247Japanese idiom 四字熟語
画竜点睛
がりょうてんせいGaryō tensei
“Painting the dragon's pupil.”
The meaning
In the legend, the painted dragon flies away when its pupils are finally added. The final touch is no detail: it is what gives life to the whole.
At the origin
The Chinese legend of painter Zhang Sengyou, now a Japanese idiom.
The characters
In practice
Identify the "pupil" of your current work — and do not deliver without it.
Editorial note
Chinese legend.