Nagai Kafū, Behind the Prison (1909)

"One gains opportunities to observe the hidden truths of society and to touch the genuine tears of life. Oh, but once one has returned to the land of one's birth – there is no place more constricting – one's surroundings no longer permit such freedom, and one can no longer simply transcend the demands of social position. Like a stiff on a fog-shrouded ocean, I had no clear way ahead of me, no plans for the future..."