125Japanese proverb ことわざ
勝って兜の緒を締めよ
かってかぶとのおをしめよKatte kabuto no o o shimeyo
“After victory, tighten your helmet cords.”
The meaning
The most dangerous moment comes after success: the guard drops, pride rises. Treating every victory as the eve of a trial protects from the fall that follows triumphs.
At the origin
A warrior maxim from samurai tradition, now in common use.
The characters
- 勝って kattehaving won
- 兜 kabutohelmet
- の noof (link)
- 緒
- を
- 締めよ
のParticleLinks two words: possession or belonging, like “of”.
In practice
After a success, check your foundations instead of parading.