You might even find your motto—short phrases that leave a lasting impression.

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.

Words from great and famous people can linger in our hearts, even if they’re just a single phrase.

Those who have achieved something or who keep taking on challenges each have their own convictions and resolve, and even their briefest words carry power.

This time, I’ve put together a list of such memorable quotes.

They’re all the kind of sayings you’ll want to etch into your heart and remember.

Since they’re short, they’re perfect as personal mottos—so don’t miss them!

Jot them down so you can recall them right away.

You might even find a personal motto? Short, memorable phrases (21–30)

Have aspirations and stay true to your convictionsSanae Takaichi

These words succinctly capture her guiding principles and approach as a politician.

Ms.

Takaichi has embodied the importance of maintaining consistent convictions through concrete policies such as strengthening economic security, enhancing education policy, and promoting regional revitalization.

For example, in her remarks on stabilizing people’s livelihoods and disaster preparedness, we can see a commitment to pursuing policy from a long-term perspective, unswayed by short-term trends or political pressure.

It is also a message that in our own lives and work, staying true to our goals with consistency can determine the outcomes we achieve.

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kojifumi

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I just want to walk on my own two feet.Shuji Satomi

It’s a famous quote that reveals Shuji Satomi’s conviction as a doctor—not to lounge back in a chair after rising to a lofty position, but to walk forward on his own will.

His belief in standing by patients rather than climbing the ladder at a university hospital may seem out of place within the story.

Yet isn’t a doctor’s true purpose to save someone’s life? The quote reflects Satomi’s straightforward character while also evoking the deep, shadowy side of the unique setting of a university hospital.

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Hoshino Takashi

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You might even find a motto? Short, memorable phrases (31–40)

If you do it next time, you’ll definitely win.Shinji Ishimaru

These are the words Ishimaru Shinji delivered when he ran for Tokyo governor and, regrettably, finished second, speaking about his outlook going forward.

Taken just as the situation and the words themselves, it could come across as sour grapes, but when you consider what kind of campaign it was, you can sense various intentions.

A key point is the situation in which something initially considered to be at a disadvantage spread this far, and it also gives the impression of containing a rebuke of how the media covered the candidates.

With name recognition higher and his ideas more widely shared, it invites viewers to imagine what the outcome might have been if he had started from where things are now.

By referring to what comes next, it conveys a forward-looking attitude and builds expectations as well.

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kappamaki

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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.

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Nakajima Junko

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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.

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In a country riddled with earthquakes and volcanoes like this, nuclear power plants are out of the question.Hayao Miyazaki

I’d like to introduce a famous quote by Hayao Miyazaki: “In a country riddled with earthquakes and volcanoes like this, nuclear power plants are out of the question.” Miyazaki, whose animated films are beloved by audiences of all ages, is often associated with charming characters.

However, his works also contain underlying themes woven into their direction and storytelling.

In Japan, a country where natural disasters are common, we must be vigilant about earthquakes.

The damage caused by building collapses and tsunamis can be immense.

Having nuclear power plants in such a country is a serious issue and perhaps something that deserves greater attention.

If you watch Nausicaä, whose message resonates with this quote, you may get a sense of what a post–nuclear accident world could be like.

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Nakajima Junko

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Natural disasters strike when we least expect them.Torahiko Terada

Here is a famous and important saying by Torahiko Terada: “Natural disasters strike when they have been forgotten.” Terada was a Japanese physicist, essayist, and haiku poet.

As a researcher, he was interested in disasters such as fires and earthquakes, and it is said that after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, he became even more deeply engaged with the subject.

This quote reminds us that the peaceful passing of everyday life without incident is not something to be taken for granted.

It is a phrase worth engraving in our hearts.

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