Courage without prudence is mere recklessness.

A few disciplined men are worth more than a disorganized multitude.

Valor is of no service, chance rules all, and the bravest often fall by the hands of cowards.

Youth on horseback has passed. The world is at peace and white hairs multiply. With what remains of life that heaven permits, how can I not enjoy it?

-- The 'One-Eyed Dragon' of northern Japan who carved

I fight my enemies with swords, not with salt.

-- The 'Dragon of Echigo' — a Sengoku-era warlord whose devotion to righteous warfare and Buddhist faith made him Japan's most paradoxical military figure

Can you call yourself human if you forget your debts of loyalty and pursue only selfish gain?

-- Called 'the greatest warrior in Japan' by his enem

People are the castle, people are the walls, people are the moat. Compassion makes allies; cruelty makes enemies.

-- The 'Tiger of Kai' who transformed his landlocked mountain domain into one of Sengoku Japan's most formidable military powers

Wisdom that comes only after hearing others' opinions is not true wisdom.

-- The peasant who became ruler of all Japan

Without first establishing internal governance, there can be no external campaigns.

-- The ruthlessly effective architect of modern Japan who built the Meiji state's institutions while his more charismatic peers took the glory