Kao ga tatsu (顔が立つ): the face stands. The Daijisen dictionary defines it as keeping one’s honor in the eyes of the world.
Hana o yuzuru (花を譲る): to yield the flower. In this phrase, hana means honor and credit. The Daijisen dictionary gives the example kōhai ni hana o yuzuru , to yield the honor to a junior.
A game of shogi ends when one player admits defeat. The player who judges the game lost says Makemashita, “I have lost,” and bows. This is called tōryō, resigning. The opponent answers Arigatō gozaimashita, “Thank you.” A guide to Japanese culture notes that the winner does not celebrate.
Otoshidokoro (落としどころ): the place to let it drop. A dictionary defines it as the point of compromise in a dispute or discussion, a settlement that both sides accept.
Suimenka (水面下): below the surface of the water. A place that does not show on the surface, as in suimenka de kōshō ga susumu, negotiations proceed below the surface.
In a well-known tale, a man finds three ryō and brings the money to its owner. The owner refuses it. Money that he has lost, he says, is no longer his. Neither man will keep it. The magistrate Ōoka Echizen adds one ryō of his own and gives each man two. Each of the three loses one ryō.
The tale is called sanpō ichiryō zon, three sides each lose one ryō. It is one of the Ōoka sabaki, the judgments of Ōoka, and it is almost entirely invented.
In the group discussions of Japanese job hunting, students sometimes meet a kurasshā, a crusher, who wrecks the discussion. A job guide for students notes that interviewers watch for cooperation and the ability to respond flexibly.
A career column on the site All About is blunter: “There are often students who try to push their own opinion through. Count on that student failing.” It adds that what the group discussion assesses is teamwork.
Sanpō yoshi means good for three sides: good for the seller, good for the buyer, and good for society. It is used to describe the business spirit of the Ōmi merchants.
The phrase itself is modern. The Ōmi merchant scholar Ogura Eiichirō used it around 1988 to sum up their spirit. Its usual precursor is a testament written in 1754 by the Ōmi merchant Nakamura Jihei Sōgan, but the four characters do not appear in it. An earlier use of the phrase is found in a document from 1930.
The Seventeen-Article Constitution, which the Nihon Shoki dates to 604 and credits to Prince Shōtoku, ends with this rule: Sore koto wa hitori sadamu bekarazu. Kanarazu shū to agetsurau beshi. Matters should not be decided by one person alone. They must always be discussed with others.
Its first article opens with a related idea. Harmony is to be valued, and avoiding opposition is to be the principle. Other early sources date the text to 602 or 605.
In Japan, many civil lawsuits end in a settlement, wakai, instead of a judgment. A report of the Japanese courts on cases in 2018 found that 37.1 percent of first-instance civil cases ended in settlement and 41.4 percent in a judgment.