Japanese novelist (1892-1962)
Every act is an expression of one's self.
EIJI YOSHIKAWA
Musashi
The line between life and death is not thicker than an eyelid.
EIJI YOSHIKAWA
Way of Life and Death
If a man wanted to put the entire universe in his breast, he couldn't do it with his chest stuck out.
EIJI YOSHIKAWA
Taiko
To the courtiers flushed with wine, life was pleasure, and pleasure life.
EIJI YOSHIKAWA
The Heike Story
All the events of that drink-sodden evening drifted back in snatches. More vividly than all these he recalled that room in the brothel--the dark, tangled hair and the warm, limp limbs. What did it matter whether she was a beauty of a hag? He was twenty and had tasted for the first time of a strange, unforgettable sweetness, an ecstasy that flooded all his senses with amazement.
EIJI YOSHIKAWA
The Heike Story
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.
EIJI YOSHIKAWA
The Heike Story
Monks transgress the Laws of the Buddha, stir up the common people, store wealth and weapons, and spread rumors; under the guise of religion, they are nothing more than self-serving agitators.
EIJI YOSHIKAWA
Taiko
Love was like a toothache.
EIJI YOSHIKAWA
Musashi
He had no desire to be anybody's idol. Still, they were here to express their goodwill. There was no way to stop them. Some, he felt, understood him. For their good wishes he was grateful.
EIJI YOSHIKAWA
Way of Life and Death
The flesh and blood and passions clouded her eyes with sadness and fear. She had started to run away, but after twenty paces, her love caught and held her.
EIJI YOSHIKAWA
The Way of the Sword