Nakae Chomin Quotes
Nakae Chomin was a Japanese journalist, translator, and political philosopher and one of the principal voices of the Meiji-period Freedom and People's Rights movement. After studies in France in the early 1870s, he returned to Japan as a passionate advocate of Rousseauean popular sovereignty and produced an admired Japanese translation of Rousseau's Social Contract that gave him the lasting nickname of the Rousseau of the Orient. The quotes below are attributed to Nakae Chomin, organized by topic.
Nakae Chomin on Freedom
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Attributed to Nakae Chomin:
“Liberty is the inborn right of every human being, not a gift of any government.”
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Attributed to Nakae Chomin:
“True civilization is a civilization of free people.”
Nakae Chomin on Politics
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Attributed to Nakae Chomin:
“The strength of a nation lies in the rights of its citizens.”
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Attributed to Nakae Chomin:
“Japan must learn from the West but live as Japan.”
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Attributed to Nakae Chomin:
“The pen of the journalist is the conscience of the public.”