Toru Watanabe Quotes

What a terrible thing it is to wound someone you really care for and to do it so unconsciously. ~ Haruki Murakami

Like Naokuo, I'm not really sure what it means to love another person. Though she meant it a little differently. I do want to try my best though. I have to, or else I won't know where to go. Like you said before, Naoko and I have to save each other. It's the only was for us to be saved! ~ Haruki Murakami

I don't want our relationship to end like this. You're one of the very few friends I have, and it hurts not being able to see you. When am I going to be able to talk to you? I want you to tell me that much, at least. ~ Haruki Murakami

I knew I should be doing some serious thinking, but I had no idea how to go about it. And, to tell the truth, thinking was the last thing I wanted to do. The time would come soon enough when I had no choice in the matter, and when that time came I would take a good long time to think things over. Not now, though. Not now. ~ Toru Watanabe

With the advent of winter, her eyes seemed to take on a greater transparency, a transparency that lead nowhere. Occassionally, for no particular reason, Naoko would gaze into my eyes as if searching for something. Each time I was filled with odd sensations of lonliness and inadequecy. ~ Haruki Murakami

Do you know the story of the monkeys of the shitty island?" I asked Nobory Wataya.
He shook his head, with no sign of interest. "Never heard of it".
"Somewhere, far, far away, there's a shitty island. An island without a name. An island not worth giving a name. A shitty island with shitty shape. On this shitty island grow palm trees that also have shitty shapes. And the palm trees produce coconuts that give off a shitty smell. Shitty monkeys live in the trees, and they love to eat these shitty-smelling coconuts,after which they shit the world's foulest shit. The shit falls on the ground and builds up shitty mounds, making the shitty palm trees that grow on them even shittier. It's an endless cycle."
I drank the rest of my coffee.
"As I sat here looking at you," I continued, " I suddenly remembered the story of this shitty island. What I'm trying to say is this. A certain kind of shittiness, a certain kind of stagnation, a certain kind of darkness, goes on propagating itself by its own power in its own self-contained cycle. And once it passed a certain point, no one can stop it -even if the person himself want to stop it. ~ Haruki Murakami

I don't go out of my way to make friends, that's all. ~ Haruki Murakami

Nobody likes being alone that much. I don't go out of my way to make friends, that's all. It just leads to disappointment. ~ Haruki Murakami

I could do just about anything if somebody made me. But I don't have an image of the one thing I really want to do. That's my problem now. I can't find the image ... I'm standing still, and I can't find the image.
- Toru ~ Haruki Murakami

In 1977, I climbed a fairly difficult mountain for the first time, which was Mount McKinley, in Alaska. I climbed the so-called 'American Direct Route,' which was a route straight up to the top. I really enjoyed it. Through such experiences, I learned that mountaineering wasn't just about height. I found that different routes have different charms. ~ Tamae Watanabe

It's the most extraordinary and saddest thing, the amount of talent out there not being seen. ~ Gedde Watanabe

I'm going bald. I'm having a major problem with it. ~ Gedde Watanabe

There is no other city as vulgar and obscene as Osaka. We should celebrate the image and welcome the development of casinos and red-light districts to attract people. ~ Toru Hashimoto

There's no end to the process of learning about the Toyota Way. I don't think I have a complete understanding even today, and I have worked for the company for 43 years. ~ Katsuaki Watanabe

I still feel like there are a lot of things in me that people haven't seen. My soul hasn't been bared yet. ~ Gedde Watanabe

The reason for not getting married was that I just didn't have a partner to get married to. Climbing mountains was more attractive to me than marriage, or other fun things like that. ~ Tamae Watanabe

If the script is good, the cast and director good, I'll go anywhere. ~ Ken Watanabe

The Healing spells on his chest were certainly earning their keep tonight. Sullivan got to his feet. The lack of noise from the courtyard indicated that his team had gotten all the mechanical men. "Thanks."

Toru just grunted a noncommittal response as he lifted the feed tray to check the condition of his borrowed machine gun. They didn't see the final robot inside until it turned on its eye and illuminated the Iron Guard in blue light.

Sullivan's Spike reversed gravity, and the gigantic machine fell upward to hit the steel beams in the ceiling. Sullivan cut his Power and the robot dropped. It crashed hard into the floor where it lay twitching and kicking. The two of them riddled the mechanical man with bullets until the light died and it lay still in a spreading puddle of oil.

"Normally, this would be the part where you thank me for returning the favor and saving your life."

"Yes. Normally… If we were court ladies instead of warriors," Toru answered. "Shall we continue onward or do you wish to stop and discuss your feelings over tea?"

