Tag Archives: Japanese proverbs

Japanese Proverb for Perseverance

Background

This informant is Mexican-American, but took a great interest in learning the language and culture of Japan when she began high school. Since then, she has visited Japan and founded a college club where she meets with and helps support Japanese exchange students studying in America.

Context

The informant described to me the first time she heard this proverb. She was struggling in one of her classes and a friend of hers from Japan (who she often texts to practice Japanese) texted it to her in the hopes that it would inspire her to continue persevering through the course. The informant said the Japanese phrase to me, while I was stressing about a grade on an assignment and explained what it meant.

Text

七転び八起き

Nanakorobi yaoki

Fall seven times, stand up eight

Thoughts

This proverb was clearly meaningful to the informant. I think, in part, it’s because it represents her connection with Japan, as well as her relationship with her friend. Furthermore, the phrase seemed to come into her life at a time where she needed to hear it, and therefore, it stuck with her enough for her to pass it on to other people, even those who do not speak Japanese.

binbo yusuri – The Poor’s Leg Shake

The informant, KK, is Japanese-American and does not speak Japanese, but can understand it to a degree.

KK: One thing my parents told me a lot was that shaking your legs while sitting leads to you getting poor. It either attracts some figure, or ghostie that lives in your house and sucks up all your dosh.

My parents said it whenever I shook my leg while sitting. I’m drawing a blank on the exact wording but the phrase is “binbo ni nacchauyo!”

I think either the story or the entity is called “binbo yusuri.”

(Japanese script: 貧乏ゆすり)

After I did some digging, I discovered that the first two characters literally mean “poor” and the rest of it is a verb that means “to shake.” It is the official term that refers to the behavioral tic, but it can be considered a proverb because the literal components of the word are not only metaphorical, but also reference a superstitious belief that shaking would cause a child being poor when they become adults.

There is no official consensus on why the Japanese associate leg-shaking with poverty, but there are two most commonly held beliefs why this is the case. The first is that shivering and fidgeting is associated with malnutrition, and the poor are possibly more likely to be afflicted with it. The second, more convincing possibility is that among samurai, fidgeting suggests a lack of self control. Shaking one’s leg thus implies that the person lacks discipline, which in turn suggests a lack of honor.

Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight

“You fall down seven times, but you get up eight,” as related by my informant, is a Japanese proverb meant to inspire perseverance, especially in the face of repeated failures.

In Japanese the expression is “Nana korobi ya oki.” This translates literally to mean “seven falls, eight getting up.” The characters are: 七転び八起き.

My informant is learning the Japanese language, so the fact that this expression came to mind for him before all others might indicate the prevalence of this expression in Japanese culture, emphasizing the societal importance of never giving up regardless of how hard it might be to carry on.