“The less people think of you, the more they will reveal to you or in your presence.”
This quote reveals Takeo's motivation behind acting mute: it makes the others think he's dim-witted, so they will reveal more information to him. The inability to speak makes a person look weak and unintelligent, so other people are more willing to speak private information in his presence. This habit is one often used by the Tribe to blend in and obtain information, so Takeo's instincts are proven admirable.
“How was it possible for the world to be so beautiful and so cruel at the same time?”
Takeo has just run into a merchant who recognized him as Tomasu; he managed to convince him that it wasn't him, but the thought crossed his mind to kill him and dump his body in the alley. This sad circumstance is juxtaposed against the glimmer of the white flowers in the moonlight, causing Takeo to lament the world's simultaneous beauty and cruelty.
“Death comes suddenly and life is fragile and brief. No one can alter this, either by prayers or spells. Children cry about it, but men and women do not cry. They have to endure.”
At this point in the story, Takeo has just lost his family, and he's crying in the presence of Shigeru, who instructs him in the art of grieving death. He says that death is inevitable and unpredictable, and real men don't weep over this fact but embrace it - they must endure. This quote is characteristic of Shigeru, and it provides a mission statement of how to live in a world where death could occur any minute.
