As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams Quotes

“One bright moonlit night, when I was on a journey and staying in a house by a bamboo grove, I awoke to the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind. As I lay there, unable to go back to sleep, I wrote the poem,

'Night after night I lie awake,
Listening to the rustle of the bamboo leaves,
And a strange sadness fills my heart.”
― Lady Sarashina, As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams

“I lived forever in a dream world. Though I made occasional pilgrimages to temples, I could never bring myself to pray sincerely for what most people want.”
― Lady Sarashina, As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams

“It is their scent alone
That tells me what those scattered orange blossoms are.
Else I should have thought they were
Untimely flakes of snow.”
― Lady Sarashina, As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams

“In Suruga stands Mount Fuji, which I used to see in the West from the province where I grew up. There is no mountain like it in the world. It has the most unusual shape and seems to have been painted deep blue, its thick cover of unmelting snow gives the impression that the mountain is wearing a white jacket over a dress of deep violet.”
― Lady Sarashina, As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams

“He spoke about the different beauties of Spring and Autumn. 'Each has its own delight,' he said. 'On Spring nights the sky is beautifully shrouded with mist. The moon then is not too bright and its light seems to be floating away in the distance. How delightful it is at such a time to hear someone plucking gently at the strings of a lute that have been set in the key of the Fragrant Breeze! When Autumn comes the sky is still misty, but the lucent moon shines through so clearly that one feels one could pick it up in one's hands. The soughing of the wind and the hum of the insects blend in such a way that all the savours of Nature seem to have come together. At such moments the strumming of the great zither accompanied by the clear notes of a flute makes one wonder how one could ever have admired Spring. But then there is a Winter night when the sky is chill, the air bitter cold, and the piles of snow reflect in the moonlight.”
― Lady Sarashina, As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams

“By the dim light of the hanging lantern she looked incredibly ancient and awe-inspiring. She spoke in the impressive voice one would expect from someone who had been in sacred service for so long, and I was convinced that she was no ordinary mortal but a manifesting of the Goddess herself.”
― Lady Sarashina, As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams

“Winter came. One night, after a heavy day's rain, a fierce wind blew away the rain clouds so that the moon shone brightly in a clear sky. Noticing that the clover leaves by our eaves had been thoroughly battered by the wind, I was much moved and composed this poem,

'How fondly they must think of Autumn days -
These withered clover leaves
That now are lashed by Winter storms!”
― Lady Sarashina, As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams

“On one side was the ocean with its huge, rough breakers; on the other lay the plain shoals of the lagoon, where through the thick branches of the pine trees we could see the waves sparkling like many-colored jewels. It was a delightful scene: nothing but the pine forest and the waves, which looked as if they were washing across the tips of the branches.”
― Lady Sarashina, As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams

“Yet we continue to live despite all our suffering.”
― Lady Sarashina, As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams

“I pushed open my door and looked out. The ridges of the mountains shone dimly in the early light, and the tops of the trees that darkly covered the hillside were veiled with mist. These dense trees lent the cloudy sky a special charm that one would not find in blossom time or in the season of red leaves.”
― Lady Sarashina, As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams