Victory Manual

Very unabashedly, I love Japanese proverbs, even the ones that contradict each other.

十人十色 - Literally meaning, “10 people, 10 colors.” This phrase emphasizes the individuality of humans. “As many opinions as people.”

出るくぎは打たれる - Literally, “The nail that sticks up is hammered down.” Contrasting the proverb above, this expresses the idea that it is best to act the same as everyone else.

And finally, a totally unrelated proverb that I was reminded of by Harvey’s recent post,

花より団子 - Literally, “Rice dumplings rather than flowers.” Flowers may be beautiful, but they won’t fill your stomach. According to one reference, these are similar proverbs in English: “Bread is better than the songs of birds.” “Better to fill a man’s belly than his eye.” “Fair words fill not the belly.” I’ve heard none of these used before.