Quotes that save your heart in times of pain or hardship
Everyone, regardless of generation—whether it’s relationships, work, or for students, entrance exams and club activities—has some kind of worry.
When you can’t feel positive or you feel like throwing everything away, what can you do to bounce back? This time, we’ve compiled a list of quotes that will stay by your side during tough times.
From words that accept who you are right now to those that help shift your mindset forward, we’re sharing a wide range.
We hope you’ll find a quote that rescues your heart.
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Quotes that save your heart in tough and painful times (51–60)
Nature is an impartial and merciless enemy. Society is an unjust enemy with human sentiment.Soseki Natsume
Let me introduce a famous quote by Natsume Sōseki: “Nature is a fair yet ruthless enemy.
Society is an unjust yet compassionate enemy.” Natsume Sōseki was a Japanese novelist and scholar of English literature.
His major works include I Am a Cat, Botchan, Sanshirō, And Then, Kokoro, and Light and Darkness.
This line—“Nature is a fair yet ruthless enemy.
Society is an unjust yet compassionate enemy.”—appears in his work Reminiscences.
It’s a quote that encourages us not to underestimate nature and to prepare for natural disasters.
Earthquakes will strike again and again. To prevent severe damage, we will build parks and roads.Shinpei Gotō
I would like to introduce a famous quote left by Shinpei Goto: “Earthquakes will come again and again.
To prevent great damage, we must build parks and roads.” From this saying, one can sense his conviction to protect human life.
Shinpei Goto devoted himself to the reconstruction after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, making present-day Tokyo a city resilient to disasters.
Immediately after the earthquake, he became Minister of Home Affairs and then Minister for Reconstruction to rebuild Tokyo, which had suffered immense damage.
Along with the quote, he conceived reconstruction measures, but at the time he faced criticism from those around him.
It is said that enormous funds were required to put them into action, and landowners opposed the purchase of tracts that had been reduced to burned-out fields by the quake.
Although his budget was cut, Goto poured his efforts into building a disaster-resilient city.
Thanks to those efforts, Tokyo became stronger against earthquakes than it had been in the past.
What Japan gained after losing everything was hope… It planted the seeds of hope within us, who had been captivated by wealth.Ryu Murakami
I would like to share a famous quote by Ryū Murakami: “What Japan, having lost everything, gained was hope… It planted the seeds of hope within us, whose hearts had been captivated by wealth.” The Great East Japan Earthquake caused immense damage.
Many people must have spent their days in deep anxiety.
Yet it is precisely in such times that we must not forget “hope.” As the writer Ryū Murakami says, what we gain when everything is lost in a disaster is hope—the hope to live earnestly now and to dream of a brighter future.
In a Japan where everything is close at hand and life has become affluent, perhaps many of us have lost hope in exchange.
This also resonates with the story of Pandora’s box, in which hope remained at the end.
There is nothing more beautiful than the lessons adversity gives a person.William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English playwright, and his four great tragedies—Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, and King Lear—are remembered as his representative works.
Among the words left by this great dramatist are thoughts on the lessons that can be gained from adversity.
Everyone encounters hardship in the course of life, and the lessons we learn to overcome it can shape the lives we lead thereafter.
Rather than focusing on the pain of facing adversity, his words encourage us to carry the lessons forward into a brighter future—a message that strongly conveys hope.
Because there is a premise of happiness, we are able to find unhappiness.Kazlaser
People inevitably tend to focus on misfortune and problems, but happiness is something we can truly feel precisely because those moments exist as a contrast.
That said, there’s no need to let your heart be consumed by misfortune.
By consciously looking away just a little, you become more aware of the small joys and comforts in everyday life.
The more knowledgeable and analytical a person is, the more they notice and feel the problems and misfortunes hidden in daily life; but by intentionally avoiding them, the mind becomes calmer and you can savor everyday happiness more fully.
The very act of looking away is a positive strategy to keep your heart from being ruled by misfortune.
If we were just one minute earlier, we could save one more person.Calvin Coolidge
Let me introduce a powerful quote from Calvin Coolidge: “If you are one minute early, you can save one more person.” Calvin Coolidge was an American politician who also served as President.
This saying—“If you are one minute early, you can save one more person”—was apparently an American firefighting slogan that was introduced to Japan when the American Red Cross used it in 1923 (Taisho 12) to appeal for aid following the Great Kanto Earthquake.
These powerful words that crossed the ocean truly strike a chord, don’t they?
I can imagine that many people are still struggling emotionally and mentally. So let’s keep supporting one another.Lady Gaga
This is a message Lady Gaga sent to the disaster-affected areas in 2021, ten years after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
It shows her affection for Japan by acknowledging that recovery is still not complete even after so much time, and that emotional support is still needed.
By standing firmly with those who are suffering and grieving while encouraging them to move forward, she gives many people courage and strength.
It also conveys the impression of a message that we must not let the passage of time erode or fade the memory of their pain.
There are no coincidences in life. Don’t run away by blaming others or luck—let’s keep building our strength little by little.Kazu Miura
These are words from Kazu Miura that convey the idea that the difficulties we face in life are not a matter of chance or luck, and that it’s important to always be prepared.
They express the belief that if we recognize that everyone is destined to face hardships and build up our strength for them, we can overcome any challenge.
There’s also a message that blaming luck or others won’t lead to true strength, so it’s vital to accept reality and keep moving forward.
These words also reveal a determination to stay true to oneself and press on with strength, no matter the circumstances.
Beneath mud and earth lies solid rock; above clouds and mist shines the sun. At the height of discontent, there is still fortune, nor is hope absent.Kanzo Uchimura
I would like to introduce a famous saying by Kanzo Uchimura: “Beneath the mud lies bedrock; above the clouds and mist shines the sun.
Even at the height of complaint, happiness and hope are not absent.” Kanzo Uchimura was a Christian thinker active in the Meiji era.
Disasters can bring many hardships.
At such times, Uchimura left words he hoped we would remember.
It is said to mean that even when times are painful and difficult now, a stable and bright future surely awaits beyond.
He likens difficult situations to mud, and the bedrock represents the strength within us that lies beneath these serious problems.
Furthermore, he tells us that even when we feel or voice complaints, happiness and hope still exist.
Life brings all kinds of experiences, doesn’t it? Even so, we are reminded of the importance of maintaining a positive outlook.
It’s okay. Let’s rebuild again.Akio Tadano
These are the words of Akio Tadano, who ran a ryokan in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture—words about moving forward with a positive spirit even in the face of hardship.
At the time, many interviews carried a heavy sense of gloom and featured questions that stoked anxiety, which is why the fact that he delivered these words with a smile drew so much attention.
They convey a powerful hope amid uncertainty—the sense that by keeping on and not standing still, a new path will open.
The impression is further strengthened by the fact that Mr.
Tadano actually rebuilt his ryokan, embodying the importance of facing forward, just as he said.