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Quote by Yukio Mishima

“Held in the custody of childhood is a locked chest; the adolescent, by one means or another, tries to open it. The chest is opened: inside, there is nothing. So he reaches a conclusion: the treasure chest is always like this, empty. From this point on, he gives priority to this assumption of his rather than to his reality. In other words, he is now a “grown-up.” Yet was the chest really empty? Wasn’t there something vital, something invisible to the eye, that got away at the very moment it was opened?”

Book:Acts of Worship: Seven Stories

Work

Acts of Worship: Seven Stories

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Author

Yukio Mishima

Yukio Mishima was a Japanese author and playwright, a prominent figure in post-war Japanese literature. His works, characterized by a fusion of traditional Japanese aesthetics and modernist techniques, often explored themes of tradition, ritual, and the samurai code. more

“It’s odd how one’s memories of youth turn out so bleak. Why does the business of growing up—one’s recollections of growth itself—have to be so tragic? I still haven’t found the answer. I doubt if anybody has. When I finally reach that stage at which the placid wisdom of old age... occasionally descends on a person, then I too may suddenly discover that I understand. But I doubt whether, by that time, understanding will have much point.”

Japanese Literature

Book:Acts of Worship: Seven Stories

Source: Acts of Worship: Seven Stories

“Le persone che si lasciano incantare, che seguono in massa qualcuno che non produce niente, non capisce niente, ma parla bene in maniera persuasiva. A queste persone non passa neanche per l’anticamera del cervello che potrebbero sbagliarsi. Non riescono neanche a immaginare che possono ferire qualcuno irreparabilmente, senza motivo. Non si assumono la minima responsabilità degli effetti della loro condotta. Sono loro, quelli di cui ho paura. Sono loro quelli che vedo in sogno. Nel sogno tutto tace, e mi appaiono delle persone senza volto. Il silenzio si infiltra ovunque come acqua fredda, e in quel silenzio, tutto si scioglie.”

Japan Japanese Literature Murakami

Book:The Elephant Vanishes

Source: The Elephant Vanishes

“Pero éste no es su Dios. Es mi Dios. Lo he aprendido porque he sacrificado mi vida, porque me han lacerado la carne y desgarrado la piel, chupado la sangra, arrancado las uñas y despojado de mi tiempo, mis ilusiones, y recuerdos. No es un Dios con forma. No viste de blanco ni luce largas barbas. No tiene doctrina, libro sagrado o preceptos. No recompensa ni castiga. No concede ni arrebata. No ha dispuesto un Cielo al que subir ni un Infierno al que caer. Dios, simplemente, está ahí, haga frío o no.”

Japanese Literature 1q84 3

Book:1Q84

Source: 1Q84