Drop in Chinese / Japanese...

This Japanese proverb simply reads, “[In] Flowers it's Cherry Blossoms, [In] Men it's Warriors.”

花は櫻木人は武士 is meant to say that of all the flowers in the world, the cherry blossom is the best. And of all men in the world, the Samurai or Warrior is the best

This proverb has been around for a long time. It's believed to have been composed sometime before the Edo Period in Japan (which started in 1603).

Some will drop one syllable and pronounce this, “hana wa sakura hito wa bushi.” That's “sakura” instead of “sakuragi,” which is like saying “cherry blossom” instead of “cherry tree.”

The third character was traditionally written as 櫻. But in modern Japan, that became 桜. You may still see 櫻 used from time to time on older pieces of calligraphy. We can do either one, so just make a special request if you want 櫻.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

This refers to the virtue, morality, and ethics that any practitioner of martial arts should possess.

This can be used in both Chinese and Japanese in place of English terms such as “soldierly virtue,” “good conduct” (military), “warrior ethics,” and being honorable regarding any fight or competition.

In Japanese, there is a slight variation in the last character, making it 武徳 instead of 武德 in Japan. And yes, just one little horizontal stroke is omitted. If you need the Japanese version, please choose a Japanese calligrapher, or drop me a note so that I make sure you get the characters you intend.

See Also:  Morality of Mind | Morality of Deed

气剑体一致 often gets translated as “Mind Sword Body,” or “Spirit, Sword, and Body as One.” But I think these translations don't tell you enough about what this is really saying.

In this context, 気, which is the modern Japanese version of 氣, means spiritual and unseen energy or “life energy.” In some cases, 気 can be translated as spirit, feeling, or nature. If defined as the mind, it's more about the invisible or intangible parts of one's mind (or soul).

剣 is the Japanese version of 劍 meaning sword.

体 is the modern Japanese version of 體 meaning body.

The Kanji 一 means one, and in this case, suggests “all in one.” The Kanji 到 means to send, deliver, or convey. But together, 一到 suggests all these things in agreement, union cooperation, or in concert.

Note: Arguments exist as to whether this should be romanized as Kikentaiitchi, Kikentaiicchi, or kikentaiichi. Technically, if you drop the last character, you get 気剣体一 and kikentaiichi (ki ken tai ichi), which is also a valid phrase.

My Australian friends always say, “No worries, mate.” It's caught on with me, though I drop the “mate” part since it confuses my fellow Americans.

If you would like to express the idea of “no worries,” 放心 is the best and most natural way to say it in Chinese.

The characters you see to the left can be translated as “put your mind at rest” or “to be at ease.” You could literally translate “no worries,” but it doesn't “flow” like this simple Chinese version.

For your info, the first character means to release, to free, to let go, to relax, or to rest. The second character means your heart or your mind.

Note that in Japanese and Korean, this holds the similar meaning of “peace of mind” but can also mean absentmindedness or carelessness, depending on context.

雨滴 is the Chinese and Japanese Kanji for “raindrop” or “raindrops.”

少林寺拳法 is a specific type of martial art in Japan that claims origins in the Kung Fu practiced in the original Shaolin Monastery of China.

The first three characters mean “Shaolin Monastery,” and you might notice the Japanese is pronounced in a very similar way. The reason is, many words were “borrowed” from the original Chinese when Japan did not have a written language and simply absorbed Chinese characters into their language around the 5th century. When a Japanese word did not exist, the Chinese pronunciation was often absorbed as well as the written form.

The last two characters mean “fist law” or “method of the fist.” It has long been argued as to whether the Japanese for these characters should be Romanized as “kempo” or “kenpo.” The official method should be “kenpou” but it's common to drop the “u” that comes after the “o.”

I imagine if you are looking for this title, you already know what it means, so the above is simply extra information that a student of Shorinji Kempo might want to know.

There is more than one way to translate the ancient Chinese military proverb, 平时多流汗战时少流血. Here are a few interpretations:

A drop of sweat spent in a drill is a drop of blood saved in war.

More practice will give one a better chance of success in real situations.

The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle.

I heard this many times when I was a U.S. Marine but I had no idea at the time that it was actually an old Chinese proverb.

See Also:  Blood Sweat and Tears

This word means mutual benefit or mutually beneficial in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.

This can also be defined as reciprocity or reciprocal.

Note: In Japanese, they will tend to drop one stroke on the second character and write 互恵 instead of 互惠. If this small variation matters to you, please drop me a note when you place your order.

人生朝露 is a proverb that means “human life is like morning dew.”

Figuratively, this suggests the ephemeral and precarious nature of human existence.

Also translated as:
Man's life vanishes like a drop of dew.
A person's life is as fleeting as morning dew.
Life is as transient as morning due.