"You've always been fond of understanding people too well." "They should arrange not to be understood quite so easily." - Yasunari Kawabata

In the depths of the mirror the evening landscape moved by, the mirror and the reflected figures like motion pictures superimposed one on the other. The figures and the background were unrelated, and yet the figures, transparent and intangible, and the background, dim in the gathering darkness, melted into a sort of symbolic world not of this world. Particularly when a light out in the mountains shone in the center of the girl's face, Shimamura felt his chest rise at the inexpressible beauty of it.

- Seara, înainte să adorm, închid ochii și număr bărbații pe care mi-ar plăcea să-i sărut. Îi număr folosind degetele. E distractiv. Când sunt mai puțin de cele zece degete mă simt tristă.

لا شيء أجمل من الوجه البارد لإمرأة شابة نائمة. أليس هو التعزية الكبرى التي يمكن أن يهبها العالم؟ حتى المرأة الأكثر جمالاً لا تقدر على إخفاء عمرها عندما تكون نائمة. أما الوجه الفتيّ فهو عذبٌ في حالة النوم، حتى ولو لم تكن صاحبته جميلة ص 86