Japanese Proverb Quotations

Where there is no antagonist, you cannot quarrel.

When you buy a vase cheap, look for the flaw; when a man offers favors, look for the motive

Life without endeavor is like entering a jewel-mine and coming out with empty hands

One kind word can warm three winter months.

One dog yelping at nothing will set ten thousand straining at their collars

None of us are as smart as all of us

One who smiles rather than rages is always the stronger

He who buys what he needs not, sells what he needs

He is poor who does not feel content.

Knowledge without wisdom is a load of books on the back an ass

My skirt with tears is always wet - I have forgotten to forget

It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive disenchanted

It is better to be the head of chicken than the rear end of an ox

It is better to be ignorant than mistaken

When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.

When the cat mourns for the mouse do not take her seriously

Wisdom and virtue are like the two wheels of a cart

Tigers die and leave their skins; people die and leave their names

The pebble in the brook secretly thinks itself a precious stone

We are no more than candles burning in the wind

The day you decide to do it is your lucky day

Beat your wife on the wedding day, and your married life will be happy

Don't stay long when the husband is not at home

First the man takes a drink; then the drink takes a drink; then the drink takes the man

The tongue is more to be feared than the sword

The tongue is but three inches long, yet it can kill a man six feet high

Do you need proof of God? Does one light a torch to see the sun?

A single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle

Forgiving the unrepentant is like drawing pictures on water

Everyone makes mistakes. That's why there is an eraser on every pencil.

The reverse side also has a reverse side.

Not to know is to be a Buddha

A round egg can be made square according to how you cut it; words would be harsh according to how you speak them

If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty

If you believe everything you read, better not read.

If you understand everything, you must be misinformed

In wealth, many friends; in poverty, not even relatives.

The gods only laugh when people ask them for money.