“There has never been a work of art created which didn’t somehow reflect its own time.”

Danger doesn’t always come from the enemy.

The characters are born from repetition.

I never read reviews. I’m not interested. But I value a lot the reactions of the spectators.

I think 2-D animation disappeared from Disney because they made so many uninteresting films.

As humans grew stronger, I think that we became quite arrogant, losing the sorrow of ‘we have no other choice.’

I’d rather be a pig than a fascist.

I make films as a business, not as a cultural endeavor.

The characters are born from repetition.

Modern life is so thin and shallow and fake. I look forward to when developers go bankrupt, Japan gets poorer and wild grasses take over.

I’m not going to make movies that tell children, “You should despair and run away”.

Children understand intuitively that the world they have been born into is not a blessed world.

Stop trying. Take long walks. Look at scenery. Doze off at noon. Don’t even think about flying. And then, pretty soon, you’ll be flying again.

Our lives are like the wind or like sounds. We come into being, resonate with each other. Then fade away.

We depict hatred, but it is to depict that there are more important things. We depict a curse, to depict the joy of liberation.

If you release your subconscious it becomes really hard to live a social or family life.

The winds of time eventually turn them into the tools of industrial civillisation. It’s never unscathed.

The body is your instrument in dance, but your art is outside that creature, the body.

I stepped into the martial arts movie market when I was only 16. I think I have proved my ability in this field and it won’t make sense for me to continue for another five or 10 years.

Art functioning as propaganda is not art.

Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries.

If you come from art, you’ll always be art.

Dancing is a very living art. It is essentially of the moment, although a very old art. A dancer’s art is lived while he is dancing. Nothing is left of his art except the pictures and the memories–when his dancing days are over.

Art is the colors and textures of your imagination.

Arts is just as important as military defense, you know? Emotional defense is just as important.