--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is hard for one who has not had a…" description: "\"“It is hard for one who has not had a similar experience to imagine the terror that still gripped Taeko and Mrs. Tamaki and Hiroshi, so intense a terro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/junichiro-tanizaki-29320_humor_it-is-hard-for-one-who-has-not-had-a-sim_1791300.png" --- # It is hard for one who has not had a similar experience to… ![“It is hard for one who has not had a similar experience to imagine the terror that still gripped Taeko and Mrs. Tamaki and Hiroshi, so intense a terror that afterwards it seemed almost funny.” quote by Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/junichiro-tanizaki-29320_humor_it-is-hard-for-one-who-has-not-had-a-sim_1791300.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/junichiro-tanizaki-29320_humor_it-is-hard-for-one-who-has-not-had-a-sim_1791300.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/junichiro-tanizaki-29320_humor_it-is-hard-for-one-who-has-not-had-a-sim_1791300.png) > ““It is hard for one who has not had a similar experience to imagine the terror that still gripped Taeko and Mrs. Tamaki and Hiroshi, so intense a terror that afterwards it seemed almost funny.”” [Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junichiro-tanizaki/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes how extreme terror can become absurd when recalled after trauma. **In simple terms:** Intense fear may later feel absurd. Key Takeaway Recognize trauma’s lingering impact. Themes trauma memory psychology human experience Mood reflective somber Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - war experiences - personal loss - historical events Key Concepts post-traumatic perception narrative framing Questions to Reflect On - How does humor affect processing trauma? - What memories feel absurd now? 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Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) ## More by Junichiro Tanizaki > [Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junichiro-tanizaki/find-beauty-not-only-in-the-thing-itself-but-in-the-pattern-of-the/) [Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junichiro-tanizaki/) > [“Whenever I see the alcove of a tastefully built Japanese room, I marvel at our comprehension of the secrets of shadows, our sensitive use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junichiro-tanizaki/whenever-i-see-the-alcove-of-a-tastefully-built-japanese-room-i/) [Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junichiro-tanizaki/) > [And isn't it better really to leave things only hinted at?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junichiro-tanizaki/and-isn-t-it-better-really-to-leave-things-only-hinted-at/) [Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junichiro-tanizaki/) > [Were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junichiro-tanizaki/were-it-not-for-shadows-there-would-be-no-beauty/) [Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junichiro-tanizaki/) > [Whenever I sit with a bowl of soup before me, listening to the murmur that penetrates like the distant song of an insect, lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junichiro-tanizaki/whenever-i-sit-with-a-bowl-of-soup-before-me-listening-to-the-murmur/) [Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junichiro-tanizaki/) > [Each worm to his taste; some prefer to eat nettles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junichiro-tanizaki/each-worm-to-his-taste-some-prefer-to-eat-nettles/) [Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junichiro-tanizaki/) > [For a woman who lived in the dark it was enough if she had a faint, white face -a full body was unnecessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junichiro-tanizaki/for-a-woman-who-lived-in-the-dark-it-was-enough-if-she-had-a-faint/) [Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junichiro-tanizaki/) > [There are those who say that when civilization progresses a bit further transportation facilities will move into the skies and under the ground, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junichiro-tanizaki/there-are-those-who-say-that-when-civilization-progresses-a-bit/) [Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junichiro-tanizaki/) > [Yet for better or worse we love things that bear the marks of grime, soot, and weather, and we love the colors and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junichiro-tanizaki/yet-for-better-or-worse-we-love-things-that-bear-the-marks-of-grime/) [Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junichiro-tanizaki/) > [We delight in the mere sight of the delicate glow of fading rays clinging to the surface of a dusky wall, there to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junichiro-tanizaki/we-delight-in-the-mere-sight-of-the-delicate-glow-of-fading-rays/) [Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junichiro-tanizaki/) > [We Orientals find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and darkness which that thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junichiro-tanizaki/we-orientals-find-beauty-not-only-in-the-thing-itself-but-in-the/) [Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junichiro-tanizaki/) > [The older we get the more we seem to think that everything was better in the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junichiro-tanizaki/the-older-we-get-the-more-we-seem-to-think-that-everything-was-better/) [Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junichiro-tanizaki/) > [The ancients waited for cherry blossoms, grieved when they were gone, and lamented their passing in countless poems. 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