December 8th Quotes

“I want to smash them to pieces. When China was the other side, it felt totally different. Really—I thought of those cruel, beastly American soldiers meandering all over our dear, beautiful Japanese soil, and the very thought was unbearable. If you dare even set foot on our sacred soil, your feet will rot off, for sure. You’re not qualified to be here. Oh, our pure soldiers of Japan—you’ve got to beat them all to a pulp. From here on, as things get scarce, even in our homes we’ll probably have quite a hard time of it. But don’t worry about us. We don’t mind. You’ll never hear us saying how much we hate it all. You won’t find us pitying ourselves and whining about how horrid it is to be born at a time like this. Instead, I even feel that being born into this world gives us a reason for living. I think it’s great that we were born into such a world.”
― Osamu Dazai, December 8th

“Everything about her is so beautiful and sweet that I am absolutely carried away by her. No matter what little garment I put on her, it is not equal to the loveliness of her naked body. When we have to get out of the hot water and I have to dress her, I feel a sense of loss. I want to stay right there, hugging her little naked body.”
― Osamu Dazai, December 8th

“Truly, I was disgusted with my husband. Is he even sane?”
― Osamu Dazai, December 8th

“Really—it’s such a shame when he comes all the way to this backwoods part of Mitaka for this specific purpose, and then my husband’s not here, and he has to go home just like that. How awful he must feel all the way back. As I thought about it, I felt a dark feeling growing inside me.”
― Osamu Dazai, December 8th

“The town looked just as it always did. The only thing that was different was that a piece of paper had been posted in front of the vegetable store with the radio news written on it. The scene in front of the store and people’s conversation were not much different from what they usually were. The silence was reassuring.”
― Osamu Dazai, December 8th

“Mrs. Kamei’s husband, quite unlike my own husband, did truly seem to love his family, and I felt envious. I hear that he loved them even more before, but ever since we moved into the neighborhood, my husband had gotten him into drinking, and he wasn’t as devoted as he’d been. His wife must hate my husband, for sure. I felt apologetic toward her.”
― Osamu Dazai, December 8th

“Being born into this world gives us a reason for living.”
― Osamu Dazai, December 8th

“Different eye color, hair color—is that enough to arouse this much hostility?”
― Osamu Dazai, December 8th