Quotessence
Home / Books / Sanshirō

Sanshirō

Book by Natsume Sōseki · 9 quotes · Japan, Meiji, Freedom

Filter quotes by topic

AllJapanMeijiFreedomSanshiroTurn Of The CenturyEnlightenmentFin De SiecleJapanese LiteratureLiteratureModernNatsume SosekiNovelPolitical LiberationPoliticsSocial HegemonyWesternAcademiaArtificialCharactersCosmopolitan

Sanshirō Quotes

“Tokyo is bigger than Kumamoto. And Japan is bigger than Tokyo. And even bigger than Japan... Even bigger than Japan is the inside of your head. Don't ever surrender yourself ― not to Japan, not to anything. You may think that what you're doing is for the sake of the nation, but let something take possession of you like that, and all you do is bring it down.”

InspirationalWisdomInspirational QuotesLife LessonsFreedomIndependenceJapanIndependent ThoughtIndependent ThinkingThinking Outside The Box
Book:Sanshirō
Create image

“When I was a student, there wasn't a single thing we did that was unrelated to others. It was all for the Emperor, or parents, or the country, or society—everything was other-centered, which means that all educated men were hypocrites. When society changed, this hypocrisy ceased to work, and as a result, self-centeredness was gradually imported into thought and action, and egoism became enormously over-developed. Instead of the old hypocrites, now all we've got are out-and-out rogues. Do you see what I mean by that?”

LiteraturePoliticsFreedomNovelModernEnlightenmentTraditionWesternJapanIndividualismEgoismSelf CenterednessMeijiTurn Of The CenturyFin De SieclePolitical LiberationSocial Hegemony
Book:Sanshirō
Create image

“The call for political freedom took place long ago. The call for freedom of speech is also a thing of the past. Freedom is not a word to be used exclusively for phenomena such as this which are so easily given outward manifestation. I believe that we young men of the new age have encountered the moment in time when we must call for that great freedom, the freedom of the mind.”

LiteraturePoliticsFreedomNovelEnlightenmentWesternJapanMeijiTurn Of The CenturyFin De SieclePolitical LiberationSocial Hegemony
Book:Sanshirō
Create image

“...He said defensively, "But from now on, Japan is sure to develop." "Japan's headed for a fall," the man said coolly. Say a thing like that in Kumamoto and you'd get a punch in the nose, or be called a traitor. The atmosphere Sanshiro grew up in left no room in his head for such an idea. Just because he was young, was the man having some fun at his expense? The man kept on grinning. Yet his way of talking was perfectly composed. Not knowing what to think, Sanshiro held his tongue. His companion went on, "Tokyo is bigger than Kumamoto. Japan is bigger than Tokyo. And what's bigger than Japan is..." He paused and looked at Sanshiro, who was listening intently. "...the inside of your head. That's bigger than Japan. Don't let yourself get bogged down. You may believe your way of thinking is for the good of the nation, but you could actually be bringing it down." When he heard this, Sanshiro felt he had indeed left Kumamoto. And he realized, too, what a small person his Kumamoto self had been.”

JapanModernismJapanese LiteratureMeijiTurn Of The Century
Book:Sanshirō
Create image