You might even find your motto—short phrases that leave a lasting impression.
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.
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You might even find a motto? Short, memorable phrases (31–40)
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.
If you endure, you will surely become a strong person.Senichi Hoshino
These are the words of Senichi Hoshino, who excelled as a player for the Chunichi Dragons during his career and later made his mark as a manager for the Chunichi Dragons, the Hanshin Tigers, and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.
During the Great East Japan Earthquake, he was the manager of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, the team from the disaster-stricken region, and his words are remembered for inspiring many people.
He conveys that no matter what difficulties you face, you should give your all in the present and confront them head-on—that strength lies along the path you advance by doing so.
Because these are the words of Hoshino, who rebuilt teams whose results had faltered, they carry real persuasive power; they are words that lift your spirits and make you want to keep pushing forward.
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.
Prepare pessimistically, act optimistically.Kazuo Inamori
Let me introduce a famous quote left by Kazuo Inamori: “Prepare pessimistically, act optimistically.” Kazuo Inamori was a Japanese entrepreneur and engineer.
He founded Kyocera and Daini Denden, which is now KDDI, and served as chairman of the Inamori Foundation, a public-interest incorporated foundation.
He was also honorary chairman of Japan Airlines.
In the planning stage, with a strong will that says, “No matter what, we must accomplish this,” one should reexamine the plan with a pessimistic eye; then, in the execution stage, with the confidence that “We can definitely do it,” one should carry it out optimistically—brightly and with dignity.
Doesn’t this conviction also apply to disaster preparedness?
We need to make an effort to avert our eyes from misfortune.Kazlaser
Even though there are surely more enjoyable things out there, when our hearts are worn down, we humans tend to fixate only on unpleasant things.
For example, even if it’s your birthday and you should be excited, if an annoying boss makes some trivial comment, you end up thinking about that and nothing else.
Kazlaser says that if you want to live happily, you need to shut out the bad stuff yourself—it takes effort.
Why not start by deleting negative words from within yourself?
You might even find a personal motto? Short, memorable phrases (41–50)
In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity.Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein, a theoretical physicist hailed as the greatest of the 20th century, left behind numerous achievements.
The famous quote, “In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity,” is a message that perhaps only Einstein—who fundamentally transformed the way physics was understood at the time—could deliver.
Avoiding difficulty isn’t inherently bad, but when avoidance leads to stagnation, choosing to confront challenges can reveal things we couldn’t see before.
This quote teaches us that precisely in the places everyone tends to avoid lies the chance to reach what no one else has achieved.
It wasn’t by chance that we made it back alive. This is our mission.Sandwich Man
These are words from Sandwichman, a comedy duo from Sendai, that express a determination to keep moving forward.
The key point is that at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake, they happened to be in Kesennuma, Miyagi—one of the disaster areas—while filming a TV show.
They convey what it means that they survived: being alive in that place was both fate and a mission, and they believe they are called to walk forward and pass on the story to the future.
You can feel their love for their hometown and their resolve to carry it on their shoulders as they move ahead.