“A mere 50 years before, the Matsugaes had been a sturdy, upright samurai family, no more, eking out a frugal existence in the provinces. But in a brief span of time, their fortunes had soared. By Kiyoaki’s time, the first traces of refinement were threatening to take hold on a family that, unlike court nobility, had enjoyed centuries of immunity from the virus of elegance. And Kiyoaki, like an ant that senses the approaching flood, was experiencing the first intimations of his family’s rapid collapse.”
Yukio Mishima, “Spring Snow”, 1968.
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 