198Japanese quotation 名言
千日の稽古を鍛とし、万日の稽古を錬とす
せんにちのけいこをたんとし、まんにちのけいこをれんとすSennichi no keiko o tan to shi, mannichi no keiko o ren to su
“A thousand days of practice to forge; ten thousand to polish.”
The meaning
Three years of exercise give the form; thirty years give the shine. Mastery has two ages — the one where you learn the gesture, the one where the gesture becomes you.
At the origin
From the Gorin no sho (Book of Five Rings), written by Miyamoto Musashi around 1645.
The characters
- 千日 sennichithousand days
- の noof (link)
- 稽古 keikopractice
- を
- 鍛
- と
- し
- 、
- 万日
- の
- 稽古
- を
- 錬
- と
- す
のParticleLinks two words: possession or belonging, like “of”.
In practice
Do not ask when you will be done learning: that is the wrong calendar.
Themes
In the collections · Tsuwamono