Yojijukugo (四字熟語)

I think I’ve found a new pasttime… studying Yojijukugo.

No, its not some sort of funky martial art that you do while sitting on a pillow, or trying to stretch your butt cheeks apart…
Yojijukugo (yo-jee-jyu-koo-go) is basically a form of Japanese literary art based on four character phrase or idea. That’s more or less the dictionary meaning of 四字熟語 (yojijukugo). Texts will try to have you think of it as a compound phrase of characters to form an idea. I prefer to think of it as a compound idea. Not actually more than one idea, but a merge of ideas to form a completely new concept.

The reason I say this…? Glad you asked.
A particular yojijukugo has caught my attention lately.
風鈴火山

Now, taking these four elegant characters alone don’t really mean anything deep.
風 = fu, kaze = wind.
鈴 = rin = forest.
火 = ka = fire.
山 = zan, yama = mountain.

Perhaps a little background on this, to help better understand.
In 12th to 16th century Japan, the country was in civil unrest. Civil war. Families and clans were fighting for land and power while the ruling class was fighting for security of the country from invaders. There were warriors roaming the countryside (named ronin), and warriors employed by prefectural lords. All of the warriors followed a particular discipline — bushido. The law of the samurai. Europeans had a similar set of rules; chivalry. However, bushido was much more than simple kind acts or gestures. It was a way of life. A way to survive, even. A samurai’s most prized posessions were his sword, and his honor. Remove a samurai’s honor, and he is no longer fit for service by his employer — a discrace, for having broken one of the values of bushido.

“When is he going to get to the point?”, you’re probably wondering… humor me a bit more. It won’t take long.

Now, since a samurai values honor such that he may further fulfill his employer’s wishes, it also means that he values glory. After all, what’s a battle with no glory? So, he must distinguish himself in battle, to gain more glory, to gain more honor…
In battle, a warrior must know when to act aggressively, and when to retreat. When to remain passive, and when to simply observe. The simple ability to know when to do the right thing saves the warrior’s life, gains him points in society, which gains him glory, and also more honor in the eyes of his countrymen. Thus, our four-character idiom, 風鈴火山 (fuurin kazan).

The idea behind furrin kazan is “the key to victory is to judge the situation correctly, and act accordingly”. This same idea (using the same idioms) has evolved into the modern meaning “acting appropriately to the given situation”.

For ancient samurai, fuurin kazan had even more meaning. It literally meant:
“As swift as the wind. As silent as the forest. As fierce as the fire. As unmovable as the mountain.” Each of the elements to guide a warrior make up the yojijukugo “fuurin kazan”; wind, forest, fire, and mountain.