Timeless words of wisdom from “the shōgun’s last samurai”

“It’s impossible to gauge worldly affairs in advance. You can put up a net and wait for a bird, but what will you do if the bird flies over it? You can make a square box and try to put everything in the world inside of it. But some things are round and others triangular. If you took something that was round or triangular and tried to fit it inside the box, you’d certainly have a hard time of it.”

(Katsu Kaishū on the importance of flexibility in conducting affairs of state, from Samurai Revolution, Chapter 9)

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