To T. Yagisawa
Dear Sir, 24 December 1957
Thank you ever so much for your kind letter.
You are the first representative of the Japanese nation from whom I hear that he has read my books.
So your letter is a memorable fact in my life.
It shows how slow mental travelling is: it took me more than 30 years to reach Japan but I have not even arrived yet at the University of my own town.
It is indeed most gratifying and encouraging to me to know that I have readers in Japan, since I know how specifically European most of my works are.
It is true, however, that I have tried to demonstrate the universal character of the psyche as well as I could.
But it is an almost superhuman task: “Art is long, and our life is short.”
I am now in my 83rd year and my creative work has come to an end.
I am watching the setting sun.
Many thanks and my best wishes for a happy New Year,
Yours sincerely,
C.G. Jung ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Page 405
