Every man has his destiny. But who needs to go to a fortune-teller to find it? Do I go to a chef to find out if I'm hungry?

In the instant before the door opened, I could almost sense my life expanding just like a river whose waters have begun to swell; for I had never before taken such a drastic step to change the course of my own future. I was like a child tiptoeing along a precipice overlooking the sea. And yet somehow I hadn't imagined a great wave might come and strike me there, and wash everything away.

Flowers that grow where old ones have withered serve to remind us that death will one day come to us all.

Friendship is a precious thing, Sayuri. One mustn't throw it away.

All at once I felt so vain, like a girl posturing for the crowds as she walks along, only to discover the street is empty.

It was what we Japanese called the onion life, peeling away a layer at a time and crying all the while.

The swan who goes on living in its parents' tree will die; this is why those who are beautiful and talented bear the burden of finding their own way in the world.