As much as any contemporary writer, Murakami grasps the…

“How was Gengo to know, Saigyo reflected, that this unheroic existence imposed even greater torment than the icy lashings of the Nachi Falls in…

— Eiji Yoshikawa

“When you're in an extreme situation you tend to avoid facing it by getting caught up in little details. Like a guy who's decided…

— Ryū Murakami

“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…

— Yukio Mishima

“…Her desire was close to that of the person who drowns himself; he does not necessarily covet death so much as what comes after…

— Yukio Mishima

“Just before I fell asleep, I had a moment of panic ...”

— Ryu Murakami

“In the ashes on the hearth Saigyo traced and retraced the word, "pity." He had yet to learn to accept life with all its…

— Eiji Yoshikawa

“Die? Then so be it.”

— Eiji Yoshikawa

“I recall the months and years I spent as the intimate of someone whose affections have now faded like cherry blossoms scattering even before…

— Anonymous

“Pero éste no es su Dios. Es mi Dios. Lo he aprendido porque he sacrificado mi vida, porque me han lacerado la carne y…

— Haruki Murakami

“…In the very simplicity of her desire to punish herself appeared egoism in its purest form. Never before had this woman who seemed to…

— Yukio Mishima

“Procurar placer a una mujer es exponerte a cien sinsabores sin un solo beneficio.”

— Yukio Mishima

“今日、短い午睡から目覚めたとき、《顔のない男》が私の前にいた。 Hoy, al despertar de la pequeña siesta vespertina, el "hombre sin rostro" se encontraba enfrente de mi.”

— Haruki Murakami

“I can only bow to the will of the heaven, but not to the will of these men.”

— Eiji Yoshikawa

“When they heard that someone was full figured and liked cooking & eating, most men imagined someone who was quiet and domestic; someone whose…

— Asako Yuzuki

“He invited me to his apartment in the wee hours one morning and pulled out a set of children's building blocks. It seems he…

— Ryū Murakami