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.

Covetousness, anger and foolishness are things to sort out well. When bad things happen in the world, if you look at them comparatively, they are not unrelated to these three things.

When one is writing a letter, he should think that the recipient will make it into a hanging scroll.

A warrior is worthless unless he rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm.

One should make his decisions within the space of seven breaths.

The saying 'the arts aid the body' is for samurai of other regions. For samurai of the Nabeshima clan the arts bring ruin to the body.

There is not a man who does not get senile by the time he reaches sixty. And when one thinks that he will not be senile, he is already so.