Ei-yu Gi-jin

英雄 (Ei-yu) is a hero. 欺 (Gi) is to deceive. 人 (Jin) is a person.
-->Literaly means "Heros decieve people"

Explaining;
Talented people do something beyond people's thoughts.

欺 (Gi) usually means to deceive, so we sometimes take this word bad mistakenly. However, this Japanese proverb should be used in a good way. In other words, you have to do beyond imagination to be heros like Galileo said the earth was moving, like Steve Jobs invented Ipod.

Ei-ko Sei-sui

栄 (Ei) is flourish. 枯 (Ko) is wither. 盛 (Sei) is flourish. 衰 (Sui) is dicline.
-->Literaly means "Flourish, wither, flourish, dicline.

Explaining;
like flux and reflux of tides nothing can flourish forever, will wither someday, but would flourish again.

Today's Sakura Japanese Proverb is expressing the structure of the world. Prosperity and Declining repeat after each other. It can be referred to countries, products, even people. Like Britney Spears?

U-o Sa-o

右 (U) is right. 往 (O) is go. 左 (Sa) is left. 往 (O) is go.
-->Literaly means "Go right, Go left"

Explaining;
Become panic. Go hither and thither.

If you don't know where to go, you might go right and go left and go left and go right.... This proverb catches the people's actual move. I do U-o Sa-o almost everyday unfortunately.

Umi-sen Yama-sen

海 (Umi) is the sea. 千 (Sen) is a thousand. 山 (Yama) is a mountain. 千 (Sen) is a thousand.
-->Literaly means "The sea for a thousand, a mountain for a thousand.

Explaining;
Very cunning, sly like a person who has much experience.

This Japanese proverb comes from the Japanese old tradition that if snakes live in the sea for a thousand year and in mountains for a thousand year they will become dragons.

If snakes can be dragons with experience, what human beings can turn into?

I-shin Den-shin

以心 (I-shin) is by heart. 伝心 (Den-shin) is tell heart.
-->Literaly means "I will tell my heart by heart"

Explaining;
To understand somebody without words. Like with best partners.

This Japanese proverb is from Zen Buddism. Master monks tell their disciples the essense, the core of Zen Buddism by heart, which is impossible to be told by words.

Wa-kon Yo-sai

和魂 is Japanese Spirit. 洋才 is European Talent.
-->Leteraly means "Japanese Spirit and European Talent"

Explaining
To have Japanese Spirit and European Knowledge.

This Japanese proverb was born in 19th century when Europe was leading the world and we had just finished our samurai era. The Japanese "Meiji" government decided to adopt European style to catch up with Europe and America. However, we did not want to lose our identiy so that this proverb was created. The Japanese still use this word not to lose Japanese Spirit.

On-ko Chi-shin

温故 (On-ko) is to ask old things. 知新 (Chi-shin) is to know new things.
-->Literary means "By asking old things know new things".

Explaining
In order to get to know new things that you have not experienced you can learn from old things like the past. You can get wisdom from the history.

This is the Japanese proverb by Chinese thinker and social philosopher Confucius. He gave a big impact to Japanese thinkers.