Japanese Proverbs and Sayings

The proverbs and sayings of a people are the best source for understanding their national character. This collection of Japanese proverbs and sayings, the first published in English, provides insight into the complex and, to Westerners, often baffling tenets of Japanese civilization. Here are 2,500 proverbs and idiomatic expressions that have been selected as illustratie of Japanese thought. Many have English parallels, but even after reading the apparently uniquely Japanese sayings, one must agree with the proverb, ""Ninjo ni kokkyo nashi,"" ""There are no barriers to human nature.

Interesting not only for its English translations and explanations of the originals but for its arrangement under Japanese characteristics."" - Wilson Library Bulletin""A unique contribution....Anthropologists, folklorists, mythologists, comparative literature specialists can all add a new volume to their reference shelves."" - Books Abroad

Daniel Crump Buchanan was born in Japan and has spent much of his life there as a teacher in Japanese high schools and colleges and as a Presbyterian missionary. Educated in the United States, Mr. Buchanan received the B.A. degree from Fredericksburg College, the M.A. degree from Washington and Lee University, and the Ph.D. degree from Hartford Seminary Foundation.