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.