Classics

Phrases from the Chinese classics and from Japan's own masters, such as onko chishin from the Analects and Musashi's ware koto ni oite kōkaisezu. Each study opens the book the words come from and shows the passage they stand in.

知者は惑わず · chisha wa madowazu The Wise Have No Delusions

仁者は憂えず · jinsha wa ureezu The Benevolent Have No Worries

法剛柔呑吐 · hō wa gōjū o dontosu Hard and Soft, Taking In and Giving Out

勇者は懼れず · yūsha wa osorezu The Brave Have No Fears

心正則筆正 · kokoro tadashikereba fude tadashi When the Heart Is Upright, the Brush Is Upright

爲仁由己 · jin o nasu wa onore ni yoru The Practice of Humaneness Rests on Oneself

空手に先手無し · karate ni sente nashi There is No First Attack in Karate

万理一空 · banri ikkū Ten Thousand Principles, One Emptiness

千里の道も一歩より · senri no michi mo ippo yori A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step

文武両道 · bunbu ryōdō Literary and Military Arts

柔能制剛 · jū yoku gō o seisu The Soft Overcomes the Hard

精神一到 · seishin ittō A Concentrated Mind Achieves Anything

世事當如行雲流水 · seji wa masa ni kōun ryūsui no gotoku subeshi The Affairs of the World Should Be Like Moving Clouds and Flowing Water

琴瑟之交 · kinshitsu no majiwari Close as Two Zithers

我事に於て後悔せず · ware koto ni oite kōkaisezu Do not regret what you have done

風林火山 · fūrinkazan Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain

初心忘る可からず · shoshin wasurubekarazu Never Lose Your Beginner's Spirit

技術より心術 · gijutsu yori shinjutsu Spirit Over Technique

常在戦場 · jōzai senjō Always on the Battlefield

常に思念工夫せよ · tsune ni shinen kufūseyo Always Be Creative

先づ自己を知れ而して他を知れ · mazu jiko o shire, shikashite ta o shire First Know Yourself Then Know Others

心は放たん事を要す · kokoro wa hanatan koto o yōsu The Mind Must Be Set Free

大器晩成 · taiki bansei Great Talents Mature Late

克己復礼 · kokki fukurei Master the Self, Return to Propriety

一意専心 · ichii senshin Wholehearted Devotion

温故知新 · onko chishin Respect the Past, Create the New

明鏡止水 · meikyō shisui A Clear Mirror, Still Water

生死有命富貴在天 · seishi mei ari, fūki ten ni ari Death and life have their determined appointments - Riches and honors depend upon heaven

正勝吾勝 · masakatsu agatsu True Victory is Victory Over Oneself

吾唯足知 · ware tada taru o shiru I Know Only That I Have Enough

射は仁の道なり · sha wa jin no michi nari Archery is the Way of Humaneness

一隅を照らす · ichigū o terasu Light Up Your Own Corner

和を以て貴しと為す · wa o motte tōtoshi to nasu Harmony Is to Be Prized

千日の稽古を鍛とし、万日の稽古を錬とす · sennichi no keiko o tan to shi, mannichi no keiko o ren to su A Thousand Days to Forge, Ten Thousand to Refine

行雲流水 · kōun ryūsui Moving Clouds, Flowing Water

桃李満門 · tōri manmon A Gate Full of Excellent Pupils

切磋琢磨 · sessa takuma Polish One Another

敬天愛人 · keiten aijin Revere Heaven, Love People

偕老同穴 · kairō dōketsu Grow Old Together

比翼連理 · hiyoku renri Wing to Wing, Branch to Branch

琴瑟相和 · kinshitsu sōwa Two Zithers in Harmony

過ぎたるは猶及ばざるが如し · sugitaru wa nao oyobazaru ga gotoshi Going too far is as bad as falling short

己に忠実なれ · onore ni chūjitsu nare To Thine Own Self Be True