“They reminded me of the people of my village, their indomitable spirit in the face of disaster, their unshakable belief that no matter what might befall them, life was basically good and the world benign.”

“Shame, however, was what I felt seeping through me as though it stained my white bones black.”

“...What does the blessing of heaven mean? We know the kirin is just an animal, not a mythical creature."It has become a symbol now.... That is the way human beings deal with the world.”

“But just as the river is always at the door, so is the world always outside. And it is in the world that we have to live.”

“..while I was happy enough to pray to any god, knowing that they were simply different faces created by men, of one indivisible truth.”

“How was it possible for the world to be so beautiful and so cruel at the same time?”

“I believe the test of government is the contentment of the people.”