Tadamichi Kuribayashi

“The enemy suggested we surrender through loudspeaker, but our officers and men just laughed and paid no attention”. –Tadamichi Kuribayashi

Dōgen

“Something you want badly enough can always be gained. No matter how fierce the enemy, how remote the beautiful lady, or how carefully guarded the treasure, there is always a means to the goal for the earnest seeker”. –Dōgen

Hideki Tojo

“It goes without saying that when survival is threatened, struggles erupt between peoples, and unfortunate wars between nations result”. –Hideki Tojo

Fukuzawa Yukichi

“We do not have time to wait for the enlightenment of our neighbors so that we can work together toward the development of Asia. It is better for us to leave the ranks of Asian nations and cast our lot with civilized nations of the West… We should deal with them exactly as Westerners do”. –Fukuzawa Yukichi

Yukio Mishima

“My knowledge that I am masquerading as a normal person has even corroded whatever of normality I originally possessed, ending by making me tell myself over and over again that it too was nothing but a pretense of normality”. –Yukio Mishima

Shunryu Suzuki

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few”. –Shunryu Suzuki

Ryokan

“The winds give me Enough fallen leaves To make a fire”. –Ryokan

Matsuo Basho

“Seek not the paths of the ancients; Seek that which the ancients sought”. –Matsuo Basho

Emperor Hirohito

“I was told that the iron from bomb fragments dropped by the enemy was being used to make shovels. This confirmed my opinion that we were no longer in a position to continue the war”. –Emperor Hirohito