Author Archives: Samuel Rexrode

‘Giving a Gold Coin to a Cat’

Age: 53

Date of Performance: 02/25/25

Language: English, Japanese

Nationality: Japanese

Occupation: Immigration Lawyer

Primary Language: Japanese

Residence: Tokyo, Japan

“Do you have any other experiences with folklore possibly?”

“Um, I’m not sure. Um…”

“Take your time, it’s okay if you don’t by the way. No pressure, haha.”

“Oh, actually, I remember one saying my friends used to say which was 猫に小判 (Neko ni koban), which basically means ‘Giving a gold coin to a cat’. It was basically a way of saying that you are giving something valuable or important to someone who does not understand how much its worth. But the reason why we said it was that it was kind of a pun because you can hear ‘neko’ [which translates to ‘cat’] twice.”

“Oh, so like a play on words.”

“Yes. We found it pretty funny.”

Context and Analysis:

My mother came across this proverb when she was young, and it seems that a lot of these types of humorous Japanese proverbs involve a play on words or a pun. It is interesting to note how common cats and coins can be linked in Japanese imagery, such as the maneki neko, a common Japanese figurine that depicts a cat and a coin and is believed to bring good fortune. The analysis is fairly self-explanatory based on the interview. The proverb is a playful way of describing when someone does not understand the worth of what they were given. There are many times in life when someone may hold something whose value they do not even realize, and it can be interesting commentary on what we collectively hold as valuable and what we do not.

‘A Lazy Fellow Moves a Mountain’

Age: 21

Date of Performance: 02/24/25

Language: English, Malayalam

Nationality: Indian

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: Los Angeles, CA

Main Transcription:

“Alright, do you have any experience, personal experiences, with any of these minor genres of folklore?”

“One comes to mind. When I was young, I used to water the plants, my mom’s plants, in the back garden. And we had to fill the bucket, and then go scoop it [the water] up, and put it in the pot. I would always fill it all the way up and struggle to bring it out, and my mom used to say ‘Malayalam,’ which is a language I speak where I’m from. “

….

“So the saying was: ‘Madiyan mala chumakkum (a lazy person tries to move a mountain)’”

“Okay, you’re going to have to write this down”

”I’ll write it down for you, haha. And what this means loosely is: ‘A lazy fellow moves a mountain,’ which, basically, I think, relates to this folklore tale of these, like, two girls, and there was water in these two glass jars, and the one girl, the wise girl, like, put of lots of small pebbles to make the it [the water] rise, but the lazy girl took a big pebble, threw it in, and broke the glass. Which means, you are meant to take, like, or put smart effort into what you do and try to advance in small intervals.”

“A work smarter, not harder-type thing.”

“Hahaha, yeah.”

“Do you think this was a formative experience for you? Like, how was that?”

“Yeah, I mean, she would say it a lot for many things, because a lot of times, there were many things I would try to get over with quickly, but she would repeat that and it sticks.“

“So it was a recurring thing?”

“Yeah.”

Context:

My interviewee first heard the saying from his mother during his childhood, and since then, it seems that it has maintained relevance throughout his upbringing. It is interesting that his experience carrying the bucket of water parallels the story of the two girls filling their glass jars, which I am sure is not coincidence. I tried looking deeper into the tale itself, and it seems to be a retelling of an old Aesop fable, though I have yet to make a confirmation on that connection given how little information there is. It could be that the tale, given in Malayalam, could be a local reinterpretation or retelling in India of an older story that could have originated elsewhere, but that is only a theory.

Analysis:

The proverb, and the tale it derives from, assert that overloading the self with work will not lead to genuine change, and that change itself comes in increments. Anyone who has tried to transform themselves by changing every aspect of their life, or ‘moving a mountain,’ eventually fails and ‘breaks the glass.’ I find this sentiment holds relevance in a hyper-optimized and demanding world where people are expected to make radical changes, ‘moving mountains,’ in their lives with the promise of wealth, social status, success, etc. Most of the time, change is difficult, but it becomes impossible when you pile everything on yourself like a mountain.

