061Japanese proverb ことわざ
馬子にも衣装
まごにもいしょうMago ni mo ishō
“Clothes dress up even a stable hand.”
The meaning
Attire changes how others see us — and how we see ourselves. Without making a person's worth, appearance opens or closes doors; better to know it.
At the origin
The mago led packhorses on Edo roads; well dressed, he too cut a fine figure.
The characters
- 馬子 magopackhorse driver
- に nito, for
- も
- 衣装
にParticleThe point of arrival: a place, a moment, a destination.
In practice
For the occasions that matter, mind the form: it serves the substance.