May they not forget to keep pure the great heritage that puts them ahead of the West: the artistic configuration of life, the simplicity and modesty of personal needs, and the purity and serenity of the Japanese soul.

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Source: Comment made after a six-week trip to Japan in November-December 1922, published in Kaizo 5, no. 1 (January 1923), 339. Einstein Archive 36-477.1. Appears in The New Quotable Einstein by Alice Calaprice (2005), p. 269

About this quote

This source-reviewed Einstein quotation develops a complete idea around forget, great, heritage. The wording "May they not forget to keep pure the great heritage…" is tied to Comment made after a six-week trip to Japan in November-December 1922, published in Kaizo…, so readers can connect its themes of creativity and life to a documented context rather than a detached slogan.

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  • Use "May they not forget to keep pure the great heritage…" in a creativity discussion, then ask which concrete claim the wording makes.
  • Compare its treatment of forget with great in a lesson, essay, or editorial note before drawing a conclusion.
  • When publishing or narrating it, retain the documented source trail to Comment made after a six-week trip to Japan in November-December 1922, published in Kaizo… so the quotation stays connected to its original context.