[p. 79]

APPENDIX

[p. 80]

The Board of Tourist Industry has here collected some one hundred and fifty specimens of Japanese proverbs, which have not been quoted in the text. The first line is the Romanized original, the second the literal translation, and the third the nearest equivalent in European proverbs.

It cordially acknowledges its indebtedness to Mr. Aisaburō Akiyama, author of the “Japanese Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases,” who has generously given the Board his permission to quote freely from his book.

[p. 81]

Abu hati torazu.
To catch neither a horse-fly nor a bee.
Between two stools, one falls to the ground.
Who hunts two hares together catches neither.

Aita kuti ga husagaranu.
An open mouth cannot be shut for astonishment.
(Astonishment keeps one’s mouth wide open, making one dumbfounded.)

Aku ni tuyokereba, zen nimo tuyoi.
Extreme in wickedness will make extreme in goodness.
A strong enemy will make a strong friend.

Akuzi senri o hasiru.
Bad news runs a thousand miles.
Bad news travels quickly.

Asa-oki wa san-mon no toku.
It is something to get up early.
The early bird catches the worm.
The morning hour has gold in its mouth.
(Mon is an old form of money value. 1 sen = 100 mon)

Asu wa asu no kaze ga huku.
Tomorrow blows tomorrow’s wind.
Tomorrow brings its own fortune.

[p. 82]

Tomorrow is a new day.

Ato no maturi.
Too late for the festival.
Rain after harvest.
The doctor after death.

Ato wa no to nare, yama to nare.
Let it later be a field or a mountain, I don’t care.
After me the deluge!

Atumono ni korite, namasu o huku.
One who has been burnt by hot broth blows namasu.
(Namasu is a cold Japanese salad of fish and vegetable.)
A scalded cat fears cold water.

Ayamatte aratamuru ni, habakaru-nakare.
Be not afraid to correct your fault.
It is never too late to mend.

Baka ni tukeru kusuri nasi.
There is no medicine for the fool.
Who is born a fool is never cured.

Baka to hasami wa tukai-yō.
Fools and scissors need nice handling.

[p. 83]

Praise a fool, and you may make him useful.

Binbō taka-makura.
Poor people can sleep soundly.
Little goods, little care.

Binbōnin no ko-dakusan.
Poor people get many children (and rich people get richer).
Children are poor men’s riches.

Bizin hakumei.
Beauty and luck go rarely together.
Over the greatest beauty hangs the greatest woe.

Bizin ni guzin ōsi.
Among beautiful women are many fools.
Beauty and folly are sisters.

Boro o kitemo, kokoro wa nisiki.
Though clad in rags, his heart is like a beautiful brocade.
Under rags there often beats a heart of gold.

Bōzu ga nikukerya, kesa made nikui.
Who hates a priest hates his stole too.
He who hates Peter harms his dog.

[p. 84]

Damari-musi ga kabe o tōsu.
Silent worms bore holes in the wall.
Silent men, like still water, are deep and dangerous.

Deru kugi wa utareru.
A nail that sticks out is struck in.
Envy follows good fortune.

Dōbyō ai-awaremu.
Sufferers from the same ailment are sympathetic to each other.
Misery loves company.

Dōki ai-motomu.
Like draws like.
Like likes like.
Birds of a feather flock together.

Donguri no se-kurabe.
Acorns compare their heights.
Much of a muchness.

Eiyū ai-siru.
Great men know each other.
Like knows like.

[p. 85]

Eiyū iro o konomu.
Great men are susceptible to female charms.
(Heroes are great admirers of the fair sex.)

En wa ina mono.
Matches are made by chance.
Marriages go by destiny.

Enryo hidarusi, date samusi.
To stand on ceremony makes one feel hungry; to be dandyish makes one feel cold.
A bashful dog never fattens.

E-yasuki mono wa usinai-yasusi.
A thing easy to get is easy to lose.
Lightly come, lightly go.

