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Category Archives: Kotowaza
Somebody remind the CEOs
Isaac Newton: “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”A plutocrat: “… I went to space. Best day ever!” 一将功成りて万骨枯る(Isshoukou narite bankotsu karu;“A general achieves glory; ten thousand bones dry out”) Definition: For each … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged Chinese Antiquity, Chinese literature, classical Japanese grammar, 黄巣, large small, pyramid schemes, sacrifice, the cost of glory, 功成る, 己亥歳, 曹松, 枯れる, 一将, 万骨
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You kiss your mother with that mouth?
“No, but I do eat reptiles.” あの声で蜥蜴食らうか時鳥(Ano koe de tokage kurau ka hototogisu;“With such a sweet voice, do you devour lizards, o lesser cuckoo?”) Definition: You can’t judge a book by its cover. People and things often have aspects that … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged appearance versus reality, トカゲ, ホトトギス, carnivores, cuckoo, don't judge, Enomoto Kikaku, 蜥蜴を食らう, haiku, perception, songbirds, Takarai Kikaku, 宝井其角, 時鳥, 榎本其角
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Verweilst du in der Welt, sie flieht als Traum
(Goethe) 京の夢大阪の夢(Kyou no yume Osaka no yume;“Capital dreams; Osaka dreams”) Definition: Dreams are mysterious and one can’t expect them to make any sense. Alternately, dreams are where one’s desires are most easily manifested; or by extension, a statement that different … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged differences, different dreams, dream logic, dreams, Iroha karuta, 大阪の夢, 京の夢, 京都
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Squeezed by one’s vices
Crunch crunch crunch 粋が身を食う(Sui ga mi wo kuu;“Worldly pleasures devour the man”) Definition: Too much pleasure will destroy you. A man, specifically, who spends all his time and money on dissolution with geisha (i.e. entertainers who provide music, song and … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged 粋, dissolution, entertainment, excess, 芸, 身の仇, 身を食う, Iroha karuta, pleasure, self-destruction, 大通どらの巻, 洒落本
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Don’t look a gift friend in the mouth
Turns out that’s kind of rude with humans too, eh 背戸の馬も相口(Sedo no uma mo aikuchi;“Even a back-entrance horse has a friend”) Definition: “Even an unruly horse can be tamed.” Even the most unfriendly, poorly-socialized person can become relatively cooperative if … Continue reading
Party rockers at the gate tonight
Everybody just have a good time? 門前市を成す(Monzen ichi wo nasu;“A market forms before the gates”) Definition: For a place, especially a home, to be so frequented by visitors that the press of people and vehicles at the entrance to the … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged bustling, 門前, gregarious, many visitors, Party Rock Anthem, 后汉书, 市の如し, 市を成す, 漢書
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No rest for the nebbish
The wicked all too often have a surfeit of leisure 貧乏暇なし(Binbou hima nashi;“Poor, no rest”) Definition: The poor have no free time; when you’re poor, you have to work constantly just to meet your needs and stay alive. When you’re … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged 貧乏, free time, hard work, Iroha karuta, poverty, privilege, Sewa tsukushi, work and leisure, 暇, 世話尽
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Waiting to En-gage
縁と月日は末を待て(En to tsukihi wa sue wo mate;“In relationships and in life, wait for the time to come”) Definition: All things come in their own time; the best strategy is not to rush around in a fluster, but to calmly and … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged 縁, fate, opportunity, patience, romantic destiny, waiting, 時節, 月日, 末を待, 浮世
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The Scrooge of the Orchard
The Marley of the barley? 吝ん坊の柿の種(Shiwanbou no kaki no tane;“The miser’s persimmon seed”) Definition: This phrase is used to criticize people who penny-pinch to an unhealthy extreme. The image is of someone so obsessed with never letting anything go that … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged けちん坊, しわん坊, hoarding, miserly, penny-pinching, Shutsukushi, stinginess, Yawa soji, 出駒子, 吝ん坊, 夜話荘治, 柿の種, 柿ピー
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Every body has some body
So rock your body right 身は身で通る裸ん坊(Mi wa mi de tooru hadakanbou;“The body, as the body, passes through (life) naked””) Definition: Everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses, quirks and skills, station in life, and so on – but we all … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged embodied living, everybody, 裸ん坊, 身は身, fate, naked as the day you were born, social position, 何とかして
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