![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() My ears were alert to every sound, straining to hear above the pounding of the horses’ feet and the creak and jingle of the harness as well as the dull roaring of the sea…There was a moment of silence and in that moment I heard the unmistakable sound, somewhere between a creak and a sigh, of a bowstring being drawn. Many people have commented on how “Japanese” the language in Tales of the Otori sounds, and this may be one of the reasons. It made me go back and look at my titles and texts and I realised how often I used this rhythm unconsciously. Last year an aquaintance, Professor Shimizu, observed to me, ‘The classic Japanese rhythm is in five syllables and seven syllables.’ Of course, this is the rhythm of the haiku go shichi go. Like Grass For His Pillow the title contains five syllables. The title comes from a Noh play by Zeami, The Fulling Block, which is the play Kaede watches with Lord Fujiwara in Grass For His Pillow. Brilliance of the moon, touch of the wind. ![]()
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