--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The ancients waited for cherry blossoms…" description: "\"The ancients waited for cherry blossoms, grieved when they were gone, and lamented their passing in countless poems. How very ordinary the poems had se..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e8/junichiro-tanizaki-29320_cherries_the-ancients-waited-for-cherry-blossoms_2414319.png" --- # The ancients waited for cherry blossoms, grieved when they… ![“The ancients waited for cherry blossoms, grieved when they were gone, and lamented their passing in countless poems. How very ordinary the poems had seemed to Sachiko when she read them as a girl, but now she knew, as well as one could know, that grieving over fallen cherry blossoms was more than…” quote by Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e8/junichiro-tanizaki-29320_cherries_the-ancients-waited-for-cherry-blossoms_2414319.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e8/junichiro-tanizaki-29320_cherries_the-ancients-waited-for-cherry-blossoms_2414319.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e8/junichiro-tanizaki-29320_cherries_the-ancients-waited-for-cherry-blossoms_2414319.png) > “The ancients waited for cherry blossoms, grieved when they were gone, and lamented their passing in countless poems. How very ordinary the poems had seemed to Sachiko when she read them as a girl, but now she knew, as well as one could know, that grieving over fallen cherry blossoms was more than a fad or convention.” [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. Grieving cherry blossoms reflects deeper cultural mourning, transcending fleeting trends to reveal enduring human sorrow. **In simple terms:** Cherry blossom grief shows lasting sorrow. Key Takeaway Recognize timeless emotions in rituals. Themes culture memory impermanence Mood poetic philosophical Type literary emotional When to use this quote - seasonal festivals - artistic expression - personal reflection - historical study Key Concepts aesthetic melancholy collective grief Questions to Reflect On - Why do we cling to symbolic loss? - How does nature mirror human grief? A Different Perspective Rituals may be romanticized, losing original meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cherry blossom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cherry-blossom/) [Cherry blossoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cherry-blossoms/) [Fads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fads/) [Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowers/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Grieving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grieving/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [“Listen. I don't know how or when My grieving will end, but I'm always Relearning how to be human again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/listen-i-don-t-know-how-or-when-my-grieving-will-end-but-i-m-always/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“Beauty was all around them. Unsuspected tintings glimmered in the dark demesnes of the woods and glowed in their alluring by-ways. The spring sunshine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/beauty-was-all-around-them-unsuspected-tintings-glimmered-in-the-dark/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [ The first time I saw a fingerbowl was at the home of my benefactress. \[...\] The water had a few cherry blossoms in it,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-first-time-i-saw-a-fingerbowl-was-at-the-home-of-my-benefactress/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [If I were asked to explain the Japanese spirit, I would say it is wild cherry blossoms glowing in the morning sun!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/motoori-norinaga/if-i-were-asked-to-explain-the-japanese-spirit-i-would-say-it-is-wild/) Motoori Norinaga > [Outside it's a perfect spring night. We stand on the sidewalk in front of our apartment building, and Henry takes my hand, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/outside-it-s-a-perfect-spring-night-we-stand-on-the-sidewalk-in-front/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [Look at the cherry blossoms! Their color and scent fall with them, Are gone forever, Yet mindless The spring comes again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ikkyu/look-at-the-cherry-blossoms-their-color-and-scent-fall-with-them-are/) [Ikkyu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ikkyu/) > [“he said this turning his strong body to face the beautiful, stunning, breathtaking, astonishing, bewildering girl who was a princess and his one true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-ashton/he-said-this-turning-his-strong-body-to-face-the-beautiful-stunning/) J.K. Ashton > [“A teahouse amid the cherry blossoms, on the way to death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-teahouse-amid-the-cherry-blossoms-on-the-way-to-death/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Koishikawa Korakuen Garden - one of Tokyo's oldest Japanese gardens, and one of the best spots for viewing the cherry blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marino/koishikawa-korakuen-garden-one-of-tokyo-s-oldest-japanese-gardens-and/) [Peter Marino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marino/) > [“Lord Karasumaru considered it a grave mistake on the part of the gods to have made a man like himself a nobleman. And, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiji-yoshikawa/lord-karasumaru-considered-it-a-grave-mistake-on-the-part-of-the-gods/) [Eiji Yoshikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiji-yoshikawa/) > [“we are holding hands in the barrel of a gun. they pull the trigger, but when she is kissing me only cherry blossoms come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/topaz-winters/we-are-holding-hands-in-the-barrel-of-a-gun-they-pull-the-trigger-but/) Topaz Winters > [“However wildly this year's cherry blossoms bloom, I'll see them with the plum's scent filling my heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ono-no-komachi/however-wildly-this-year-s-cherry-blossoms-bloom-i-ll-see-them-with/) Ono no Komachi > [“Let us find inner freedom in each lucky moment that we encounter, like a sun-basking butterfly that finds peace on a cherry blossom petal.