Sullivan looked forward to the day that the two of them would be able to finish their fight. "Let's go. ~ Larry Correia

The art music of the West has developed through out its history by means of individual geniuses, and out of the soil supporting them; non-Western musicians were born, and grew like the grasses of the field. ~ Toru Takemitsu

The words "I should have done this back then" are a curse. Whenever they come up, they tangle around your heart and keep you from moving. They bring up all the baggage you carry and dull your emotions. From this point on is a domain where your emotions can't be dull... "I want to get faster", "I want to beat him", "This is fun"... "I want to move forward". You need to have only pure feelings like that, if you want to reach that domain! ~ Wataru Watanabe

Look at television and how comparatively few minorities are out there. ~ Gedde Watanabe

I'll just be the first to say that Ken [Watanabe] should be a national treasure in Japan, because he is an unbelievably talented actor. You couldn't find more of a gentleman. He's sweet, he's kind and he's extremely thoughtful in the work that he does. ~ Leonardo DiCaprio

Each director is different. Clint Eastwood and Chris Nolan are completely different, and I need to adjust to the story and character and the director and just my duty as an actor. ~ Ken Watanabe

Now get this straight, Watanabe," said Midori, pointing at me. "I'm warning you, I've got a whole month's worth of misery crammed inside me and getting ready to blow. So watch what you say to me. Any more of that kind of stuff and I'll flood this place with tears. Once I get started, I'm good for the whole night. Are you ready for that? I'm an absolute animal when I start crying, it doesn't matter where I am! I'm not joking. ~ Haruki Murakami

At the suggestion of Professor Itaru Watanabe, and with his help, I left Japan at the age of twenty-three to pursue graduate study at the University of California at San Diego. ~ Susumu Tonegawa

Every child is a gifted child, ~ Toru Kumon

There are always many sides to the truth. ~ Ken Watanabe

Toru: What happens when people open their hearts?
Reiko: They get better. ~ Haruki Murakami

Well, only Japanese may understand it, but I'm like a goat or something that likes high places. ~ Tamae Watanabe

I am a gardener of infinite time. ~ Toru Takemitsu

By admitting a new perception of space and giving it an active sense, is it not possible to discover a new unexpected, unexplored world? ~ Toru Takemitsu

I go to see the clothes [I designed] in the shops, and of course they're not perfect, and I see only the imperfections. But it doesn't mean it's a failure-you just think, I wish it could be better than this. Sometimes I cannot achieve what I really want to do in just one collection, so in the following collection I do it again. There are certain things I've been working on for three years. ~ Junya Watanabe

I always want to write erotic music ... Not only about the love between men and women, but in a much more universal sense - about the sensuality of the mechanism of the universe ... about life. ~ Toru Takemitsu

In Sugamo, Louie asked his escort what had happened to the Bird. He was told that it was believed that the former sergeant, hunted, exiled and in despair, had stabbed himself to death.
The words washed over Louie. In prison camp, Watanabe had forced him to live in incomprehensible degradation and violence. Bereft of his dignity, Louie had come home to a life lost in darkness, and had dashed himself against the memory of the Bird. But on an October night in Los Angeles, Louie had found, in Payton Jordan's words, "daybreak." That night, the sense of shame and powerlessness that had driven his hate the Bird had vanished. The Bird was no longer his monster. He was only a man.
In Sugamo Prison, as he was told of Watanabe's fate, all Louie saw was a lost person, a life beyond redemption. He felt something that he had never felt fro his captor before. With a shiver of amazement, he realized that it was compassion.
At that moment, something shifted swiftly inside him. It was forgiveness, beautiful and effortless and complete. For Louie Zamperini, the was was over. ~ Laura Hillenbrand

Where Watanabe and I are alike is we don't give a damn if nobody understands us ... That's what makes us different from everybody else. They're all worried about whether the people around them understand them. But not me, and not Watanabe. We just don't give a damn. Self and others are separate. ~ Haruki Murakami

From the moment that Watanabe locked eyes with Louie Zamperini, an officer, a famous Olympian, and a man for whom defiance was second nature, no man obsessed him more. ~ Laura Hillenbrand

And my inability to share this anger with anybody in the lobby aroused in me a profound sense of isolation. - Toru Okada ~ Haruki Murakami

Composition gives proper meaning to the natural streams of sound that penetrate the world. ~ Toru Takemitsu

I probably belong to a type of composer of songs who keeps thinking about melody ... I am old fashioned. ~ Toru Takemitsu

There's something in the moment when you can make them laugh or cry and show and incredibly compassionate side of life. I find that a really exemplary way to live. ~ Gedde Watanabe

From my travel blog @http://www.lwmcferrin.com/travel
When faced with disaster, the best medicine is laughter. ~ Linda Watanabe McFerrin

I have climbed Everest from the Nepal route and the China route. The other routes are too hard for me. So I don't think I can climb Everest again. ~ Tamae Watanabe

We as children went up the mountain to find feed for livestock, like goats, cows and horses, and because in the winter time we would light the fire in the house, we would climb the mountain to collect firewood as well. Because of that, I suppose I became used to climbing mountains. ~ Tamae Watanabe

About half the scripts sent to me feature characters I just can't identify with, particularly one-dimensional businessmen or, if it's a comedy, some absurd 10-year-old Japanese stereotype, some role related to IT or business ... There's no point in getting mad about it; it's just the way things are. ~ Ken Watanabe

So I made up my mind I was going to find someone who would love me unconditionally three hundred and sixty-five days a year.
Watanabe: Wow, and did your search pay off?
M: That's the hard part. I guess I've been waiting so long I'm looking for perfection. That makes it tough. ~ Haruki Murakami

Remember, I will always be in front of you. ~ Ken Watanabe

I've got a big mole on my butt. It's true. ~ Gedde Watanabe

I have no sense of myself as a sex symbol at all. But the meaning of sex symbol might be a little different in Japan to elsewhere. The Japanese version seems to come with a stronger emphasis on a sort of grownup or mature male charm. And if that's the case, then I guess I'm happy to hear it. ~ Ken Watanabe