Quotes from Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's books, and about them
In Praise of Shadows on Kusamakura: “Natsume Sōseki, in Pillow of Grass, praises the color of the confection yōkan; and is it not indeed a color to call forth meditation?”
Some Prefer Nettles on A Thousand and One Nights: “"The Arabian Nights is, on the whole, a book for adults to read. What you children have is just a collection of the stories fit for children to read, picked out from it." Kaname explains to his son, who is peering at the illustrations. [auto-translated]”
Some Prefer Nettles on Henry V: “Burton's footnote reads: "Even here the coarseness is no greater than in plays written for our own old stage, such as Shakespeare's Henry V. Besides, tales like these Nights are not meant to be read aloud or recited before mixed company." [auto-translated]”
Some Prefer Nettles on The Love Suicides at Amijima: “Kaname vaguely remembered that the Gidayu version of The Love Suicides at Amijima was not Chikamatsu's original but a rewrite by Hanji or someone, and that this line must come from the original; the old man praised the puppet-play texts, saying "today's novels are nowhere near them." [auto-translated]”
Arrowroot on Taiheiki: “I too loved the Taiheiki in my boyhood, and this led me to take an interest in the secret history of the Southern Court. I had long harbored a plan to build a historical novel around the deeds of King Jiten (Jiten-o). [auto-translated]”
Arrowroot on Nanzan Junshuroku: “Accounts differ somewhat from book to book, but these events are recorded in the Nanzan Junshuroku, the Nanpō Kiden, the Ōunki, the Totsukawa no ki and others. [auto-translated]”
Arrowroot on Kyōkakuden: “Bakin is said to have an unfinished work called Kyokakuden. I have not read it, but I hear it centers on an imaginary Kusunoki daughter, so it seems unrelated to the deeds of King Jiten. [auto-translated]”
Arrowroot on Imoseyama Onna Teikin: “The author of Imoseyama Onna Teikin probably got that conception from the real scenery here, though at this point the river is wider than on the stage and not as narrow a gorge as in the play. [auto-translated]”
Arrowroot on Yoshitsune Senbonzakura: “"After Imoseyama comes Yoshitsune Senbonzakura, you know," Tsumura said. Later he suggested that the author of Senbonzakura, as the author of Imoseyama did from real scenery, may have visited the Otani house or heard of it and thought up the drum. [auto-translated]”
Arrowroot on Futari Shizuka: “Surely it is much the same as the Tsurube-zushi house. There is the Noh play Futari Shizuka, so some prankster of long ago must have thought it up. [auto-translated]”