This item has been stored at home. The contents are in very good condition, but there is some aging on the cover and other parts due to its age. We appreciate your understanding. Never Give Up: 80 Proverbs from Ryoichi Sasakawa for Modern Times by Miyoko Kudo For Japanese people who have abandoned "common sense" such as thrift, simple meals, diligence, a sense of duty and humanity, and filial piety... A notorious "Showa era giant" gives a pep talk to the national crisis of the Heisei era! Ryoichi Sasakawa, known as a kingpin in political and financial circles, manipulated money and moved people with his extraordinary talent and energy, was the last great figure in Japan. His biography, "Akumei no Kan Sasakawa Ryoichi Den" (The Coffin of Infamy: The Legend of Ryoichi Sasakawa), sold over 100,000 copies. His harsh life influenced even generations who did not know him at the time. This book is a collection of his wise sayings, revisiting the proverbs he wrote during his lifetime, with commentary and explanations added. The warnings are not at all outdated; in fact, they are needed in Japan right now. Some of them seem to predict the current state of Japan. You are sure to be moved by the words of this solitary businessman, who did not associate with others and laughed off criticism, and who did not need academic credentials or fame. The giant's proverbs sent to a Japan in crisis! Table of Contents Turn misfortune into good fortune, and make it a blessing. Let's remember Japan's true ability and potential. Do not leave good fields for your descendants. Ninety years old with simple meals every day, and a hundred years old is still in the prime of life. From Reviews I always wondered why Ayako Sono was involved with the Ryoichi Sasakawa Foundation for so long, but I was convinced after reading this. The Great East Japan Earthquake was not just a disaster. It exposed everything we have been slowly overlooking since the end of the war, and it has confronted us with the fact that we have not even fulfilled our duties and responsibilities as living creatures on Earth. Since then, how disheartened I have been by the increasingly childish and foolish government. The sense of stagnation that now envelops Japan is not caused by nuclear power plants or the tsunami. When I was a child, I was taught by my parents and those around me that Ryoichi Sasakawa was a bad person or a right-wing boss, so I wanted to know what kind of person he really was, and I read this book. I didn't think the kindly old man who did the "One Good Deed a Day" commercials was really a bad person. My impression is that he didn't seem like such a bad person. I can't take everything in the book at face value, but I thought he was a quirky but large-scale person, not someone who enriched himself for personal gain. However, it's hard to say whether he was a good person either.