There are those who claim the poetic value to be as important as any other; who make poetry synonymous with spirituality; who rank it at the head of all the arts. "When I read poetry there is evoked in me a sense of beauty. My feelings, however, go deeper . . . I approach God through poetry. This is the true experience of a deep-searching person." These lines were written by Ryosen in the first few years of this century. He was a leader of the young intellectuals in Japan but died in his thirties. He began as a devout religionist, became a sceptical rationalist, but in the last few years of his short life moved over into mysticism.
He later explained the above quotation: "The sphere of truth and the sphere of poetry are from the outset different. . . . To the extent that we penetrate to the innermost part of human life, truth and poetry draw close . . . now in harmonious union."
-- Notebooks Category 14: The Arts in Culture > Chapter 4 : Reflections On Specific Arts > # 54
