Hirota feels strongly drawn toward nature and the natural, is hyper-sensitive to the artificial—particularly that most cramped and constraining man-made creation, society—and does his best to avoid it.

I may be someone who was always destined to spend my life wandering aimlessly. I can’t settle down. The cruel part is, I want to settle down and the world won’t let me. So what choice do I have but to become a fugitive?

People may make fun of me because I’m wearing something odd, but it’s still good to be alive.

Reflection may be essential to a scholar, but it’s taboo in social intercourse.

It’s so unrewarding, being a woman.