Tomihiko Morimi > Quotes

“This isn't my story, but hers.
In a world full of actors trying to cunningly maneuver themselves into the lead role, she was the star of that night without even trying. She didn't realize it then, and she probably still hasn't.
This is a chronicle of her majestic journey through an alcohol-steeped night and my distress at failing to secure the lead role and making do with my existence as a pebble by the wayside.
Wise readers, relish both her cuteness and my stupidity; savor the exquisite and subtle flavor of life, not unlike that of almond tofu.
I hope you will cheer her on.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, 夜は短し步けよ乙女 [Yoru wa mijikashi aruke yo otome]

“Terayama Shuuji once said “Throw away your books, rally in the streets”.
But back then, I thought — rally in the streets, and then what?”
― Tomihiko Morimi, 四畳半神話大系

“Times like these, you can't be shy. Crashing the celebrations of a stranger is a do-or-die challenge; a moment's hesitation can be fatal. You have to infiltrate the very heart of the event, practically force everyone to get excited, and destroy their completely justified doubts of Who is this person?”
― Tomihiko Morimi, 夜は短し步けよ乙女 [Yoru wa mijikashi aruke yo otome]

“Most of our distress begins when we imagine how different life should have been. Entrusting your hopes to something as flimsy as your possibilities is the root of all evil.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Tatami Galaxy

“When your chance comes, don’t miss it. When it comes, you can’t go idly doing the same things you’ve always done. Be bold, and try seizing your chance by doing sometimes completely different. If you do that, your dissatisfaction will disappear, and you be able to walk down a new path.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Tatami Galaxy

“You don’t need to bend over backward, buddy,” the boy said, leaning against a bookshelf. “There’s no reason you have to read intimidating books. Don’t try so hard — just enjoy the chance meetings.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl

“It's about living without letting your feet touch the ground. Then you can fly.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl

“It’s strange if you think about it, isn’t it? Before being given life in this world, we were dust. Then once we die, we return to dust. We’re dust for a much longer period of time than we’re human. Which actually means it’s normal to be dead, and being alive is a brief exception. Why are we so afraid of death?”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl

“He didn't take any sort of action but boldly specialized in simply living his life. That was either a gentlemanly manner maintained by formidable self-control or the height of idiocy.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Tatami Galaxy

“That’s where the ends of the earth are,” he said. “Where?” “The place you think isn’t fair. You can’t do anything about it, right?”
― Tomihiko Morimi, Penguin Highway

“The world at night struck me as a very strange place.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl

“I’m scared to die. I thought it would be less scary as I got older, but it only scares me more.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl

“No matter how fun something is, it always has an end.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, Penguin Highway

“There's nothing so worthless to speak of as a love mature.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Tatami Galaxy

“「私、部屋によけいなものが増えるのは嫌です」

～『太陽の塔』より”
― 森見 登美彦

“The ends of the world were inside the world when it folded in on itself.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, Penguin Highway

“I gazed proudly up at the sky and remembered something Mr. Rihaku had said while we were drinking together, It made me feel so cheerful, I felt I wanted to recite it like a spell to protect me. I murmured it to myself. The night is short - walk on, girl.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, 夜は短し步けよ乙女 [Yoru wa mijikashi aruke yo otome]

“Sulking like a sad piece of over-grilled mochi.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl

“Far from goodwill, I’m surrounded by the folly of youth, wet with my tears of self-loathing at my clumsy struggles and whipped around by the storm of love.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl

“若人よ、自分にとっての幸せとは何か、それを問うことこそが前向きな悩み方だ。そしてそれをつねに問い続けるのさえ忘れなければ、人生は有意義なものになる。”
― Tomihiko Morimi

“Most of our distress begins when we imagine how different life should have been. Entrusting your hopes to something as flimsy as your possibilities is the root of all evil. You must accept this you of here and now; you are incapable of becoming anyone else.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Tatami Galaxy

“If I ran away with my tail between my legs now, I’d be a laughingstock for generations to come as a girl who said one thing, then did another.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl

“It’s Christmas everywhere you look!”
“Yeah. Seems fun.”
“Of course, it’s a foreign tradition that has nothing to do with us. But you know, what’s fun is good!”
“I totally agree!”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl

“Waiting for your lover is unbearable
Making your lover wait, more unbearable still
Then what of me, all alone
Neither waiting nor awaited?”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl

“I tried thinking of time as a book,' Akashi said as she looked up into the sky. 'The reason it seems to flow from past to future is that that’s the only way we can experience it. For example, if there were a book here, we wouldn’t be able to grasp all its content at once. All we can do is turn the pages and read them one at a time. But the content itself is already inside the book.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Tatami Time Machine Blues

“But we have no idea what’ll happen in the future. If we know nothing, we can do anything. Maybe that’s what freedom means.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Tatami Time Machine Blues

“... this four-and-a-half-mat tatami room might as well be my brain.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Tatami Galaxy

“So it was that our summer proceeded toward its end. It would never be repeated, and even if we used a time machine, we could never get it back.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Tatami Time Machine Blues: A Novel

“A baby whale rolling over in its sleep could easily flatten me. I imagined these babies must have very big poops. Far larger than mine. Everything about them was impressive.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, Penguin Highway

“There’s nothing so worthless to speak of as a love mature.”
― Tomihiko Morimi, The Tatami Time Machine Blues