Gei wa mi o tasukeru.
Art brings bread.
Art holds fast when all else is lost.

Geko no tatetaru kura mo nasi.
No godown has ever been built by a non-drinker.
(An abstainer’s livelihood is hardly worthy of notice.)

[p. 86]

Gemen nyo-Bosatu, naisin nyo-Yasya.
The looks of a female Bodhisattva and the heart of a Yaksa.
A fair face with a foul heart.

Gesu no tie wa ato kara.
A fool’s wit comes after the event.
A fool’s wit is after-wit.

Gisin anki o umu.
Suspicion breeds phantoms.
Fear peoples the darkness with monsters.

Gō ni ittewa, gō ni sitagae.
Obey the customs of the place where you are.
Do at Rome as the Romans do.

Hadaka de mono o otosita tamesi nasi.
There is no instance of a naked man losing anything.
Beggars can never be bankrupt.

Hari hodo no koto o bō hodo ni yū.
To express a needle-sized matter as if it were the size of a cudgel.
Make an elephant of a fly.
Make a mountain of a mole-hill.

[p. 87]

Heta no naga-dangi.
A dull speaker talks long.
Brevity is the soul of wit.

Hi no nai tokoro ni kemuri wa tatanu.
Where there is no fire, there is no smoke.
No smoke without fire.

Hin-sureba don-suru.
Poverty dulls one’s wit.
Where honour ceases, knowledge decreases.

Hisasi o kasite, omoya o torareru.
By letting a pent-roof, one’s main house is taken.
Who lets another sit on his shoulder will soon have him on his head.

Hito no inoti wa tuyu yori moroi.
Human life is as fragile as the morning dew.
Life is a bubble.

Hito no uwasa mo sitizyū-go niti.
Gossip lasts but seventy-five days.
A nine days wonder.

Hito o mite hō o toke.
Preach a sermon according to your listeners.
Be all things to all men.

[p. 88]

Hito wa mikake ni yoranu mono.
Man cannot be told by looks.
Appearances are deceptive.

Honeori-zon no kutabire-mōke.
To labour hard for nothing but to gain fatigue.
So much labour came to naught.

Horeta yokume ni abata mo ekubo.
Pockmarks will seem like dimples to the lover’s blind eyes.
Love is blind

Hukusui bon ni kaerazu.
The water spilt from a tray never returns to it.
Lost happiness never returns.

Hyōtan kara koma ga deru.
A pony comes out of a gourd.
Unexpected things often happen.

Idobata-kaigi.
Housewives’ gossip around a well.
(Long and useless chattering, as is often heard at Mrs. Grundy’s tea-party.)

[p. 89]

I no naka no kawazu taikai o sirazu.
Frogs in the well are ignorant of the ocean.
He that is in hell knows not what heaven is.

Inu mo arukeba, bō ni ataru.
Even a dog, if it walks round, will clash with a stick.
The flying crow always catches something.
Every dog has his day.

Inu to saru no naka.
To be on bad terms like dogs and monkeys.
They agree like cats and dogs.

Ippō kiite gezi o suruna.
One man’s story is no story, hear both sides.
Look on both sides of the shield.

Isya no huyōzyō.
A physician is careless of his own health.
The physician of others, himself overrun with ulcers.

Iti hime, ni Tarō.
First a girl, then a boy.
(It is easy for a young mother to have a girl first and a boy next.)

[p. 90]

Iti o kiite, zyū o siru.
To know all of ten from hearing one.
A word to the wise is sufficient.

Iti osi, ni kane, san otoko.
Self-confidence first, money second, personal appearance third.
Faint heart never won fair lady.

Itigon kuti o izureba, siba mo oi-gatasi.
A word once uttered is beyond the reach of four galloping horses.
A word and a stone once let go cannot be recalled.

Itizi ga banzi.
From one learn all.
One who steals a pin will steal everything.

