Be Prepared

備えよ常に (sonae yo tsune ni): be prepared, the Scout motto in the form the Scout Association of Japan uses. 備えよ sonae yo is the imperative of 備える sonaeru, to make ready; 常に tsune ni is always; the command comes first and the always after, which is how the Japanese Scouts say it. Baden-Powell wrote that the motto was founded on his initials, B. P., and glossed it as readiness of mind and body to do one's duty. The Japanese form was in print by 1924, in a camping manual by a Kyoto scoutmaster that calls 備へよ常に the Boy Scouts' watchword and applies it to packing for camp; the Association writes it today in kana, そなえよつねに, with these kanji beside it.