Seiji Yamamoto Quotes

When my youngest daughter got married, I designed her wedding dress and I really let my imagination and energy go crazy! All the journalists seemed to love that dress. ~ Kansai Yamamoto

I am sorry I couldn't complete my term as leader. It is necessary for my staff to resign ... to regain the people's trust. ~ Seiji Maehara

At a certain point, I stopped seeing my clothing worn by people on the streets ... It seemed like they were being treated as museum items. ~ Yohji Yamamoto

If one is secure at the foundation, he will not be pained by departure from minor details or affairs that are contrary to expectation. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

I have found that the Way of the samurai is death. This means that when you are compelled to choose between life and death, you must quickly choose death. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Only when you constantly live as though already a corpse (jōjū shinimi) will you be able to find freedom in the martial Way, and fulfill your duties without fault throughout your life. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

I always want to have a new challenge involved. I need to put myself to the test, and if I make mistakes, it doesn't matter. What matters to me, instead, is making my dreams come true and putting them on display. ~ Yohji Yamamoto

With regards to the way of death, if you are prepared to die at any time, you will be able to meet your release from life with equanimity. As calamities are usually not as bad as anticipated beforehand, it is foolhardy to feel anxiety about tribulations not yet endured. Just accept that the worst possible fate for a man in service is to become a rōnin, or death by seppuku. Then nothing will faze you. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

If one thinks only of winning, a sordid victory will be worse than a defeat. For the most part, it becomes a squalid defeat. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Feeling deeply the difference between oneself and others, bearing ill will, and falling out with people - these things come from a heart that lacks compassion. If one wraps up everything with a heart of compasion, there will be no coming into conflict with people. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Tether even a roasted chicken. ~ Tsunetomo Yamamoto

The best moments in my life are just before going to bed. Those are my happiest moments. ~ Yohji Yamamoto

To desire with one's very soul every second of every day to accomplish one's aim. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Personally, I like to sleep. And I intend to appropriately confine myself more and more to my living quarters and pass my life away sleeping. ~ Tsunetomo Yamamoto

The fate of the Empire rests on this enterprise. Every man must devote himself totally to the task in hand. ~ Isoroku Yamamoto

I will resign as party leader to take full responsibility for troubling the public and party supporters. ~ Seiji Maehara

As long as people overlook matters, then inferiors can, without any fear, lead an easy and peaceful life. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

It is said that what is called "the spirit of an age" is something to which one cannot return. That this spirit gradually dissipates is due to the world's coming to an end. For this reason, although one would like to change today's world back to the spirit of one hundred years or more ago, it cannot be done. Thus it is important to make the best out of every generation. ~ Tsunetomo Yamamoto

No matter if the enemy has thousands of men, there is fulfillment in simply standing them off and being determined to cut them all down, starting from one end. ~ Tsunetomo Yamamoto

There is also a schedule to fashion - the deadline is always set. So maybe the fashion business is a good business for me in that way because I'm basically lazy, man. ~ Yohji Yamamoto

What is good for the bad, and what is bad for the good. ~ Seiji Kaneko

While having policy debate, we need to hold the race in a way to attract people toward the DPJ. ~ Seiji Maehara

There are few people who will make mistakes with fire after having once been burned. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

To give a person an opinion one must first judge well whether that person is of the disposition to receive it or not. ~ Tsunetomo Yamamoto

A samurai will use a toothpick even though he has not eaten. Inside the skin of a dog, outside the hide of a tiger. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

It is spiritless to think that you cannot attain to that which you have seen and heard the masters attain. The masters are men. You are also a man. If you think that you will be inferior in doing something, you will be on that road very soon. ~ Tsunetomo Yamamoto

Depending on one's point of view, Hagakure represents a mystical beauty intrinsic to the Japanese aesthetic experience, and a stoic but profound appreciation of the meaning of life and death. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

The only things that move their hearts are tragedies that affect them personally or affect people close to them. ~ Hiroshi Yamamoto

If you are slain in battle, you should be resolved to have your corpse facing the enemy. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Japan would never invade the United States. We would find a rifle behind every blade of grass. ~ Isoroku Yamamoto

Be true to the thought of the moment and avoid distraction. Other than continuing to exert yourself, enter into nothing else, but go to the extent of living single thought by single thought. ~ Tsunetomo Yamamoto

Fashion sighs after trends. I want timeless elegance.
Fashion has no time. I do. I say: Hello Lady, how can I help you?
Fashion has no time to even ask such a question, because it is constantly concerned with finding out: What will come next?
It is more about helping women to suffer less, to attain more freedom and independence. ~ Yohji Yamamoto

When meeting difficult situations, one should dash forward bravely and with joy. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Every day without fail one should consider himself as dead. There is a saying of the elders that goes, 'Step from under the eaves and you're a dead man. Leave the gate and the enemy is waiting.' This is not a matter of being careful. It is to consider oneself as dead beforehand. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo

To be modern is to tear the soul out of every thing ~ Yohji Yamamoto

Death comes when memories are lost. ~ Hiroshi Yamamoto

Dirty, stained, withered, broken things seem beautiful to me. ~ Yohji Yamamoto

One must know the so-called 'lesson of a downpour.' A man, caught in a sudden rain en route, dashes along the road not to get wet or drenched. Once one takes it for granted that in rain he naturally gets wet, he can be in a tranquil frame of mind even when soaked to the skin. This lesson applies to everything. ~ Yamamoto Tsunetomo