Three wise monkeys

The Three Wise Monkeys carved above the entrance to a stable in the Nikkō Tōshōgū shrine in Japan

The three wise monkeys (Japanese: 三猿さんえん, san-zaru, or 三さん匹ひきの猿さる, san-biki no saru, "three monkeys") are a pictorial maxim. Together they embody the proverbial principle to "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil". The three monkeys are Mizaru (見み猿ざる), covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Mikazaru (聞きか猿さる), covering his ears, who hears no evil; and Mazaru (言いわ猿さる), covering his mouth, who speaks no evil.

Sometimes there is a fourth monkey depicted with the three others; the last one, Shizaru (し猿ざる), covers his abdomen or crotch and symbolizes the principle of "do no evil".

Origin

The source that popularized this pictorial maxim is a 17th century carving over a door of the famous Tōshō-gū shrine in Nikkō, Japan. The maxim, however, probably originally came to Japan with a Tendai-Buddhist legend possibly from India via China in the 8th century (Yamato Period).

In China, a similar phrase exists in the Analects of Confucius: "Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; make no movement which is contrary to propriety" (非禮ひれい勿視， 非禮ひれい勿聽，非禮ひれい勿言， 非禮ひれい勿動). It may be that this phrase was simplified after it was brought into Japan.

Though the teaching had nothing to do with monkeys, the concept of the three monkeys originated from a word play. In Japanese, zaru, which is a (less common) negative form of a verb, sounds like saru meaning monkey (it is one reading of 猿さる, the Chinese character for monkey). The saying in Japanese is "見みざる、聞きかざる、言いわざる" (mizaru, kikazaru, iwazaru), literally "don't see, don't hear, don't speak". Therefore, it is evident how the monkeys may have originated from what one would see as an amusing play on words.

Meaning of the proverb

Just as there is disagreement about the origin of the phrase, there are differing explanations of the meaning of "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."

• Some simply take the proverb as a reminder not to be snoopy, nosy and gossipy.
• Early associations of the three monkeys with the fearsome six-armed deity Vajrakilaya link the proverb to the teaching of that cult that if we do not hear, see or talk evil, we ourselves shall be spared all evil. This may be considered similar to the English proverb "Speak of the devil - and the devil appears."
• Others believe the message is that a person who is not exposed to evil (through sight or sound) will not reflect that evil in their own speech and actions.
• Today "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" is commonly used to describe someone who doesn't want to be involved in a situation, or someone turning a wilful blind eye to the immorality of an act he is involved in.

Other representations

Whatever the origin and meaning of "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil," it is one of the most visual phrases in existence. For many, especially in the western world, the proverb is strongly associated with the Three Wise Monkeys.

They have also been a motif in pictures, e.g. ukiyo-e, Japanese woodblock printings, by Keisai Eisen. Today they are known throughout Asia and in the Western world.

See also

• The three wise monkeys in popular culture
• Wikiquote:Japanese proverbs
• Wikiquote:List of proverbs

References

• Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of America's Popular Proverbs and Sayings, Second Edition, Random House, New York, 2000. ISBN 0-375-70584-8.

External links

• Collector's picture gallery
• monkey-saru-koushin on onmarkproductions.com