78 Quotes by Eiji Yoshikawa

There’s not much benefit in attacking an empty house.

If the young cannot harbor great dreams in their souls, who can?

You’re safer out in the open than you are crouching in the woodshed listening for footsteps and going crazy.

It’s not just my body. I’m cold inside. Not disciplined properly. That’s what it is. I still long to cling to warm flesh, like a baby, and I give in too quickly to sentimentality. Because I’m alone, I feel sorry for myself and envy people who have nice warm houses. At heart, I’m base and mean! Why can’t I be thankful for independence and freedom to go where I choose? Why can’t I hold on to my ideals and my pride?

To him, any place could serve as home – more than that: wherever he happened to be was the universe.

When Takuan had sentenced him to confinement, he had said, “You may read as much as you want. A famous priest of ancient times once said, ‘I become immersed in the sacred scriptures and read thousands of volumes. When I come away, I find that my heart sees more than before.