How Do You Live?

by Genzaburo Yoshino

“Indeed. If you are comparing human society to oceans and rivers, individual human beings could certainly be considered to be their molecules.”

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.

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.

He has been given the name of a truly great man, so we shouldn’t expect him to feel bad about it at all.

He has been given the name of a truly great man, so we shouldn’t expect him to feel bad about it at all.

So I will speak to you seriously about such matters, without even half joking. Because when it comes to things like this, you can’t become a great man without having great thoughts.

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.

If you do this, then someday, somewhere, a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience will leave a deep impression on you, and you will come to understand something that has a meaning that is not just limited to that one moment. That thought will be an idea that is truly your own. To put it a slightly more difficult way, 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.

Although your mother and I do want you to become great with all our hearts, that doesn’t mean we only want you to study, behave yourself, and be a perfect student, faultless in the eyes of your teachers and friends.

Nor am I saying that in the future you should become a perfect adult, a person free of all criticism or blame.

Then, for that reason alone, you try to do as you are told and to live as you have been taught—Copper, is that good? If you do that, you will never become your own man.

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.

Then you may feel with all your heart that you wish to become a great man. As you judge good for good, and bad for bad, case by case—and also as you actually do the things you have judged to be good—at all times, let this feeling flow through you.

Think of your friend Kitami’s words: “No matter what anyone says . . . !” You must have that kind...

in the end you will simply become a great-seeming man, and true greatness may always elude you.

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.

collect many experiences and, while you do, always be true to that voice in your heart.

However, think of how hard it would be for a person in Uragawa’s position to stand up to Yamaguchi without backing down. It would be fair to call such a person a hero.

And all the more so because Uragawa himself asked that his tormentor Yamaguchi be forgiven! In that act, he displayed a heart that was generous, sympathetic, and kind.

Over and over, the three of them laughed until their sides hurt.

They already felt close enough that there was no need to speak. How nice it was just to lie there in silence.

Copper lay there absentmindedly, while off in the distance a train rolled by, its sound playing dreamily in his ears.

On a night like this, to think about the distant celestial world was to feel that one was disappearing into the atmosphere.

you must not lose the spirit that woke you in the middle of the night, to follow your own questions wherever they lead!

With a ferociously calm look on her face,

Even the hope that the next day will bring freedom from exhaustion is an inconceivable luxury.

But while you may not have noticed, there is something else, a big thing that you produce day after day. What could that be?

The greater the suffering, the greater the joy in overcoming it.

“In that case . . . In that case, we all get beat up, together with Kitami. There will be nothing we can do about it.”

The teardrops on his pillow would be his own secret.

Let the sickness get worse and worse! Worse and worse, until finally I die . . .

“That? You hardly need to think about that at all, do you? You should write a letter immediately. Write a letter, and apologize to Kitami. This is not something to carry around with you in your heart forever!”

“It’s a mistake to think that way! You broke a solemn promise to your close friends, didn’t you? Weren’t you unable to stand by Kitami and the others because you were afraid of Kurokawa’s fists? You said yourself that you think you were in the wrong, and that it couldn’t be helped if they were angry with you. Why in the world would you say such a thing? Why don’t you be brave and take responsibility for what you did, as far as you are able?”

“Well. To part with such good friends over something like this is a painful state of affairs,” his uncle said, returning to a quieter tone of voice. “I understand the feeling you expressed, that you want to mend your relationship with Kitami and the others. But you must understand, Copper, that you can’t think of that right now. What you must do now, before anything else, is first to apologize to Kitami like a man. To convey to your friends how deeply sorry you are feeling and to do it honestly, without excuses. What happens after that is not for you to think about now. “If you humbly admit your mistake, that may help you make amends with Kitami and the others, and perhaps you can all be friends as before. Or else they may remain resentful and continue to turn their backs on you. That is something you can’t know here and now, no matter how much you try to think it through. However, even if they do reject your friendship, you can’t complain. “That’s why—you see, Copper—that’s why now is the moment to show courage! You must resolve to face the consequences of your actions with bravery, whatever they may be, no matter how hard! “When you think about it, your failure before was due to your inability to show such resolve, wasn’t it? Didn’t you lack the courage to keep the solemn promise you made?”

This time, I promise I will try to be brave.

Why didn’t I do what was in my heart that one time?

Human beings are so great that they demonstrate their greatness by recognizing their own misery.

Of course, those are not things anyone ever wishes for. But it is thanks to sadness, hardship, and pain that we come to know what a true human being is.

So although there’s no doubt that everyone wants to avoid physical pain, in this sense, it’s something that we should be grateful for, something we need. Because of it, we know that a failure has occurred inside us, and at the same time, we also come to know exactly what the natural state of the human body should be.

If it weren’t natural for people to live together in harmony, then why would we suffer when we felt a lack of harmony? If we should try to live a life of love and goodwill toward others but instead find ourselves driven by hatred and hostility, we feel unfortunate because of that, and for that reason, we suffer.

As long as we are human, we all make mistakes.

We have the power to decide on our own who we will be.

No, they knew what was coming. They just didn’t know how to begin.

But looking at each other face-to-face like this, why bother?

But none of that mattered now. Maybe Copper hadn’t needed to spend so many lonely days doubting and worrying, but still, as a result, he was learning how to look at his own actions and thoughts—his own way of life—closely and carefully.

But just knowing the meaning of the words was a very different thing from grasping the truth expressed by those words.

Before Copper knew it, his thoughts had left the notebook and wandered off toward the kitchen.

Art and knowledge know no borders.’

Unlike Uragawa, I couldn’t produce anything even if I wanted to. Still, I can become a good person. I can become a good person and create one good person for the world. And I think that if I can just do that, then I might become a person who can create even more than that.