I wonder what the retirement age is in the novel business. The day you die.

Cosmic time is the same for everyone, but human time differs with each person. Time flows in the same way for all human beings; every human being flows through time in a different way.

The true joy of a moonlit night is something we no longer understand. Only the men of old, when there were no lights, could understand the true joy of a moonlit night.

Put your soul in the palm of my hand for me to look at, like a crystal jewel. I'll sketch it in words.

The labor into which a heart has poured its whole love--where will it have its say, to excite and inspire, and when?

The road was frozen. The village lay quiet under the cold sky. Komako hitched up the skirt of her kimono and tucked it into her obi. The moon shone like a blade frozen in blue ice.

Our language is primarily for expressing human goodness and beauty.

It's remarkable how we go on year after year, doing the same old things. We get tired and bored, and ask when they'll come for us

People have separated from each other with walls of concrete that blocked the roads to connection and love. and Nature has been defeated in the name of development.

I suppose even a woman's hatred is a kind of love.

Does pain go away and leave no trace, then?’ ‘You sometimes even feel sentimental for it.

Doing what needs to be done may not make you happy, but it will make you great.

There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle.

I am here not to let you fall alone, suffocate alone, quit life easy. I'll fight the fate for you and with you.

Sports movies are a genre that I really respond to, but they can be done really poorly and really fall short. The good ones are just so good and inspiring and make you feel good.

From the beginning, I imagined I would have a long work life.

It's important for me to work with a strong director because I know I can go to some really deep places, I just need direction on how to get there.

Christ's resurrection is the ground-work of our hope. And the new birth is our title or evidence of our interest in it.

It's a masterpiece [The Exorcist]. This is an honor. I know you may not think so, but it really is. How many movies in our lifetime? This is an honor.

I directed three films and each time [I act] I hope it's the last time so I have time to do my film [directing].

I try to maintain the perspective that life is meant to be laughed at.