“When people ask about my ancestors, I reply, ‘Most likely descendants of exiles.’ [...] Among these exiled notables, the greatest hero is undoubtedly Minamoto no Tametomo. My friend, the local historian Asanuma Eitarō, once told me, ‘The reason you are fighting so hard in the Diet is because you carry the blood of Tametomo.’ Being compared to the modern Tametomo felt a bit ticklish.”