In professional sumo wrestling, the umpire indicates his decision by pointing a fan, called a gunbai (軍配), towards the winning wrestler's starting end. Some are decorated with patterns, but others bear calligraphy. In particular, the fan carried by umpire Kimura Yōdō (木村容堂) has the lines 及時當勉励 歳月不待人:
These lines are from 《雜詩》, "Assorted Poems", by Tʻao Yüan‑ming. Kimura Yōdō never points the other side of the fan away from himself, but I would guess that that side bears the two lines before. All up:
| Source text | Target text | Notes |
|---|---|---|
盛年不重來、
一日難再晨。 及時當勉勵、 歲月不待人。 |
[The] years of prime come not once more;
[A] day cannot dawn again. In good time ought [we] strive, [For] years [and] months await not man. |
|
Conway (2023). Poetry on a sumo umpire's fan. <https://yawnoc.github.io/lit/gunbai-poetry> Accessed yyyy-mm-dd.