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“I’d assumed that once I’d passed the age of twenty, I’d gained the power to do everything alone. But I’d been wrong about that, and this just brought it home to me, again, that I still had a long way to go.”
― Banana Yoshimoto, Moshi Moshi: A Novel

“When we start something new, at first it is very muddy, and clouded. But soon, it becomes a clean stream, whose flows conducts itself quietly, through spontaneous movements.”
― Banana Yoshimoto, Moshi Moshi

“but life went on, even at times like this, and it was surprising how easy it was to keep going as though nothing had changed. i found it strange that i could walk down the street and appear normal, just like anyone else. that i could be in complete turmoil inside, and yet my reflection in a shop window could look the same as it ever had.”
― Banana Yoshimoto, Moshi Moshi

“To tell you the truth, I used to consider it a disgrace to be found ignorant by other people. But now, I find that I am not ashamed of knowing less than others, and I'm less inclined to force myself to read books. In short, I have grown old and decrepit.”
― Natsume Soseki, Kokoro