“The one thing a man should not have is a wife. It is depressing to watch her bear children and fuss over them, and things don’t end with his death, for then you have the shameful sight of her growing old and decrepit as a nun. No matter who the woman may be, you wouldContinue reading “RKS Literature: A Man Should Never Have a Wife (Yoshida Kenkō)”
Tag Archives: “A Cup of Sake Beneath the Cherry Trees”
RKS Literature: The Entertaining and Typical Drunk (Yoshida Kenkō)
“All things considered, a drunkard is so entertaining he can be forgiven his sins. Think of the charming scene when a master throws open the door on his servant, who is sound asleep next morning after an exhausting night on the drink. The poor befuddled fellow rushes off, rubbing his bleary eyes, topknot exposed onContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Entertaining and Typical Drunk (Yoshida Kenkō)”
RKS Literature: Loathsome but Hard to Resist a Cup of Sake (Yoshida Kenkō)
“Yet, as loathsome though one finds it, there are situations where a cup of sake is hard to resist. On a moonlit night, a snowy morning, or beneath flowering cherry trees, it increases all the pleasures of the moment to bring out the sake cups and settle down to talk serenely together over a drink.Continue reading “RKS Literature: Loathsome but Hard to Resist a Cup of Sake (Yoshida Kenkō)”
RKS Literature: Wine the Path to Hell (Yoshida Kenkō)
“Wine has been called the ‘greatest of medicines’, but in fact all sickness springs from it. It is claimed you forget your sorrows in drink, but from what I can see, men in their cups will in fact weep to recall their past unhappiness. As for the next world-having lost the wisdom you were bornContinue reading “RKS Literature: Wine the Path to Hell (Yoshida Kenkō)”
RKS Literature: The Evil Side of Sake (Yoshida Kenkō)
“I cannot understand why people will seize any occasion to immediately bring out the sake, delighting in forcing someone else to drink. The other will frown and grimace in painful protest, attempt to throw it away when no one’s looking or do his best to escape, but this man will seize him, pin him downContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Evil Side of Sake (Yoshida Kenkō)”
RKS Literature: The Flamboyant Pleasure of a Country Bumpkin (Yoshida Kenkō)
“The man of quality never appears entranced by anything; he savours things with a casual air. Country bumpkins, however, take flamboyant pleasure in everything. They will wiggle their way in through the crowd and stand there aimlessly gaping up at the blossoms, sit under the trees drinking sake and indulging in linked verse making togetherContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Flamboyant Pleasure of a Country Bumpkin (Yoshida Kenkō)”
RKS Literature: What Types of People Should Not Be Your Friends? (Yoshida Kenkō)
“There are seven types of people one should not have as a friend. The first is an exalted and high-ranking person. The second, somebody young. The third, anyone strong and in perfect health. The fourth a man who loves to drink. The fifth, a brave and daring warrior. The sixth a liar. The seventh, anContinue reading “RKS Literature: What Types of People Should Not Be Your Friends? (Yoshida Kenkō)”
RKS Literature: Should One Be Concerned with Red Tongue Days Marked on the Calendar? (Yoshida Kenkō)
“The Ying Yang masters do not concern themselves with those days of the calendar marked ‘Red Tongue Days’. Nor did people of old treat the day as unpropitious. It seems someone more recently has declared it unlucky, and now everyone has begun to avoid it, believing that things undertaken on this day will miscarry. ThisContinue reading “RKS Literature: Should One Be Concerned with Red Tongue Days Marked on the Calendar? (Yoshida Kenkō)”
RKS Literature: Perfect Regularity as Tasteless (Yoshida Kenkō)
“In all things, perfect regularity is tasteless. Something not quite finished is very appealing, a gesture towards the future. Someone told me that even in the construction of the Imperial Palace, some part is always left uncompleted.” Yoshida Kenkō, “A Cup of Sake Beneath the Cherry Trees”, 1329-1331?
RKS Literature: Avarice and the Great Fool (Yoshida Kenkō)
“Great wealth will drive you to neglect your own well-being in pursuit of it. It is asking for harm and tempting trouble. Though you leave behind at your death a mountain of gold high enough to prop up the North Star itself, it will only cause problems for those that come after you. Nor isContinue reading “RKS Literature: Avarice and the Great Fool (Yoshida Kenkō)”
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