The cynicism that you have is not your real soul.

Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you'll start to see a big difference in your life.

Tape the sound of the moon fading at dawn. Give it to your mother to listen to when she's in sorrow.

I saw sorrow turning into clarity.

Some people get medals and awards and all that, and maybe not intentionally - maybe the world is making them do it - but they sort of just follow what they were doing. Repeat or follow what they were doing all their lives, in their style of music or whatever. In my case, I always try to start from scratch. It's very nerve-wracking actually, but it's interesting.

I was born into a very important family in Japan. My grandfather was a descendant of the Emperor, and we were very wealthy.

Every drop in the ocean counts.