Unless it’s a room where books aren’t appropriate. Look, talk to Cicero.

仏作って魂入れず
(Hotoke tsukutte tamashii irezu; “Making a Buddha; leaving out the soul”)

Definition:

Technically finishing something, but leaving out a vital element, even the most important part. Something that seems fine, but is missing a subtle yet important aspect, reducing its use or value. Like creating a Buddha statue but failing to imbue it with the spiritual force befitting a Buddha. Alternately, like creating a Buddha statue without really putting your heart and soul into the work.

Breakdown:

A pithy, particle-free saying comprising two verb phrases, each accompanied by a direct object. First we have 仏 (hotoke), “the Buddha,” acted upon by 作る (tsukuru), “to make,” in conjunctive form so that it links to the second phrase. The second is 魂 (tamashii), “soul” or “spirit,” acted upon by 入れる (ireru), “to put something into something,” in imperfective form with negative suffix ず (zu) in sentence-final form.

Notes:

Adding the eyes to a figure is a common metaphor for bringing it to completion or perfection – the same idea can be found with pictures of dragons and Daruma dolls – and some versions of this saying replace 魂 with 眼 (manako), “eye.” (The source that discusses this also adds the direct-object marker を, wo.) Other sources replace 作 with 造, with essentially no change in pronunciation or meaning.

Example sentence:

「映画を見ている間は、面白いと思ったけれど、今となってはなんか不満ですね。仏作って魂入れず、って訳かな」

(“Eiga wo miteiru aida wa, omoshiroi to omotta keredo, ima to natte wa nanka fuman desu ne. Hotoke tsukutte tamashii irezu, tte wake ka na.”)

[“While watching the movie I thought it was entertaining, but now I feel kind of dissatisfied. Maybe they left out something that would have made it really click.”]