I didn't read so much Japanese literature. Because my father was a teacher of Japanese literature, I just wanted to do something else.

I think history is collective memories. In writing, I'm using my own memory, and I'm using my collective memory.

I think people who share my dreams can enjoy reading my novels. And that's a wonderful thing. I said that myths are like a reservoir of stories, and if I can act as a similar kind of "reservoir," albeit a modest one, that would make me very happy.

Young people these days don't trust anything at all. They want to be free.

Somewhere in his body--perhaps in the marrow of his bones--he would continue to feel her absence.

When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.

Anyone who falls in love is searching for the missing pieces of themselves.