“Küsides, mille nimel ta elab, muutub iga inimene rahutuks ja võib end isegi tappa. Mulle piisab ainuüksi sellest, etolemas olla. Kas kahtlus iseenda eksistentsi pärast ei teki just liigsest rahuolematusest, et ei elata täiel rinnal?”

“J'éprouvais le besoin de commencer à vivre. Commencer à vivre ma vraie vie ? Même si ce devait être une simple mascarade et pas du tout ma vraie vie, le temps était venu où il me fallait prendre le départ et s'avancer en traînant lourdement mes pas.”

“Me ei muutu. Arvame, et muutume, kuid see pole nii. Mõni sündmus või inimene võib meis esile tuua joone, millest varem keegi teadlik polnud. Need jooned on alati meie sees olemas, me lihtsalt ei märka neid. Ei märka sedagi, mis väljaspool. Maskid piiravad vaatevälja. Ometi jätab iga inimene, kellega viivuks või aastateks kokku satume, sellele maskile oma kriimu. Mõni inimene kriimustab seda nii tugevalt, et mask hoopiski eest pudeneb. Neile tuleb tänulik olla. Nad päästavad meid.”

“That was mere probing, my eye was really turned on an invisible realm far beyond the horizon. What is it to see the invisible? That is the ultimate vision, the denial at the end of all seeing, the eye`s denial of itself.”

“Japanese people today think of money, just money: Where is our national spirit today? The Jieitai must be the soul of Japan. … The nation has no spiritual foundation. That is why you don’t agree with me. You will just be American mercenaries. There you are in your tiny world. You do nothing for Japan. … I salute the Emperor. Long live the emperor!”

“Young people get the foolish idea that what is new for them must be new for everybody else too. No matter how unconventional they get, they're just repeating what others before them have done.”

“Real danger is nothing more than just living. Of course, living is merely the chaos of existence, but more than that it's a crazy mixed-up business of dismantling existence instant by instant to the point where the original chaos is restored, and taking strength from the uncertainty and the fear that chaos brings to re-create existence instant by instant. You won't find another job as dangerous as that. There isn't any fear in existence itself, or any uncertainty, but living creates it.”