15 quotes
Every joy that some experience is paid for by the sorrow of others.
The Prison Memoirs of a Japanese Woman (1991)
My presence will shortly be effaced from this earth. I believe, however, that every phenomenon continues as such to exist in eternal actuality even though it be physically obliterated.
The Prison Memoirs of a Japanese Woman (1991)
I ran for all I was worth, radiant at the thought that I was leaving all behind and going to the salvation of death.
The Prison Memoirs of a Japanese Woman (1991)
They say that sincerity moves heaven.
The Prison Memoirs of a Japanese Woman (1991)
I felt at that moment as if my one remaining lifeline had been severed. I was plunged into an abyss of despair where even tears were irrelevant.
The Prison Memoirs of a Japanese Woman (1991)
The judges, those respectable officials, flip through law books and hand down arbitrary judgments on human actions, alienating themselves from human lives, denying even their humanity as they undertake their duty as protectors of authority.
I got disgusted with the widespread desire among socialists to get their names in the paper.
Because I Wanted To (1923)
There was the boundless sea, the blue sky that stretched out endlessly, the waves, the wind, the clean fresh air, and the raucous ways of the healthy sailors.
The Prison Memoirs of a Japanese Woman (1991)
People are the pawns of fate.
The Prison Memoirs of a Japanese Woman (1991)
I can state from my own experience that what people fear in death is the loneliness of having to leave this world forever. Though people may not be consciously aware of all the phenomena around them under normal circumstances, the thought that that which makes them themselves will be lost forever is a terribly lonely thing. In sleep, that which is ourselves is not lost, merely forgotten.
The Prison Memoirs of a Japanese Woman (1991)
I feel boundless anger against parental authority, which crushed me under the high-sounding name of parental love, and against state and social authority, which abused me in the name of universal love.
Because I Wanted To (1923)
Religious life appears to be extremely peaceful; but peace does not hold much interest for young people. In fact, young people could not care less about a peaceful life; it is only people who are castrated who want peace. Healthy young people want a more vigorous life; they want a life in which they can stretch their arms, their legs, their desires as far as they will go.
The Prison Memoirs of a Japanese Woman (1991)
I cannot die now, I thought. No, I have to seek vengeance; together with all the other people who have been made to suffer, I have to get back at those who have caused our suffering. No. I must not die.
The Prison Memoirs of a Japanese Woman (1991)
With one foot over the threshold of the land of death, I had suddenly turned back. I returned to what was for me hell on earth. [...] But now one ray of hope, albeit a black and gloomy ray, shone for me, and I had the strength to endure any suffering that lay in store.
The Prison Memoirs of a Japanese Woman (1991)
The nights were still cold, and we clasped hands in the pocket of Pak’s overcoat, letting our feet take us where they would. There was not a soul in the park. The stillness of the night was broken only by the feeble echo of a distant train; the only light was the silent glistening of the stars in the sky above and the arc lamps on the earth below.
The Prison Memoirs of a Japanese Woman (1991)