Forgetting is the natural grace that time bestows.

History is a chain of wills attempting to transmit something.

If the cuckoo will not sing, I shall make it want to sing.

-- The peasant who became ruler of all Japan

Life is like a long journey carrying a heavy burden. Never hurry.

-- The founder of Japan's Tokugawa shogunate

If the cuckoo will not sing, wait until it does.

-- The founder of Japan's Tokugawa shogunate

A human life of fifty years, compared to the span beneath heaven, is nothing but a dream, an illusion.

-- The revolutionary warlord who dismantled feudal Japan's medieval order and launched the country toward unification

Without detachment, one cannot clarify purpose; without tranquility, one cannot reach far.

-- The legendary chancellor and military strategist of the Shu Han kingdom during China's Three Kingdoms period

I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me.

-- The dominant warlord of China's Three Kingdoms era