One Japanese proverb, every day.
Three hundred and four thoughts from Japan — proverbs, four-character idioms, haiku, maxims — read word by word, character by character, with their origin and what they still propose today.
Today’s proverb
蛇足
Dasoku
“Legs on a snake.”
The contest was won — but the painter, overzealous, added legs to his snake and lost. The extra addition undoes the work: knowing when to stop is a skill.
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The proverbs
- 304 蒔かれた場所で咲きなさい Bloom where you were sown.
- 303 実るまで待つのも修行 Waiting for ripening is also part of the training.
- 302 一日一歩、三日で三歩 One step a day: in three days, three steps.
- 301 われ、ただ足るを知る I know only what is enough.
- 300 初心の花を忘るべからず Do not forget the flower of your beginnings.
- 299 国破れて山河あり The country is broken; mountains and rivers remain.