Text:

Informant: “My grandpa taught me a phrase called, “fukusui bon ni kaerazu”, which means “spilt water never returns to the tray”. It’s basically saying what’s done is already done, so don’t stress about it too much, and I really like it because it’s like a really zen way to live life, you know?”

Interviewer: “Oh yeah for sure, do you mind sharing when you first heard this, and the kind of effect this had on your life”

Informant: “Yeah, so my grandpa told me that during my senior year, and I was basically telling him how there was a part of me that regretted being set on going ROTC for college early on instead of trying to like actually go further with hockey, since I didn’t try to talk to any college coaches or like go to more camps, since I was like always just set that it’d be better off to go to college since the chance of making it pro is so slim. And I think what made me regret so suddenly was just watching all the other guys I grew up playing with going onto play higher levels either in pros or college but him telling me that and kind of explaining how it’s useless to stress about the past helped me get closure and just move on, since I could still play hockey at USC in the club team even if it might not be as flashy as the pros.”

“I think in general the phrase just helped me learn to not take everything too seriously, and just let things happen instead of trying to control everything, since whatever happens happens.”

Context:

The informant is a 19 year old sophomore at USC, who is studying environmental science. He grew up in Irvine, California, and played hockey all his life, and still plays to this day on the USC men’s club hockey team. This topic came up after I came back from playing intramural basketball, and told him about how I missed the feeling of playing actual organized sports and wished I was good enough to have had the chance to play in college, even if it was a small D3 or JUCO school. Relating to the experience, he shared his hockey experience and our conversation reached this topic. As shown in the interview, the phrase was told to him by his grandfather, who was a second-generation Japanese American; for the informant’s interpretation, it seems he took the literal meaning to heart, and uses it in his life to help him mentally not stress too much about past regrets or mistakes.

Analysis:

This Japanese proverb is a perfect exemplification of a traditional verbal folktale, as it is a long-standing saying in Japan that was passed down orally through family for this informant. The context of use for this proverb is to offer emotional wisdom, emphasizing that it’s what’s past is past, and that it’s foolish to let any form of regret from the past continue to affect one’s life. For this informant, just as how verbal folklore is passed down intimately between individuals, he learned this proverb from a family member. This informant’s story also holds cultural significance, as with the informant being a fourth generation immigrant who is culturally closer to the U.S than Japan, him still finding meaning within a Japanese proverb and its application to an important decision in his life shows how folklore can be meaningful across multiple cultures.