Itumo yanagi no sita ni dozyō wa oranu.
The loach does not stay always under the willow-tree.
Chances are not blackberries.
A fox is not caught twice in the same snare.

Iya to atama o tate ni huru.
Saying “No,” a woman shakes her head lengthwise.
Maidens say “No,” and mean “Yes.”

[p. 91]

Kaeru no ko wa kaeru.
Frogs breed frogs.
What is born of a cat will catch mice.
Like begets like.

Kaeru no tura ni mizu.
Like water on a frog’s face.
Like water off a duck’s back.

Kaiinu ni te o kamareru.
To have one’s hand bitten by his own pet dog.
To warm the snake in one’s bosom.
Caress your dog and he’ll spoil your clothes.

Kan o ōte, koto sadamaru.
A man’s worth is determined when he is laid in his coffin.
Call no man happy till he is dead.

Kane areba, baka mo danna.
Wealth makes fool a master.
Money makes the man.

Kanemoti to tanhaki wa tamaru hodo kitanai.
A rich man and a spittoon become dirtier as they accumulate.
Muck and money go together.

[p. 92]

Kani wa kōra ni nisete ana o horu.
The crab digs a hole after its carapace.
Cut your coat according to your cloth.

Kannan nanzi o tama ni su.
Difficulties make you a jewel.
Adversity makes a man wise.

Kasegu ni oituku binbō nasi.
Working overruns poverty.
Keep your shop, and your shop will keep you.

Kau wa morau ni masaru.
Better to buy than to be given.
What is bought is cheaper than a gift.

Ki kara otita saru.
Like a monkey down from a tree.
Like a fish out of water.

Kiite gokuraku, mite zigoku.
Heaven on hearsay, hell at sight.
(Great disappointment.)

Kinsen wa tanin.
Money makes strangers.

[p. 93]

Business is business.

Ko o miru koto oya ni sikazu.

No one knows a child like its own parents.

The parent is the best judge of the child.

Kōkai saki ni tatazu.

Repentance never comes ahead.

Late repentance is seldom worth much.

Kokoro no oni ga mi o semeru.

The devil in one’s heart accuses oneself.

A guilty conscience needs no accuser.

Kōya no asatte.

Dyers always say “day after tomorrow.”

Jam tomorrow and never jam today.

Korobanu saki no tue.

Have a walking-stick ready before a fall.

Keep your powder dry.

Kurusii toki no kami-danomi.

One prays to the gods only in hard times.

Some are atheists only in fair weather.

[p. 94]

Kyōboku kaze ōsi.
Tall trees catch much wind.
High regions are never without storms.

Kyūso kaette neko o kamu.
A cornered rat dares to bite a cat.
A coward’s fear may make a coward valiant.
A stag at bay is a dangerous enemy.

Mateba kanro no hiyori ari.
Awaiting brings a sweet day.
Everything comes to those who wait.

Me mo kuti hodo ni mono o yū.
The eyes speak as much as the mouth does.
Love needs no language.

Mimi o ōte, suzu o nusumu.
To steal a bell by covering one’s ears.
The cat shuts its eyes while it steals the cream.

Mitureba kakuru yo no narai.
That the moon waxes and wanes is the worldly way.
Every tide has its ebb.

Monzen no kozō narawanu kyō o yomu,

[p. 95]

A boy living near a Buddhist temple reads sutras.
The saint’s maid quotes Latin.
The sparrow near a school sings the primer.

Muri ga tōreba, dōri hikkomu.
When force pushes on, reason draws back.
Where might is master, justice is servant.

Musume sannin moteba, sindai tubusu.
To have three daughters is to run through one’s fortune.
Two daughters and back door are three arrant thieves.

Nagai mono niwa makareyo.
Let a long object wind you around.
Kings have long arms.

Nai ga iken no sōzimai.
Shortage of money is the last advice.
An empty purse makes a man wise but too late.

Nakuko to zitō niwa katenu.
One cannot beat the crying child and the zitō.
(Zitō is a feudal official of mediaeval Japan.)
The crying child and my lord will have their own ways.

