4 Quotes by Kafū Nagai

No, nothing in this world is as oppressive and debilitating as blood ties. Any other relationship – be it friend, lover, wife; be it obligatory or constraining or difficult – is something one has consciously entered into at some point. Only one's ties with parents and siblings are formed at birth and are unbreakable.

For her I would gladly ferry across the Sumida on the coldest winter day to buy her those sakura-mochi sweets from old Edo that she loved so much. But medicine? That is another matter. Not even on the warmest day would I want to go buy her medicine.

Oh, but once one has returned to the land of one's birth – there is no place more constricting – one's surroundings no longer permit such freedom, and one can no longer simply transcend the demands of social position.

Arejar os livros me permite rever velhos amigos que estavam empilhados em prateleiras altas, lembrar a emoção que tive ao lê-los, com entusiasmo, em algum momento do passado, e refletir sobre como as modas passam, e como os gostos mudam.