Hey! So i’m sure people here have heard of that story regarding Natsume Souseki’s comment about 月が綺麗ですね (tsuki ga kirei desu ne) being a more indirect way to say “I love you”.
My question is tangentially related;
What use might a “the moon is beautiful isn’t it?” statement have that ISNT that? I’m currently reading a visual novel, and there are two different times two different intimidating authority figures have found this kid doing something he shouldn’t be, and both times the respective authority figure opened the conversation with “The moon is beautiful tonight, isn’t it?”, even though both times the VN took measures to note that the moon wasn’t even visible.
I’m wondering if anyone more familiar with the culture or the language or that story and its relevance in japan would have any insights as to what purpose such a sentence might serve, or what the author might have been trying to say there. Because I have a feeling those were not love confessions, lol.
Thank you!
by jengamonsoon