Wonderful quotes and sayings

Heartfelt! Inspiring Quotes Left by Great Figures of Japan

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.

Various great figures who built Japan have left behind numerous famous sayings.

These quotes sometimes resonate with people living in the present and can serve as guideposts when moving things forward.

In this article, we introduce inspiring quotes left by those known as great figures of Japan.

We have gathered quotes from a variety of fields, including historical figures, people who supported major corporations, athletes, and entertainers.

Among the quotes we present, you may find a hint that clears your mind.

Be sure to check them out!

Resonating with the Heart! Famous Quotes Left by Great Figures of Japan (21–30)

Nation-building begins with people-buildingNEW!Yuichiro Tamaki

Countermeasures against bullying are a priority policy of the Democratic Party for the People. #DemocraticPartyforthePeople #YuichiroTamaki

Nation-building begins with people-building NEW! Yuichiro Tamaki

Yuichiro Tamaki is also committed to improving the current circumstances faced by the children who will lead Japan’s future.

One of the Democratic Party for the People’s policies is that nation-building begins with people-building.

This policy reportedly declares increasing investment in people and tax exemptions for young people.

It proposes making education compulsory from age three and strengthening its quality, reducing or exempting income and resident taxes for working youth, and easing the burden of student loan debt.

Furthermore, it incorporates measures to improve the increasingly serious problem of bullying.

Seeing Mr.

Tamaki deliver a passionate message on bullying leaves a strong impression of how much he values people.

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Unless the whole world becomes happy, individual happiness is impossible.Kenji Miyazawa

Kenji Miyazawa, a fairy-tale writer and poet best known for Night on the Galactic Railroad.

Many people may find this phrase puzzling.

You could say that the world is a collective of individuals.

If you think of it that way, you might feel that each person’s happiness is the world’s happiness, right? But what Miyazawa is trying to say is that we must not pursue personal gain at the expense of others—that we should live together, all of us.

Perhaps these words resonate all the more in today’s society, where disparities are growing.

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Resonates with the Heart! Famous Quotes Left by Great Japanese Figures (31–40)

What we truly need is the courage to stand up for someone.NEW!Taro Yamamoto

These are words that appeal to a politician’s core conviction: wanting every citizen to feel happiness and acting to make that happen.

They speak about mustering the courage to act for someone else’s sake and moving forward with strong resolve as what matters most.

The message applies not only to politics but also to everyday life, teaching the importance of compassion and the courage to take the first step.

It also conveys a call to turn a chain of compassion into a powerful force.

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I want to build a country where we can say, “Don’t worry, no matter what happens.”NEW!Taro Yamamoto

No matter what happens, don’t worry. I want to build a country like that. #HouseOfCouncillorsElection2025

I want to build a country where we can say, “Don’t worry, no matter what happens.” NEW! Taro Yamamoto

Watch “I want to build a country where we can say, ‘Don’t worry, no matter what happens.’ NEW! Taro Yamamoto” on YouTube

This expresses, in words that convey a sense of urgency, the conviction behind my work as a politician: the kind of country we are striving to build.

From the claim that we aim for a society where even those in difficult circumstances are saved, it also conveys that, at present, the vulnerable are not being rescued.

It appeals to the belief that politics is originally meant to save such people—and to our determination to restore politics to that true form.

First, we must save those who are suffering; from there, we will build a better country.

That is the message these words seek to deliver.

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Creation is the ability to invent a new future while using the past and present as its materials.Akiko Yosano

Akiko Yosano, the poet known for the poetry collection Midaregami and the poem Thou Shalt Not Die, also advocated that women should be socially and economically independent.

Perhaps it was precisely because she was such a person that these words emerged.

How do we use our past experiences and current know-how to create the future? It’s a saying that seems to question the very way we live.

Imagination is a power everyone possesses—that’s one way to understand it.

As long as we are alive, we want to think, challenge ourselves, and continue to grow.

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Forge yourself with a thousand days of training; temper yourself with ten thousand days of training.Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi, founder of the two-sword style “Niten Ichi-ryū” strategy.

In his own work, The Book of Five Rings, he writes that he was undefeated in numerous bouts and is renowned as the strongest swordsman.

This is a saying from The Book of Five Rings that even became the origin of the word ‘tanren’ (rigorous training).

It means that to truly master something, you must continue putting in effort over many years.

It was precisely because Musashi never neglected his training and perfected his technique that he became famous as an undefeated master swordsman.

Steady, consistent effort is indeed important in anything.

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I believe that piling up small things is the only way to reach incredible places.Ichiro (Suzuki Ichiro)

Ichiro Suzuki, the former professional baseball player affectionately known as Ichiro, gave us big dreams and deep inspiration.

He meticulously managed his schedule so as not to let anything interfere with baseball, and he even ate the same meals to eliminate uncertainties—his discipline is legendary.

Don’t you think this quote is so very him as well? Setting small goals for oneself, accomplishing them day by day, stacking them up, and ultimately achieving greatness.

It sounds simple, but I think it’s incredibly difficult.

The fact that Mr.

Suzuki can declare it and actually do it—he’s undeniably cool, isn’t he?

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