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II. MEANINGS AND ORIGINS OF PROVERBS

The units of social life that are richly productive of proverbs are marked by features peculiar to the conditions of the countries in which they are developed. It is only to be expected that Japanese proverbs, like those of other peoples, have taken the colour and character of the conditions under which they were born.

Our proverbs may, therefore, be studied first from an historical point of view. Proverbs are known in Japanese as “kotowaza.” “Koto” means speech, and “waza” work or doing. In simple language the word means “a turn of speech.” Of this, however, a more elaborate explanation is offered by Motoori-Norinaga (1730–1801), a nationalist-scholar of historical fame, who lived just before the dawn of the modern era of Meizi. He says that “waza” means the portentous power of divinity or of the spirits of dead souls, the mystic power by

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which the superhuman beings showed what was to come, good or bad.

Motoori’s theory is etymological, tracing the origin of the word to the language that was common in the country in the earliest period of its history. Natural calamities are called “waza-hai” (wazawai in modern speech), meaning “acts of god” and the word “waza” an exposition of divine will. The ancient word “waza-uta” is likewise traced back to the same etymological origin. Although represented by the Chinese ideograms meaning “children’s songs,” “waza-uta” are popular songs of unknown origin or authorship that were popular in ancient society. These songs are generally enigmatic but, when carefully studied, prove to be political satires or popular protests against delinquencies in the nobility. Of these songs those of the dynasty of the Emperor Saimei (reigned 655–661) are handed down in the ancient classical literature of the country, and these are most famous. They are a key to the attitude of our early ancestors who regarded those songs as expressions of divine origin and inspiration.

Etymological theories of this sort are not to be dismissed lightly. The Japanese people have since the earliest time of their history placed very strong faith in speech, this faith often rising to a point of religious reverence. The magical formulas of incantation for dispelling all evil spirits were believed potent because of the “kotodama” or the spirit of speech they contained. The sacred addresses made to the throne or to the divinity were known as “Yo-Goto” meaning “good speech.” It was believed that the land they claimed as their own was a country blessed by “kotodama”—the spirit of speech.

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It is said that the Emperor Yūryaku (reigned 456–479), when out hunting one day on Mount Kazuraki, came across a deity named Hito-Koto-Nusi-no-Kami (God who utters one word), whom some interpret as the deity of “kotodama” or the spirit of speech. This deity is said to have spoken to man only one word at a time, good or bad. He was also known by the name Koto-Saku-no-Kami, meaning a deity who explained by speech. And this deity explained all things, good or evil, by a single word.

The idea was that divine will was revealed in a single word. In this idea is found the original meaning of “kotowaza” or proverbs. Here is found the origin of the Japanese spirit which discountenances verbosity and lightly considered speech. Here is also seen the beginning of the ancient faith of “kotoage senu kuni”—the country not of speech but of acts; and the root thought of Busidō (the way of the warrior) which taught men to keep their thoughts to themselves under all sorts of difficulty and humbly to perform their duty.

Perhaps I may be permitted to make a digression and say that our songs and poems through our racial life of more than twenty centuries have always taken the traditional form of thirty-one syllables. The “haiku” of more recent origin is in seventeen short syllables. The idea and faith with which our people have adhered to the older form of verse and the principle by which they evolved the later form must be explained by more than the thought of valuing words and guarding against verbosity. A distinct characteristic of Japanese poetry is its attitude to turn from perception of nature direct to its interpretation, symbolic and impressionistic. Only a few words are used

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as a vehicle to convey the far-off flight of mind; and this may be claimed as one of the distinct achievements of Eastern art.

In ancient times, as stated before, proverbs originated or were accepted as expressions of the divine will. Most of the place-names mentioned in the oldest chronicles, covering all parts of the country, originated from the brief expressions attributed to the deities or dignitaries who visited those places. It is a well-known story that Prince Yamato-Takeru-no-Mikoto, while leading an expedition into the eastern provinces of the country, was overtaken by a storm on the sea, and his beloved consort, Princess Oto-Tatibana-Hime, had to be offered as a sacrifice to appease the wrath of the Deity of the Sea. When the Prince reached the eastern provinces he ascended a lofty peak and saw the land that lay at his feet. But his hour of triumph was marred by the thought of his lost consort. He is said to have expressed his aggrieved mind by saying “Azuma haya!”—“Oh, for my beloved one!” Since then the eastern provinces of the country have been called “Azuma.”

Mount Tukuba in the province of Hitati (the present Ibaraki Prefecture) once used to be a free gathering-place of young men and women. These meetings were called “kagai” and were probably conducted with much the same freedom as the Bacchanalia of ancient Greece. “No young woman is worthy who cannot win the fortune of wedlock at the ‘kagai’ of Tukuba,” ran an old proverb, according to a chronicle of local folk-lore handed down presumably from the eighth century.

