Quotes from Lesley Downer

A samurai never worries about losing his life. He worries about losing his honour. Being shamed is far worse than losing your life. A samurai is always ready to die - for his lord, for his honour. That's the samurai way

Once fallen, the blossom doesn't return to the branch

Sometimes you'll win, sometimes you'll lose, but you must never run away.

The wise man waits and his enemies tear each other to pieces

Remember: a clever woman never lets a man know how cleaver she is

Waiting anxiously for you, Unable to sleep, but falling into a doze— Are those words of love Floating to my pillow, Or is this too a dream . . . ? My eyes open and here is my tear-drenched sleeve. Perhaps it was a sudden rain.

When people say they come from the country, they say it abjectly, apologetically. Unlike Londoners, Tokyoites do not drive out to the country at the weekend or yearn for a country cottage. Everyone, if they had the chance, would live in Tokyo. Four hours to the next train, while inconceivable in Tokyo, was only to be expected of inaka.

Cu o cutezan?? nebun?, de parc? încerca s?-ÅŸi recapete astfel libertatea, îÅŸi l?s? trupul s? se topeasc? în al lui ÅŸi buzele lor se unir? într-un s?rut atât de intens, încât o l?s? f?r? aer.

Le geishe erano danzatrici, musiciste e conversatrici che occupavano una specifica nicchia nei massimi livelli della società nipponica. Non erano assolutamente prostitute, né di alto né di basso bordo.

A dream of springtide When the streets Are scattering Cherry blossoms. Tidings of autumn When the streets Are lined with lighted lanterns On both sides. Koji Ochi (seventeenth-century poet), inscribed on the Great Gate of

But — but — it's twelve miles,' they spluttered in chorus. 'You can't walk. It's impossible! It's too far!' Strolling along the empty road in the sunshine, between the paddy fields spreading flat to humpy hills, I didn't care even if they were right.

Facing me was a stone pillar, half hidden in the grass, some worn hieroglyphs carved down its side. The hillside rose right behind in a tangle of trees. Laboriously I read the characters one by one: 'Old — Barrier — of — Shirakawa'. It had taken me five and a half hours.