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Jun'ichirō Tanizaki Quotes
1886–1965 Japan
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (谷崎 潤一郎, Tanizaki Jun'ichirō; 24 July 1886 – 30 July 1965) was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work range from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle portrayals of the dynamics of family life within the context of the rapid changes in 20th-century Japanese society.
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8 quotes
Were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty.
In Praise of Shadows (1933)
Every worm to his taste;
Some Prefer Nettles (1929)
Such is our way of thinking — 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.
In Praise of Shadows (1933)
Children retain a great deal, and when they grow up they start going over things and rejudging them from a grownup’s point of view. This must have been this way, and that was that way, they say. That’s why you have to be careful with children — some day they grow up.
Some Prefer Nettles (1929)
The quality that we call beauty...must always grow from the realities of life, and our ancestors, forced to live in dark rooms, presently came to discover beauty in shadows, ultimately to guide shadows towards beauty's ends.
In Praise of Shadows (1933)
You are being very demanding indeed. Where, I wonder, will we find the woman to satisfy you? You really should have stayed single — all woman-worshippers should be single. They never find the woman who answers all the requirements.
Some Prefer Nettles (1929)
There are those who say that when civilization progresses a bit further transportation facilities will move into the skies and under the ground, and that our streets will again be quiet, but I know perfectly well that when that day comes some new device for torturing the old will be invented.
In Praise of Shadows (1933)
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.
In Praise of Shadows (1933)
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