How Do You Live?

by Genzaburo Yoshino

there may be nothing more deep-rooted and stubborn than the human tendency to look at and think of things with themselves at the center.

In the world at large, people who are able to free themselves from this self-centered way of thinking are truly uncommon. Above all, when one stands to gain or lose, it is exceptionally difficult to step outside of oneself and make correct judgments, and thus one could say that people who are able to think Copernicus-style even about these things are exceptionally great people. Most people slip into a self-interested way of thinking, become unable to understand the facts of the matter, and end up seeing only that which betters their own circumstances.

Still, as long as we held fast to the thought that our own planet was at the center of the universe, humanity was unable to understand the true nature of the universe—and likewise, when people judge their own affairs with only themselves at the center, they end up unable to know the true nature of society. The larger truth never reveals itself to them.

“The world is like this. People’s lives are like that.” There’s no way anyone can explain such things in a word or two to you. And even if there were, it’s not the sort of thing where you could just listen and take it all in and say right away,

You must open your heart. And your heart, well, it opens only when you actually encounter a great work of art in person and it makes a deep impression on you. If it means anything at all to live in this world, it’s that you must live your life like a true human being and feel just what you feel. This is not something that anyone can teach from the sidelines, no matter how great a person they may be.

That is why I think the first, most basic step in these matters is to start with the moments of real feeling in your life, when your heart is truly moved, and to think about the meaning of those. The things that you feel most deeply, from the very bottom of your heart, will never deceive you in the slightest. And so at all times, in all things, whatever feelings you may have, consider these carefully.

you must make a habit of thinking honestly, with your own experience as a foundation, and—Copper, this is very important!—if someone fakes this part, no matter what kind of great-sounding things they think or say, they are all lies in the end.

The most important thing—more than what other people think, more than anything—is that you should first know for yourself, truly and deeply, where human greatness lies.

There are lots of people in the world who act just for appearance’s sake—in order to seem great in the eyes of others. That type of person worries first about how they are reflected in other people’s eyes, and they inadvertently end up neglecting their true selves, as they really are. I hope you don’t become that sort of person. And that is why you absolutely must attend to the things you feel in your own heart, the things that move you deeply. That is what is most important, now and always. Do not forget this, and think carefully about what it means.

There is nothing more beautiful than people nurturing goodwill toward their fellow beings. And those are the human relations that humans truly deserve. Copper, don’t you agree?

So in theory, then, saying that someone is poor shouldn’t make them feel small. It should go without saying that the true worth of a person doesn’t depend on that person’s clothes or house or food. No matter what kind of magnificent garments they wear or grand mansion they inhabit, fools are fools, boors are boorish, and their value as people shouldn’t be elevated for those reasons. Furthermore, if someone has a noble mind and great insight, then we owe it to them to respect them as great, even if they are impoverished.

The world is full of people who are not bad, but weak, people who bring unnecessary misfortune upon themselves and others for no reason but weakness. A heroic spirit that’s not devoted to human progress may be empty and meaningless, but goodness that is lacking in the spirit of heroism is often empty as well.

“Jun’ichi, dear. Even when we become adults, it often happens that we think back on things with regret. We wonder, Why didn’t I do what was in my heart that one time? When just about anyone takes a serious look back at their lives, we all may have one or two things like this.

“Even when people don’t notice, the gods are certainly watching and will know.”

It’s the awareness that we have committed a mistake that we can’t go back and fix. When we look back on our actions—not in terms of personal benefit but in a moral frame of mind—I’m afraid there’s nothing quite so painful as thinking, What have I done? That’s it. It’s truly painful to admit one’s own mistakes. Most people think up any excuse they can to avoid it.

If you think about it, there are sayings such as “Know thyself” and “Reflect upon your past” that we have heard over and over, ever since elementary school. They may feel a bit trite or old-fashioned, and when we hear them now, we may just think, Oh, that old saw again!

At first, I thought How Do You Live? was just the story of a boy and his uncle. The boy is becoming a young man and has adventures with his friends. The uncle cares for his nephew and offers him advice. A lot of advice. It’s funny, sad, and, sometimes, it’s beautiful in a particularly Japanese way—how it paints a portrait of the city of Tokyo in 1937, for instance, with its distinct neighborhood landscapes and tree-lined suburbs, through all the seasons of the year. As I read more of the book, I discovered that, in addition to the story, it contains lessons on everything: art, science, language, history, politics, and philosophy. To understand why, it helps to know a little bit about its author.