How to Read “A broken mirror cannot reflect again, and fallen flowers cannot return to the branch”
Hakyō kasanete terasazu, rakka eda ni nobori gatashi
Meaning of “A broken mirror cannot reflect again, and fallen flowers cannot return to the branch”
This proverb teaches a harsh reality. Once something is broken or lost, it can never return to its original state.
People often use it to describe how difficult it is for divorced couples to restore their former relationship.
You can glue a broken mirror back together, but cracks will remain. It will never reflect as beautifully as before.
You can stick fallen petals back on a branch, but they will never bloom as living flowers again.
This proverb uses visual imagery to make the idea of irreversibility more powerful. It hits harder than simply saying “you can’t go back.”
Today, people use it for more than just marriages. It applies to friendships where trust has been broken, business partnerships that have fallen apart, and any deeply wounded human relationship.
You might repair the outer form, but the essential part never truly returns to what it was. This proverb expresses how delicate and fragile human relationships really are.
Origin and Etymology
This proverb combines two stories from ancient Chinese classics.
“A broken mirror cannot reflect again” comes from a real story during China’s Northern and Southern Dynasties period.
When the Chen kingdom was about to fall, a married couple knew they would be separated. They broke a mirror in half and each took one piece before parting ways.
Later they reunited, but the broken mirror could never reflect properly again. This became a symbol for how difficult it is to repair a broken relationship.
“Fallen flowers cannot return to the branch” expresses a law of nature. Once petals have scattered, they cannot return to the tree.
This idea connects with Buddhist teachings about impermanence. It shows that time flows in only one direction.
Combining these two expressions creates a more powerful proverb. One comes from a specific human story, the other from a universal truth of nature.
By showing the same lesson from different angles, the proverb deeply and memorably conveys life’s harsh reality. What is lost once cannot be recovered.
This is why the expression became widely used in Japan as well.
Usage Examples
- I heard that couple who was together for years got divorced. A broken mirror cannot reflect again, and fallen flowers cannot return to the branch, so getting back together will be difficult.
- He’s trying to regain the trust he lost, but a broken mirror cannot reflect again, and fallen flowers cannot return to the branch. The relationship may never return to what it was before.
Universal Wisdom
This proverb has been passed down through generations because everyone experiences the deep gap between our desperate wish to start over and the harshness of reality.
People make mistakes. We say words we can’t take back in moments of emotion. We hurt people we care about. We betray trust.
Then we feel regret. We apologize sincerely and desperately try to repair the relationship.
But this proverb confronts us with a cold truth. You can restore the outer form, but the essence has changed forever.
Why do we need such a harsh teaching? Because understanding that some things in relationships cannot be undone creates carefulness and compassion.
Only when facing a broken mirror do people realize they should have handled it with care. Only when seeing scattered petals do we understand how fleeting beauty is while it blooms.
This proverb warns against the foolishness of realizing value only after loss. At the same time, it encourages us to recognize the preciousness of relationships we have right now.
Humans learn from failure, but there are some things we must not lose before learning. This is wisdom that comes with pain.
When AI Hears This
The physics behind why a broken mirror cannot return to its original state is surprisingly simple.
When a mirror breaks, fragments scatter in countless directions. Each piece has different speed and rotation.
To perfectly restore it, every fragment would need to move in exactly the opposite direction at exactly the same time.
If you calculate the probability with 10 pieces, it’s astronomically low. With millions of molecules like in a real mirror, it’s essentially zero.
Here’s what’s important: physical laws themselves work the same whether time moves forward or backward.
In theory, if you could perfectly reverse every particle’s motion, the broken mirror should reassemble. But it never happens in reality. Why?
Because there are overwhelmingly more patterns for “disordered states” than for “ordered states.”
For example, there’s only one way to arrange a deck of cards in perfect order. But there are trillions of ways for them to be mixed up.
When you shuffle, they always become disordered. It’s a matter of probability.
The same applies to fallen flower petals. The moment they leave the branch, wind and gravity scatter their molecules. The probability of returning to the original arrangement approaches zero.
This proverb intuitively captured a law of the universe: everything moves toward disorder. It expressed this through the form of human relationships.
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches you today is a simple but profound truth. Protect precious things before they break.
In daily life, we get swept up by immediate emotions. We throw words in anger. We act without considering others’ feelings.
We think lightly, “I can apologize later.” But this proverb teaches us that by the time we regret it, it’s too late.
That’s why choices in this very moment matter. Conversations with your partner. Exchanges with friends. Time with family.
These are all one-time “nows.” Taking a breath before speaking. Thinking from the other person’s perspective. Expressing gratitude.
These small acts of consideration protect the mirror called relationships.
If you already have a broken relationship, it’s also a chance to build something new.
It won’t return to what it was, but you can apply the lessons learned to what comes next.
Use past failures as nourishment to cultivate your current precious relationships more carefully. Perhaps that’s the real message this proverb wants to convey.
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