“An artist is a person who lives in the
triangle which remains after the angle which
we may call common sense has been
removed from this four-cornered world.”
SOSEKI
Recently my friend Irene loaned me a little softcover book, The Three-Cornered World by Natsume Soseki, because, as Irene said to me, “It’s about an artist, so I thought of you.”
Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) opens the eyes of the reader to new and wonderful worlds and ways of looking in The Three-Cornered World (English translation by Alan Turney. English translation ©1965). The main character is an artist who has come to the country for a few days’ respite from city life in Tokyo. Chapter 1 begins: “Going up a mountain track, I fell to thinking.”
Reading this book was a meditative experience for me. Within its covers lies beauty, mystery, love, poetry, art, nature, culture, and more. A gem. I loved it!