095Japanese idiom 四字熟語
昔取った杵柄
むかしとったきねづかMukashi totta kinezuka
“The pestle handle of long ago.”
The meaning
An acquired skill never quite fades. The body remembers; what was truly learned wakes as soon as it is called.
At the origin
The image of the mochi pestle: the hand that once held it finds the gesture again.
The characters
In practice
Wake an old skill: it is closer than you think.
Themes
Similar proverbs
- 099 損して得取れ Accept a loss to gain later.
- 166 名月を取ってくれろと泣く子かな "Catch me the moon!" cries the child.
- 232 春や昔十五万石の城下かな Spring — long ago, a proud castle town of a hundred fifty thousand koku.
- 003 千里の道も一歩から A journey of a thousand leagues begins with a single step.
- 012 失敗は成功のもと Failure is the foundation of success.