How to Read “Disownment has no fault, and pardon has no loyalty”
kandō ni toga naku shamen ni chū nashi
Meaning of “Disownment has no fault, and pardon has no loyalty”
This proverb teaches the mindset needed when punishing or forgiving someone. When you impose harsh punishment like disownment, you must not let past affection or memories sway you.
No matter how much you cared for someone, if their wrongdoing is clear, you should set aside personal feelings and judge fairly. This is what the first part means.
On the other hand, when you pardon and forgive someone, you must not cling to their past achievements or contributions. Even if someone contributed greatly before, if their current offense is serious, you should not give them special treatment.
In other words, whether punishing or forgiving, look only at the facts before you and judge fairly. This teaching warns against two common mistakes that leaders and parents often make.
Even today, this proverb reminds us how important it is to make fair judgments without being swayed by emotions or past performance.
Origin and Etymology
The exact source of this proverb is unclear. However, based on its structure, it likely emerged from samurai society or Confucian governance philosophy during the Edo period.
“Kandō” means the severe punishment of a parent cutting ties with their child. “Shamen” means pardoning a crime. “Toga” refers to fault or wrongdoing, while “chū” means loyalty or merit.
These four concepts are arranged in pairs. This structure suggests the proverb was formed as a lesson for rulers and family heads.
In Edo period samurai society, preserving the family was the top priority. Family heads needed to make strict judgments. If you spoiled an unworthy child out of affection, the family would decline.
If you pardoned criminals because of their achievements, order would collapse. This proverb expresses the difficulty of such governance in simple terms.
Confucianism also emphasized fairness. When punishing, eliminate personal feelings. When pardoning, do not be swayed by past achievements.
This spirit of impartial fairness forms the background of this proverb. The strict parallel structure of the words also resembles the style of Confucian teaching texts.
Usage Examples
- That company president practices “Disownment has no fault, and pardon has no loyalty” – he punishes any employee for misconduct regardless of seniority, but evaluates young workers’ mistakes fairly without considering their past records
- As a parent, she maintains the attitude of “Disownment has no fault, and pardon has no loyalty” – when scolding her children, she is not swayed by affection, and when forgiving them, she does not use their usual good behavior as a reason
Universal Wisdom
The depth of human understanding in this proverb lies in how it identifies two typical patterns of misjudgment. When punishing someone, people let past memories and emotions soften their judgment.
Feelings like “they used to be such a good child” or “they were so reliable before” cloud the facts before us. Conversely, when forgiving someone, we overlook crimes that should not be forgiven because “they have contributed so much” or “they have achievements.”
These two errors share the same root. It is human nature to judge based on “past memories and emotions” rather than “the facts here and now.” We are creatures bound by the past.
Memories of love dull our judgment. Experiences of gratitude distort fairness.
Our ancestors deeply understood this human weakness. That is why they left this proverb as a warning for those in positions of judgment. The difficulty of being fair is an eternal challenge as long as we are emotional beings.
Yet at the same time, the conscious effort to maintain fairness protects human dignity. This is precisely why such effort matters.
When AI Hears This
The human brain perceives losses and gains of the same magnitude with completely different weights. For example, the pain of someone who usually scores 90 on a 100-point test getting 70 is far more intense than the joy of someone who usually scores 70 getting 90.
This is the core of prospect theory. Experiments confirm that the pain of loss feels about 2 to 2.5 times stronger than the joy of an equivalent gain.
The paradoxical structure of this proverb can be explained by this asymmetry. Disownment, a severe punishment, represents a major loss from the “status quo” of the parent-child relationship.
Loss brings such intense pain that there is no room to question the reason. The brain automatically recognizes “this is a serious situation.” Meanwhile, pardon is perceived as recovery from a loss state to the original state – in other words, as a gain.
However, since gains are not felt as strongly as losses, people become calm and begin asking “why was I forgiven?”
What is more interesting is that people become anxious when pardon has no reason. When the reference point becomes unclear, they cannot predict what will happen next.
In other words, wanting to know the reason for pardon is not about gratitude. It is information-gathering behavior to reconfirm one’s position and avoid the next loss. The human brain is programmed to prioritize loss avoidance over gains.
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches you today is the courage to focus on the present, not the past, especially when making important judgments. When evaluating subordinates at work or facing your children at home, we tend to be dragged down by “our relationship so far.”
We become lenient with mistakes by subordinates we have favored. We overlook problems from people with track records. But this helps neither the person nor the organization.
True fairness is not coldness. Rather, it means seriously seeing each person as “a being in this present moment.” Not being swayed by past affection means accepting the person as they are now.
Not clinging to past achievements means sincerely confronting current mistakes.
If you are in a position to evaluate others, keep this proverb in your heart. When you hesitate in judgment, ask yourself: “What are the facts before me right now?”
Set aside past memories for a moment and look only at the present situation. That courage will make you a fair person and generate true trust from those around you.
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