Naranu kannin suruga kannin.
To bear what you can’t stand is truly to bear.

[p. 96]

Nigasita no wa ōkii.
The game is bigger for being lost.
Regret magnifies the loss.

Nikumarekko yo ni habikoru.
Bad boys stalk through the world.
Threatened folks live long.

Ningen banzi kane no yononaka.
Money is everything for mankind in this world.
Gold rules the world.

Niwatori o saku ni gyūtō o motiyu.
To employ an ox-knife to kill a hen.
To take a spear to kill a fly.

Nō aru taka wa tume o kakusu.
An efficient hawk hides its claws.
Cats hide their claws.
Still water runs deep.

Nodomoto sugureba atusa o wasuru.
After hot food has passed through the throat, one forgets that it was hot.
Danger past, God forgotten.

[p. 97]

Nōnasi inu no taka-boe.
An inefficient dog barks loudly.
A barking dog is never a good hunter.

Nusubito ni kane no ban.
To leave a thief in charge of money.
To set the wolf to watch the sheep.

Nusubito no hirune mo ate ga aru.
A thief takes his siesta in expectation of something.
A fox sleeps but counts hens in his dream.

Nusubito o toraete, nawa o nau.
To make a rope after a thief is caught.
Locking the stable after the horse has been stolen.

Ohige no tiri o harau.
To shake off the dust of a man’s beard.
(To pay court to a great personage.)

Oitewa ko ni sitagae.
When old, obey your children.

Okuzyō oku o kasaneru.
To pile a roof upon another.

[p. 98]

To gild refined gold.
To paint the lily.

Omoitatta ga kitiniti.
The day resolved is a lucky day.
There is no time like the present.

Oni mo tuno oru.
Even a devil breaks his horn in time.
When the devil grows old, he turns hermit.

Oni ni kanabō.
An iron rod to a devil.
(As strong as one can be. Hence, the essential thing for one.)

Oni no rusu ni sentaku.
Washing dirty clothes when the devil is away.
When the cat’s away, the mice will play.

Onna sannin yoreba kasimasii.
Three women make a noisy gathering. (Three women will drive a man mad.)
Two women and a goose make a market.

Onoga atama no hai o oe.
Drive off flies on your own head.
Sweep before your own door.

[p. 99]

Oya baka, ko rikō.
Foolish parents, wise children.
An ill cow may have a good calf.

Oya no inga ga ko ni mukuu.
Causes on the father follow effects on the children.
The father’s sins are visited on the children.

Oya no yokume.
Parents’ partial eyes.
Everybody thinks his geese are swans.

Oya o omou kokoro ni masaru oyagokoro.
Parental minds are stronger than children think them.
A father maintains ten children better than ten children one father.

Oya wa nakutomo, ko wa sodatu.
Children grow up even without their parents.
Nature is a good mother.

Raku wa ku no tane; ku wa raku no tane.
Pleasure is the source of pain; pain is the source of pleasure.
Rest comes from unrest and unrest from rest.

[p. 100]

Rikutu to kōyaku wa doko e demo tuku.
Reason and plasters will stick anywhere.

Ron yori syōko.
Proof is better than argument.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Ryōyū narabi-tatazu.
Two heroes cannot brook rivalry.
When Greek meets Greek, then comes the tug of war.
Two cocks in one yard do not agree.

Ryūtō dabi.
To begin with the dragon’s head and to end with the snake’s tail.
(To start with the rocket’s force and to end like the stick.)

Saisi tanmei.
A man of talent is short-lived.
Whom the gods love, die young.

Saigetu nagaruru ga gotosi.
Years and months pass like flowing.
Time passes like the wind.

[p. 101]

Sake wa honsin o arawasu.
Saké reveals one’s true heart.
The true man comes out in drink.

Sake wa urei o harau tama-bōki.
Saké is a precious duster of sorrow.
Wine maketh glad the heart of man.

