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Quote by Eiji Yoshikawa

“I seem to hear thousands of voices--the voices of the common folk in the marketplace--urging me to go forward and do what must be done. More is at stake now than my life. On me turns the future of the warriors. Let's not quibble longer, lest this rare opportunity slip through my fingers.”

Author

Eiji Yoshikawa

Eiji Yoshikawa was a distinguished Japanese novelist renowned for his historical novels. Born on August 11, 1892, in Tokyo, he was a prolific writer who delved into various facets of Japanese history and culture. Yoshikawa's works frequently portrayed the struggles and victories of ordinary individuals against the backdrop of significant historical events. His writing style was marked by its vivid descriptions and emotional depth, which struck a chord with a broad audience. He passed away on September 7, 1962. more

“How was Gengo to know, Saigyo reflected, that this unheroic existence imposed even greater torment than the icy lashings of the Nachi Falls in its thousand-foot leap? How was Gengo to realize that Saigyo had not slept a single night undisturbed since he had fled his home for the Eastern Hills, that his sleep was haunted by the cries of his beloved daughter from whom he had torn himself. Who knew that during the day, when he went about his tasks of drawing water and chopping wood as he composed verses, the sighting of the wind in the treetops of the valleys below and the pines surrounding the temple sounded to him like the mourning of his young wife, and so troubled his nights that sleep no longer visited him? Never again would Saigyo find peace. He had wrenched asunder the living boughs of the tree that was his life. Remorse and compassion for his loved ones would dog him to the end of his days.”

Japanese Literature The Heike Story

Author:Eiji Yoshikawa

“Call them robbers and cutthroats--were they not amiable enough when they had sufficient to fill their bellies? Something was out of joint in a world that drove these men to steal.”

Japanese Literature The Heike Story Taira No Kiyomori

Book:The Heike Story: A Modern Translation of the Classic Tale of Love and War

Source: The Heike Story: A Modern Translation of the Classic Tale of Love and War

“Is that so? He who lives in the mountains years for the city, and the city-dweller would rather live in the mountains," the Abbot chuckled, "and nothing is ever to one's liking...”

Japanese Literature The Heike Story

Book:The Heike Story: A Modern Translation of the Classic Tale of Love and War

Source: The Heike Story: A Modern Translation of the Classic Tale of Love and War

“Here--you warriors--why this moaning and complaining? Have you no more sense than toads and vipers? Our time hasn't come. Have you no patience? Are we not the 'trodden weed' still? The time is not yet here for us to raise our heads. Must you still complain?”