Eiji Yoshikawa Quotes

Fighting isn't all there is to the Art of War. The men who think that way, and are satisfied to have food to eat and a place to sleep, are mere vagabonds. A serious student is much more concerned with training his mind and disciplining his spirit than with developing martial skills.

Great character is forged through hardships.

The summit is believed to be the object of the climb. But its true object--the joy of living--is not in the peak itself, but in the adversities encountered on the way up.

I wouldn't say Musashi is ordinary. But he is. That's what's extraordinary about him. He is not content to rely on whatever natural gifts he may have. Knowing he is ordinary, he is constantly trying to improve himself. No one appreciates the agonizing effort he's had to make. Now that his years of training have yielded such spectacular results, everybody's talking about his 'God-given talent.' That's how men who don't try very hard comfort themselves.

The greatest happiness of life was to stand at the difficult border between success and failure.

Enemies were teachers in disguise.

Every act is an expression of one's self.

It is easy to crush an enemy outside oneself but impossible to defeat an enemy within.

Think what you like. There are people who die by remaining alive and others who gain life by dying.

It's interesting, isn't it? Being in the world.

I want to dedicate myself to training and discipline. I want to spend every moment of every day working to improve myself.

...you're going to find people from all over the country, everyone hungry for money and position. You won't make a name for yourself just doing what the next man does. You'll have to distinguish yourself in some way.

When a woman dislikes the man who is courting her, she parries him cleverly, like a willow in the wind.

Not only must a warrior be strong with his bow, but he must have a heart full of pity for all living creatures.

See, see how the sun has moved onward while we talked. Nothing can stop it in its course. Prayers cannot halt the revolving of nature. It is the same with human life. Victory and defeat are one in the vast stream of life. Victory is the beginning of defeat, and who can rest safely in victory? Impermanence is the nature of all things of this world. Even you will find your ill fortunes too will change. It is easy to understand the impatience of the old, whose days are numbered, but why should you young ones fret when the future is yours?

It's no good to want to win still more when you have already won.

Danger was the grindstone on which the swordsman whetted his spirit. Enemies were teachers in disguise.

The world is always full of the sound of waves. The little fishes, abandoning themselves to the waves, dance and sing and play, but who knows the heart of the sea, a hundred feet down? Who knows its depth?

Sincerity, even if it speaks with a stutter, will sound eloquent when inspired.

Love was like a toothache.

I want to lead an important life. I want to do it because I was born a human being.

The line between life and death is not thicker than an eyelid.

it is easy to surpass a predecessor, but difficult to avoid being surpassed by a successor.

Hold on to your life and make it honest and brave.

The truth of the scholar, alone in his study, does not always accord with what the world at large considers to be true.