Cuff Bracelet – “Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight” (Japanese)

Japanese: 七転び八起き

Romaji: Nana Korobi Ya Oki

The literal translation of this Japanese proverb is “Seven falls, eight getting up”.

This expression speaks to the Japanese concepts of resilience and persistence. Its lesson is that no matter how many times you fail or get knocked down, you get up and try again. Even if you should fall a thousand times, you must rise up each time without being discouraged by the many failures.

This ethic is reinforced in many aspects of Japanese culture. It holds the belief that there are no shortcuts in life and anything of value takes struggle and perseverance. Success isn’t always quick, the most important thing is that one simply does their best and keeps trying.

The Japanese character for seven seems to represent a vertical bar cutting a horizontal bar. This portrays “cutting away” the many times one has fallen and starting again by taking another shot. The number seven also means “thousands”, or “many”. The number eight in Japanese has the meaning of “spreading out like an open fan”, happiness, or blessedness.

There is a theory that the choice of the numbers seven and eight for the proverb Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight was born from these representations.

A closely-related concept to this proverb is the spirit of ganbaru (頑張る), which is uniquely important and deeply rooted in the Japanese culture and mindset. Ganbaru expresses the idea of persevering doggedly through hard times, to “tough it out”, or to commit yourself fully to some task to see it through, no matter what.

The imperative form of this is ganbatte (頑張って), which is very commonly used by the Japanese to encourage someone to “do your best!”, “hang in there!”, “don’t give up!”, “keep going!” and so on. This is used in all aspects of life.

In the Japanese life view, doing one’s best and persevering tenaciously is actually more important than succeeding, both for one’s own benefit and for the benefit of others. In a crisis, the idea of complaining, giving up, or acting selfishly to the detriment of others is considered one of the most shameful things someone can do.

The sentiment expressed in the proverb Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight is especially valuable as encouragement when your road to overcoming a tough challenge is particularly gruelling, and whenever you’re facing particularly dark times in your life.

Accompanying Design Elements

The proverb on this bracelet is accompanied by images of two cherry blossom flowers (sakura), and four koi – a fish very closely associated with the Japanese cultural identity.

Nowhere in the world is the sakura flower more cherished than in Japan, so much so that it was chosen as the country’s national flower.

In Japanese culture, it’s a timeless metaphor for and reminder of the fleeting human existence. However, it also represents rebirth and new beginnings. The flowering of the sakura has always signalled the beginning of the spring season, which is a time of renewal, new hope and optimism.

The symbol of the sakura was therefore chosen for this bracelet to represent a renewed quest, or a fresh start after suffering a setback or fall. It symbolises the optimism of trying again.

In Japan, the koi fish symbolises courage, success through perseverance, bravery and love. It is known to swim against the current and overcome great obstacles, which is why they are depicted on the bracelet swimming right to left – against the natural direction of our writing.

The koi’s migration upstream through rivers and waterfalls is very demanding, and because it swims with such strength and ferocity it is associated most notably in Japanese culture and myth with the legend of samurai warriors, who were known for their strength and bravery.

The koi was chosen for this bracelet design to represent fighting against the odds and persevering until your objective has been achieved.

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