that she does"(24)(her brother the monk)
"Compared to someone truly flawless, she of course falls short, but for what she is, she is hard to let go" (24)(compared to Murasaki ,whom he finds before he hears of the safflower, she falls short)
"Oh come now, Genji thought, it is rare to find anyone like that among the highborn"
These quotes are taken from chapter two where all the men are discussing different types of women. Upon reflection it seems as though they were distinctly discussing some of the women Genji gets with. One of them being the Safflower.
"the really facinating girl is the one of whom no one has ever heard, the strangly appealing one who lives by herself, hidden away in some ruinous overgrown old house..." (24)(Genji and To no Chujo have never heard of the princess and she is living in a ruiness house)
"her brothers face is non too prepossessing either, and there she is in the womans quarters, far at the back, where you expect nothing unusual;proud spirted, and giving a touch of distinction to everything that she does"(24)(her brother the monk)
"Compared to someone truly flawless, she of course falls short, but for what she is, she is hard to let go" (24)(compared to Murasaki ,whom he finds before he hears of the safflower, she falls short)
"Oh come now, Genji thought, it is rare to find anyone like that among the highborn"
posted by Ann Wilson @ 12:14 PM
2 Comments:
At 11:31 PM,
Crystal Lee said…
I think the words "strangly appealing" really sums up Genji's attraction to the safflower lady - there's a certain charm to her imperfections that in the end make her more distinct from the rest. Anyways, thanks for the collection of pertinent quotes, helps stimulate more thoughts when seen them side by side.
At 6:37 PM,
Ann Wilson said…
I was going to add that she sums up Wabi sabi. I forgot but that's basically it.
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