The Meiji state truly set out in a good direction.

The greatness of human beings lies in our ability to change ourselves through our own will.

To live with purpose means to live each day with clarity.

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

After victory, tighten the cords of your helmet.

-- Toyotomi Hideyoshi's chief strategist and the architect of his greatest victories

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

If the cuckoo will not sing, kill it.

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

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