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

We can never flee the misery that is within us.

Couldn't the wrong sort of living turn anyone mean? I remembered very well that one day back in Yoroido, a boy pushed me into a thorn bush near the pond. By the time I clawed my way out I was mad enough to bite through wood. If a few minutes of suffering could make me so angry, what would years of it do? Even stone can be worn down with enough rain.

Those of us with water in our personalities don't pick where we'll flow to. All we can do is flow where the landscape of our lives carries us

I don't think any of us can speak frankly about pain until we are no longer enduring it.

Well, a peach has a lovely taste and so does a mushroom, but you can't put the two together.

A geisha has studied a man's moods and his seasons. She fusses and he blooms.