Sakinzureba, hito o seisu.
One who goes ahead controls others.
The first in the boat has the choice of oars.

Saru no siri-warai.
Monkeys laugh at others’ hips.
An ass nicknames another “long ears.”

Se ni hara wa kaerarenu.
One’s belly cannot take the place of one’s back.
Near is my shirt, but nearer is my skin.

Senzyō no tutumi mo ari no ana kara kuzureru.
An ant-hole will destroy a long dike.
A little leak will sink a great ship.

Sika o ou mono wa yama o mizu.
The deer-hunter never sees the mountains.

[p. 102]

He who is in hot pursuit of gain is blind to reason.

Sinda ko no tosi o kazoeru.
To count the age of one’s dead child.
It is no use crying over spilt milk.

Sinin ni kuti nasi.
The dead have no mouths.
Dead men tell no tales.

Siranu ga hotoke.
Ignorance is Buddha.
Ignorance is bliss.

Sugitaru wa oyobazaru ni sikazu.
Too much is worse than too little.
Too much is as bad as too little.

Suki koso mono no zyōzu nare.
One does well what one likes best.
What one likes one will do well.

Sune ni kizu moteba, sasahara hasiru.
A man wounded in his leg always feels the reed-forest under his leg.
He who is guilty believes all men speak ill of him.

[p. 103]

Suzume hyaku made odori wasurezu.
Sparrows do not forget dancing until one hundred years of age.
A wolf hankers for sheep even at his last gasp.
What is learned in the cradle is carried to the grave.

Syō o in to seba, mazu uma o iyo.
If you would shoot a general, shoot his horse first.
He who would the daughter win, with the mother must begin.

Syōmon no dasiokure.
To bring out the bond too late.
To plead after sentence is given.

Syōziki no kōbe ni kami yadoru.
God dwells on an honest man’s head.
God defends the right.

Syu ni mazireba, akaku naru.
What mixes with vermilion becomes red.
He who touches pitch shall be defiled therewith.
Evil company doth corrupt good manners.

Tagei wa mugei.
Too many accomplishments, no accomplishment after all.
He who sips many arts drinks none.
Jack of all trades and master of none.

[p. 104]

Taiki bansei.
Great talents mature late.
Late fruit keeps well.

Tama migakazareba, hikari nasi.
A gem, unless polished, does not glitter.
Learn not, know not.

Tanki wa sonki.
Short temper causes losses.
Haste makes waste.

Te hattyō, kuti hattyō.
Eight arms and as many tongues.
He has long arms and a long tongue as well.

Tenmō so ni site, morasazu.
Heaven’s net is coarse, but catches everything.
Heaven’s vengeance is slow but sure.

Tō de sindō, hatati de saisi, sanzyū sugitewa tada no hito.
A prodigy at ten, a genius at twenty, and an ordinary man after thirty.
A man at five may be a fool at fifteen.
Early ripe, early rotten.

[p. 105]

Tobi ga taka o umu.
A kite may breed a falcon.
A black hen lays a white egg.

Toki ni aeba, nezumi mo tora to naru.
A rat may become a tiger if its day come.
Put a coward on his mettle, and he’ll fight the devil.

Tonde hi ni iru natu no musi.
They jump into the fire, foolish summer insects.
The moth flutters about the candle till at last it gets burnt.

Tora no i o karu kitune.
A fox relying upon a tiger.
An ass in lion’s skin.

Toran to seba, mazu ataeyo.
Give first to take.
He who would take must give.

Toranu tanuki no kawa-zanyō.
Before you catch your badgers don’t count their skin.
Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.

Tori naki sato no kōmori.

[p. 106]

Bats in a land lacking birds.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed is king.

Tosi wa kusuri.
Old age serves as a medicine.
Older and wiser.

Tosiyori no hiyamizu.
An old man takes a bath in cold water.
(An old man’s imprudence.)

