楽あれば苦あり — where there is ease, there is hardship; and where there is hardship, ease.
楽あれば苦ありraku areba ku ari
"if there is ease, there is hardship." Pleasure and pain come paired, and they turn into each other — so don't spend yourself in the good times, and take heart in the hard ones, because they don't last either. The proverb underneath just enough.
七転び八起きnana-korobi ya-oki
"fall seven times, rise eight." It doesn't say don't fall — it assumes you will. The dignity is entirely in the getting up. Resilience over perfection.
猿も木から落ちるsaru mo ki kara ochiru
"even monkeys fall from trees." Even the expert, even the natural, slips. Your stumble is not proof you don't belong in the tree. A proverb made of compassion.
情けは人の為ならずnasake wa hito no tame narazu
"compassion is not for others' sake alone." Kindness you give comes back to you — so mercy toward others and mercy toward yourself are the same circle. Often misread as its opposite; the true meaning is that kindness returns.
石の上にも三年ishi no ue ni mo sannen
"three years on a stone." Sit on even a cold stone long enough and it warms. Patience and perseverance turn hard beginnings into something that holds.
継続は力なりkeizoku wa chikara nari
"continuation is strength." Not the grand gesture but the thing done again and again — the daily practice, the word kept quietly over years. Consistency is the power.
花より団子hana yori dango
"dumplings over flowers." Substance over spectacle — the nourishing thing over the pretty one. Taste's oldest instinct, said with a wink.
出る杭は打たれるderu kui wa utareru
"the stake that sticks up gets hammered down." Japan's caution about standing out — real wisdom, and also its shadow. The Western answer (the occasional freak) is that sometimes the stake that sticks up is the one that matters. Bridge both: know when to blend, and when to rise.
十人十色jū-nin to-iro
"ten people, ten colors." Everyone sees differently, and that's not a problem to fix. The individual honored inside the group.
一期一会ichi-go ichi-e
"one time, one meeting." Every encounter happens only once and never returns — so meet it fully. Presence as reverence.
明日は明日の風が吹くashita wa ashita no kaze ga fuku
"tomorrow, tomorrow's wind will blow." Don't carry tomorrow's weather today. The gentle, 前向き cousin of "let it be."
温故知新onko chishin
"study the old to understand the new." The past is not behind you; it's the ground the new stands on. Tradition and invention, held together.