‘A Person Leaves Behind their Name’

Age: 53

Date of Performance: 02/25/25

Language: English, Japanese

Nationality: Japanese

Occupation: Immigration Lawyer

Primary Language: Japanese

Residence: Tokyo, Japan

“Okay, thanks, Mom, for doing this.”

“Of course! Haha, I might have to think a bit first, though.”

“Take your time. So do you have any experience with these kinds of minor genres of folklore? Right here.”

“Yes, um, so when I was very young, maybe during grade school? We used to have a shrine, or altar? Called a 仏壇 (Butsudan) which was for my grandmother with a lot of things like 位牌 (ihai), which is like a wooden engraving of her name, 仏像 (butsuzo) which is basically a Buddha statue, and rice, and flowers, things you would honor the dead with. And so we’d typically say ‘人は死して名を残す (Hito wa shishite na o nokosu),’ which translates to ‘A person leaves behind their name.’ And… yeah.”

“Okay, and is this saying something you reflect on often, or have reflected on often? Does it still carry the same weight as maybe it once did?”

“Yes, I’d say so. I don’t think about death often, not because I push it away, but I have always acknowledged it. I am not sure if I am making sense, but I am not sure when the last time I have been scared of dying was.”

“No, you make perfect sense. Thank you.”

Context:

My mother came across this saying when she was very young, and her seeing a continual reminder of her deceased grandmother was a formative experience in how she conducts her life. The tradition of keeping a Butsudan shrine is commonly found in many Japanese homes, and it serves as a way to ritually honor the dead. The ihai has pretty much a direct tie to the proverb, as the only thing left of her deceased grandmother is her name, the memory of her name, on the shrine.

Analysis:

Based on my interpretation, it seems that her and her family, instead of shunning away from something as eery and dreadful as the idea of death, embrace it as a natural part of life. Everyone internally understands that death is an inevitability, but to keep a shrine dedicated to one who has passed is almost a symbolic gesture in acknowledging, even welcoming it into their home. It reframes death as not some tall, daunting, and inevitable experience, but a completely natural and almost mundane part of life. The proverb is a direct reflection of this attitude, that all you leave behind is your name. It is to embrace death and nothingness, while leaving behind you and your memory.

‘Catch You Lacking’

Age: 21

Date of Performance: 02/24/25

Language: English

Nationality: Indian

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: Los Angeles, CA

Main Transcription:

“Do you have any other experiences with these kinds of minor genres in folklore?”

“Um, yeah, actually, I do. One example was in high school, or middle school, actually, um, my friends and I had this thing, which I think was pretty common outside as well, but if you put your hand in a circle below your waist, and someone looked at it, you got to pinch or hit them, like I would slap them on the hand.”

“Okay, does it have any, I don’t know if symbolic is the right word, but was there any greater meaning or was it just a little joke you guys played on each other?”

“Yeah, I don’t think it had any greater meaning except for catching people ‘lacking.’ Catching people unaware.”

“Haha, just catching people lacking.”

“Yeah, just to always keep people on edge as like a friendly, fun kind of game.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“Of course, warm regards to you, professor.”

Context:

This little game seems to be just a fun gesture that he used to do during his adolescence. I find this particular entry funny because I also have personal experience with this game during middle school. From the extent of my knowledge, it was probably spread through online communities and ‘meme’ culture.

Analysis:

Given what the interviewee said and my personal experience, there does not appear to be a deeper meaning of the gesture other than “catching people ‘lacking.'” I do not think there needs to be any effort to analyze the complexities of each tradition, game, or gesture that people engage with; sometimes, people just like to mess around. I find it fascinating, however, that this game has transcended local, even global boundaries, since we both have known about this game when we were younger. As to its origins, still unknown.