glimpses of unfamiliar japan
started to read glimpses of unfamiliar japan by lafcadio hearn. hearn was the first foreign writer to really immerse himself in the culture of japan. moving there in 1890 hearn would never return to his home in america, but make a new one in his adopted homeland of japan, the country he loved so much. here’s a great quote of his in reference to yokohama – i think it pretty well sums up my feelings towards the city of tokyo.
“i could not, in those first weeks, resign myself to remain indoors and write, while there was yet so much to see and hear and feel in the sun-steeped ways of the wonderful japanese city. still, even could i revive all the lost sensations of those first experiences, i doubt if i could express and fix them in words. the first charm of japan is intangible and volatile as a perfum.”
–lafcadio hearn