The “Koziki” or “Record of Ancient Matters” (712 A. D.), one of the oldest chronicles of the Japanese people,

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tells how once a pheasant was called upon by deities in heaven to carry their message to deities on earth, and how the bird went off on the errand but failed to return, thus giving birth to the proverbial expression of “a pheasant messenger.” Something, by the way, after the pattern of “a corbie messenger” of Scotch origin.

These proverbs from ancient chronicles are mentioned here to show how proverbs which had originated as expressions of the divine mind or will were beginning at this period of history to take the colour of the everyday life of the people.

The “Manyōsyū” (circ. 760 A. D.), containing four thousand five hundred poetical compositions, is the oldest anthology and as such has a permanent place in the literary history of the country. But because these poems are mostly lyrical in sentiment, and on that account remain outside the province of proverbs whose fountain-head is worldly wisdom, this ancient anthology has but few pieces of a proverbial cast. The only exceptions may be found in the compositions by Yamanoue-no-Okura (660–733), who often chose subjects in the life of people and was therefore called “a poet of life.” Some lines from his famous Dialogue on Poverty, which gives a glimpse of the condition of the poor, such as those given below, are not unlike modern proverbs.

*“Omoki umani ni uwani utu.”

“An upper load on an over-laden horse.”

* In giving examples, the Romanized originals are placed first, next their literal translations, then, if needed, the foreign equivalents or explanations in brackets.

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“Itaki kizu ni sio o sosogu.”

“Sprinkling salt on a smarting wound.”

“Mizikaki mono no hasi kiru.”

“Cutting the end of what is short.”

All the three pieces have the same implication as that of the popular modern proverb: “Nakittura ni hati” (“Bees sting a crying face”), which corresponds to the European “Misfortunes never come singly.”

The Heian Period (794–1185) was an age of elegance and refined sentiment without parallel in the history of the country; but these features were seen only in the life of the nobility. Living on a plane far detached from the life of the common people, the nobles remained aloof from the world of practical life, where only proverbs could be born. “The Tales of Genzi,” which runs into many volumes to depict the court life of the time, offers practically nothing by way of proverbs, there being only a few that might be considered as such. The court nobles of the period lived only in the realm of art and fantasy which held worldly wisdom in disdain. In order to enrich and give elegance to their language, they developed, with very successful results, as far as they went, a form of poetry known as “hiki-uta,” in which passages quoted from ancient poetry were deftly used, and this technique was extended to daily conversation and to other kinds of literary composition.

These poetical works were often such that they are called “proverbs of art.” They are the sources of many that still remain in use as expressions of refined and elegant sentiments. A few examples are given below.

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“Yuku mizu ni kazu kaku yorimo hakanasi.”

“More vain than to write in running water.”

“Kinō no huti wa kyō no se to naru.”

“Yesterday a deep pool: today only a shallow.”

“Nakute zo hito wa koisikari-keru.”

“He is missed only when he is no more.”

“Katami koso ima wa ada nare.”

“My regret is the deeper because of what remains of him.”

“Sue no tuyu, moto no sizuku.”

“A dewdrop on the bough and a drip on the trunk: both may evaporate in the end.” (The world, indeed, is but a fleeting show.)

“Sakura wa hana ni araware nikeri.”

“By their blooming one will perceive cherry-trees among others.”

All these lines are from the “waka” or thirty-one-syllable short poems, and their number might be easily multiplied. They are tinged by experience of love, or by that sense of vanity of life which was taught by Buddhism. In a sense they may be called proverbs. But they are different from those proverbs which I called “poetry of wisdom,” because they should rather be considered “wisdom born of poetry” or “enlightenment of mind through poetry.” Unlike the wise sayings of sages, these lines are expressions of poetic minds which were deeply steeped in

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subtleties of human sentiment, only to emerge therefrom at times and strike the homely chord of everyday life. Many elegant poetic passages of this sort are preserved in good numbers and are in as common use as proverbs.

The four centuries of polite art and literature, viz. the Heian Period, were followed by the régime of the Taira family which ran to extremes in emulation of the elegance of the preceding age. But the glory that was Taira was not to last for long, as runs the oft-quoted proverb: “The vainglorious Taira clan was not to be long.” The Taira régime fell in the early part of the twelfth century, and there followed an era of new values, an era of the rise of Buddhism, historically known as the Kamakura Period, which continued from 1185 to 1333.

This age of religious activity was ushered in by a number of great Buddhist teachers such as Hōnen (1133–1212), Sinran (1173–1262), Dōgen (1200–1253), Nitiren (1222–1282). They came almost one upon the heels of another and established their own sects. Their doctrines differed in many points but agreed in teaching the idea of all men being equal. They paved the way for the development of a new order of cultural life in which the mass of the general populace was to take part. However, the lower section of society at this period was caught on the one hand by the glamour of the new religious faiths that had swept the country, and on the other was still under the intolerant pressure of the military régime of Kamakura which ruled with a strong hand. This section of people was not for some time yet to achieve such emancipation of mind as to bring about their own order of life.