Tukihi ni sekimori nasi.
There is no barrier-keeper for time to pass.
Time and hour are not tied with a rope.

Tuno o tamete, usi o korosu.
In trying to straighten the horn, one kills an ox.
Wanting to make right the eyebrow, he pulled out his eyes.

Tyōtinmoti wa saki ni tate.
The lantern-carrier should go ahead.
The candle that goes before gives the best light.

Tyōnai de siranu wa teisyu bakari nari.
It is the husband only who does not know in the street.
The good man is the only one who does not know what is

[p. 107]

amiss at home.

U no mane o suru karasu mizu ni oboru.
A crow that apes a cormorant gets drowned.
The frog burst when it tried to make itself as big as a bull.

Uma ni noru made wa usi ni nore.
Ride an ox till you can ride a horse.
He who cannot get bacon must be content with cabbage.

Uma no mimi ni nenbutu.
Saying prayers to a horse’s ears.
It is bad preaching to deaf ears.

Uranaisya minoue sirazu.
The fortune-teller does not know his own fortune.

Uri o hutatu ni watta-yō.
As alike as a cucumber cut in half.
As alike as two peas.

Uri no turu ni nasubi wa naranu.
Egg-plants never grow on cucumber-vines.
An onion will not produce a rose.

[p. 108]

Uso kara deta makoto.
The truth that has come out of falsehood.
Many a true word is spoken in jest.

Uso wa nusubito no hazimari.
To tell a lie is the beginning of a thief.
Show me a liar and I’ll show you a thief.

Uwasa o sureba, kage ga sasu.
Talk of a man and his shadow will turn up.
Speak of angels and you hear the rustle of their wings.
Talk of the devil and he will appear.

Uwate niwa uwate ari.
Even an expert may have his superior.
Diamond cut diamond.

Waga ta ni mizu hiku.
To draw water to one’s own paddy-field.
The miller draws water to his own mill.

Warau kado ni huku kitaru.
Fortune comes to a smiling house.
Laugh and grow fat.

Wazawai mo sannen tateba yaku ni tatu.

[p. 109]

Even an evil may be of some use after three years.
Keep a thing seven years and you will find a use for it.

Yake-bokkui ni hi ga tuki-yasui.
Charred piles are liable to catch fire.
Old potage is sooner heated than new-made.

Yake-isi ni mizu.
It is like pouring water on a hot stone.
All is lost that is put in a riven dish.

Yasukarō, warukarō.
Cheap and bad.
Cheap and shoddy.

Yasu-ukeai no haya-wasure.
He who makes ready promises forgets them quickly.
A man apt to promise is apt to forget.

Yo wa nana-sagari nana-agari.
Life has seven failures and seven successes.
Call me not fortunate till you see me buried.

Yōtō o kakagete, kuniku o uru.
To hang up a sheep’s head and sell dog’s flesh.
To cry wine and sell vinegar.

[p. 110]

Yudan taiteki.
Incautiousness is a great enemy.
Danger comes sooner when despised.

Yuki wa hōnen no sirusi.
Snow is the sign of a fruitful year.
A snow year, a rich year.

Zako no toto-maziri.
Small fish mix with big fish.
It does not become the sparrow to mix in the dance of the cranes.

Zen wa isoge.
Be quick to do good.
Strike the iron while it is hot.

Zigoku no sata mo kane sidai.
Money controls even the orders of hell.
Money is the key that opens all doors.

Zigō zitoku.
One’s own deed returns to oneself.
As you sow, so you reap.

Ziman, kōman, baka no uti.

[p. 111]

Self-praise and haughtiness are a part of folly.
Self-praise is no recommendation.

Zinsei wa huyū no gotosi.
Human life is as ephemeral as the may-fly’s.
Life is but a span.

Zyū yoku gō o seisu.
The soft often controls the hard.
Soft words win hard hearts.

Zyūnin toiro.
Ten men, ten colours.
So many men, so many minds.

[p. 112]

(267 L 33–2040)