Talk:Yojijukugo

Four-character slogans

The term 四字熟語 seems to apply only to constructs that are idiomatic in nature, i.e. constructs whose meaning is not readily evident from their composite kanji. But four-character compounds also feature fairly prominent in history (particularly Meiji history) as slogans or concepts, and I wonder if compounds like these, whose meaning is directly inferable from the separate kanji can be called 四字熟語 or if there is another specific term which applies to them.

Some examples of what I'm talking about:

• 文明開化 bunmei kaika, "civilization and enlightenment"
• 富国強兵, fukoku kyouhei, "rich country, strong army"
• 内憂外患, naiyuu gaikan, "troubles within, threats from without"
• 尊王攘夷, sonnou joui, "revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians"
• 和魂洋才, wakon yousai, "Japanese spirit, Western learning"
• 王政復古, ousei fukko, "Restoration of Imperial rule
• 明治維新, meiji ishin, "Meiji Restoration" or "Enlightened rule, bringing threads together to make something new"
• 殖産興業, shokusan kougyou, "increase production, promote industry"

Four-character compositions are also considered in Japanese (and likely Chinese too) to be poetic and evocative of classical tradition, but these are generally seen simply as fragments (verses) of poetry, not as set phrases, idioms or slogans. Does this concept of the poetic four-character composition have a name? Thanks. LordAmeth 17:27, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

Autological note

This comment is now too far separated from its referent to make sense:

Note that 四字熟語 is itself a non-idiomatic four-character phrase.

I suggest that it be moved back into the initial section right after the various meanings of 四字熟語. Robert Munafo (talk) 22:24, 22 January 2011 (UTC)

Source Citations

I find it *highly* unlikely that 一石二鳥 derives from an "English proverb." Where is the citation on this? Yes, there is an English expression with a nearly identical layout, but it seems equally likely that the English got the expression from Asia, or that both got the expression from somewhere else entirely. Amieni (talk) 18:46, 9 August 2013 (UTC)

Pop Culture example: Fire Emblem?

The most recent Fire Emblem game (Three Houses) has the Japanese subtitle 風花雪月, or wind, flower, snow, moon. This has the literal reference to the four routes in the game (Verdant Wind, Crimson Flower, Silver Snow, Azure Moon), and I feel could be a worthy addition to the Pop Culture section. A reddit post isn't a great source but this user did provide their own interpretation beyond the literal usage of the characters if anyone feels that would be userful. 35.2.204.199 (talk) 07:11, 2 February 2020 (UTC)