Cosmic time is the same for everyone, but human time differs with each person. Time flows in the same way for all human beings; every human being flows through time in a different way.

Because you cannot see him, God is everywhere.

Put your soul in the palm of my hand for me to look at, like a crystal jewel. I'll sketch it in words.

The labor into which a heart has poured its whole love--where will it have its say, to excite and inspire, and when?

And I can't complain. After all, only women are able really to love.

The road was frozen. The village lay quiet under the cold sky. Komako hitched up the skirt of her kimono and tucked it into her obi. The moon shone like a blade frozen in blue ice.

The true joy of a moonlit night is something we no longer understand. Only the men of old, when there were no lights, could understand the true joy of a moonlit night.