Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2013

雨垂れ石を穿つ Amadare ishi o ugatsu

Raindrops will wear through a stone.
(Slow and steady wins the race.)

Slow accumulation and attrition are chronicled over and over in Japanese proverbs, as in “Chiri mo tsumoreba yama to naru” (“Even dust amassed will grow into a mountain”). Here, the opposite effect is described, but with the same sustained effort.

From Japanese Proverbs: Wit and Wisdom by David Galef (2012; Tuttle; 224pp; ¥1,500), available from major bookstores and Amazon.jp.