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Tag Archives: oni
The only thing worse than kanabou
Like so. 鬼の女房に鬼神(Oni no nyoubou ni kijin;“For an oni’s wife, a female oni”) Definition: The woman who becomes an awful man’s wife will tend to be awful as well. A married couple will tend to resemble each other – even … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged たまかつま, たまがつま, 玉勝間, Iroha karuta, marriage, Motoori Norinaga, oni, 本居 宣長
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When you hand-ear a neck
(Yes, 取 supposedly means “take” because it refers to taking a defeated enemy’s ear as a trophy in battle. So… appropriate?) 鬼の首を取ったよう (Oni no kubi wo totta you; “As if having taken an oni’s head”) Definition: Triumphant or boastful, especially … Continue reading
The topical commentary almost writes itself
鬼の空念仏 ((O)ni no sora-nenbutsu; “An oni‘s empty prayers”) Definition: A cruel and cold-hearted person putting on a show of benevolence, compassion, or charity. A bad person behaving uncharacteristically well. Like a demon making making a big show out of praying, … Continue reading
They’ll let you have next Tuesday, though
来年の事を言えば鬼が笑う (Rainen no koto wo ieba oni ga warau; “Oni laugh when you talk about next year”) Definition: Nobody can accurately predict the future, so there’s no use in trying to say what’s going to be happening next year. People … Continue reading
Ninety-nine problems and also another problem
When I first encountered this compound, I pictured it as a quaint conga line of traditional Japanese bakemono. Now all I can see is [redacted topical political comment]. 百鬼夜行 hya-.kki.ya.kou OR gyou Literally: hundred – oni (often translated “demon” or … Continue reading
Not All Bad
Continuing last week’s oni theme: 渡る世間に鬼は無し (Wataru seken ni oni wa nashi; “Across the world, there are no demons.”) Definition: Nobody in the whole world is an oni – i.e. a purely malicious being. “There is kindness to be found … Continue reading
Strength to the Strong with a Stick
Another selection from the Iroha Karuta: I’ve found a site that has not just the Edo set, but the Kyoto and Osaka sets as well, so expect to see more of these as they catch my fancy. 鬼に金棒 (Oni ni … Continue reading
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