Research source

Her love of very small things came as the result of a great sorrow, but we see in this Japanese love of little…

Date of account: Traditional material presented in a work published 1913
Source: Myths & Legends of Japan
Reference: Myths & Legends of Japan · selected passage 84
Rights: public_domain
Language: English retelling of Japanese traditions
Translation: F. Hadland Davis
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

Her love of very small things came as the result of a great sorrow, but we see in this Japanese love of little objects something pathetic in the nation as a whole

Published source text

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Source passage

Source text · mention only

Her love of very small things came as the result of a great sorrow, but we see in this Japanese love of little objects something pathetic in the nation as a whole. Their love of dwarf trees, hundreds of years old, seems to say: "Be honourably pleased never to grow big. We are a little people, and so we love little things." The ancient pine, often less than a foot in height, does not render its age oppressive, and is not a thing to fear just because it is so very small. Westerners have been inclined to describe the dwarf Japanese tree as unnatural. It is no more unnatural than the Japanese smile, and reveals that the nation, like the Greeks of old, is still closely in touch with Nature.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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