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/let-us-find-inner-freedom-in-each-lucky-moment-that-we-encounter-like/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [“So he raced from dogwood to blossoming peach. When they thinned out he headed for the cherry blossoms, then magnolia, chinaberry, pecan, walnut and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/so-he-raced-from-dogwood-to-blossoming-peach-when-they-thinned-out-he/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“I start to run, and my nose fills with the smell of rain and wet earth. I run along the shoulder of the highway…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-harrison/i-start-to-run-and-my-nose-fills-with-the-smell-of-rain-and-wet-earth/) Jon Harrison ## 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/) > [“It is hard for one who has not had a similar experience to imagine the terror that still gripped Taeko and Mrs. Tamaki and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junichiro-tanizaki/it-is-hard-for-one-who-has-not-had-a-similar-experience-to-imagine/) [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 heart of mine is only one, it cannot be known by anybody but myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junichiro-tanizaki/the-heart-of-mine-is-only-one-it-cannot-be-known-by-anybody-but-myself/) [Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junichiro-tanizaki/) > [I would call back at least for literature this world of shadows we are losing. In the mansion called literature I would have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junichiro-tanizaki/i-would-call-back-at-least-for-literature-this-world-of-shadows-we/) [Junichiro Tanizaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junichiro-tanizaki/) [Explore all 18 Junichiro Tanizaki quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junichiro-tanizaki/) ## More Cherries quotes > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Bright reds - scarlet, pillar-box red, crimson or cherry - are very cheerful and youthful. There is certainly a red for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-dior/bright-reds-scarlet-pillar-box-red-crimson-or-cherry-are-very/) [Christian Dior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-dior/) > [It isn't called TV money for nothing. There was a time where I paid my rent by doing theater for years, and I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-parsons/it-isn-t-called-tv-money-for-nothing-there-was-a-time-where-i-paid-my/) [Jim Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-parsons/) > [I have told you of the Spaniard who always put on his spectacles when about to eat cherries, that they might look bigger and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/i-have-told-you-of-the-spaniard-who-always-put-on-his-spectacles-when/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [Well, he had two stabs at the cherry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-green/well-he-had-two-stabs-at-the-cherry/) [Alan Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-green/) > [Cherry Money Baby is fabulous in every sense of the word! It’s earthy and smart and moving, laugh-out-loud funny, surprising, inventive, suspenseful, and —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wynne-jones/cherry-money-baby-is-fabulous-in-every-sense-of-the-word-it-s-earthy/) [Tim Wynne-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wynne-jones/) > [I want to do to you what spring does with the cherry trees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/i-want-to-do-to-you-what-spring-does-with-the-cherry-trees/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [Science is not there for you to cherry pick ... You can decide whether or not to believe in it but that doesn’t change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/science-is-not-there-for-you-to-cherry-pick-you-can-decide-whether-or/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [O Helena, goddess, nymph, perfect, divine! To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne? Crystal is muddy. O, how ripe in show Thy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-helena-goddess-nymph-perfect-divine-to-what-my-love-shall-i-compare/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [When wine drinkers tell me they taste notes of cherries, tobacco and rose petals, usually all I can detect is a whole lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-stein/when-wine-drinkers-tell-me-they-taste-notes-of-cherries-tobacco-and/) [Joel Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-stein/) > [Americans have begun to understand that trouble does not start somewhere on the other side of town. It seems to originate inside the absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-jordan/americans-have-begun-to-understand-that-trouble-does-not-start/) [June Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-jordan/) > [It is neither just the religious, the spiritual, the power-hungry, the evil, the ignorant, the corrupt, the Christian, the Muslim, the Hindu, the Buddhist,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/it-is-neither-just-the-religious-the-spiritual-the-power-hungry-the/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [The saying "the cherry on top" is only a good metaphor if the person listening or reading actually likes cherries on top of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-jones/the-saying-the-cherry-on-top-is-only-a-good-metaphor-if-the-person/) [Christopher Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-jones/) > [“If you have ever opened a can of worms, boxed yourself into a corner, ended up in hot water, or found yourself in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryrose-wood/if-you-have-ever-opened-a-can-of-worms-boxed-yourself-into-a-corner/) [Maryrose Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryrose-wood/) > [I really liked the design aesthetic of the mid-century modern for furniture and the early '60s stuff for the clothes. But then, personally, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-reed/i-really-liked-the-design-aesthetic-of-the-mid-century-modern-for/) [Adam Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-reed/) Browse all 252 Cherries quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The ancients waited for cherry blossoms, grieved when they were gone, and lamented their passing in countless poems. 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