How to Read “Decorate one’s mistakes”
Ayamachi wo kazaru
Meaning of “Decorate one’s mistakes”
“Decorate one’s mistakes” means refusing to honestly admit and correct your errors or failures. Instead, you try to cover them up with excuses and nice-sounding explanations.
This proverb doesn’t criticize making mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes because we’re all human. The real problem is when you notice your mistake but refuse to admit it.
You use fancy words and reasoning to dress it up. You try to make it look like you did the right thing.
People use this saying when someone makes an obvious mistake but won’t take responsibility. They only make excuses. It also applies when someone refuses to admit they’re wrong and tries to justify their actions instead.
Even today, this proverb’s spirit lives on. We see it when politicians give evasive answers or companies handle scandals poorly. People criticize those who won’t admit mistakes honestly and try to cover them with clever words.
Origin and Etymology
The word “kazaru” (decorate) holds the essence of this proverb. “Kazaru” is an old Japanese word meaning “to decorate” or “to adorn.” It refers to making the surface look beautiful.
This expression likely draws from the Chinese classic “Analects of Confucius.” The Analects contains Confucius’s words: “Not correcting a mistake after making it—that is the real mistake.”
This teaching says failing to correct mistakes is worse than making them. As this philosophy spread to Japan, it combined with the Japanese verb “kazaru.” The expression came to warn against something even worse than not correcting mistakes—trying to cover them up and deceive others.
The choice of “kazaru” carries deep meaning. It doesn’t simply say “hide” or “deceive.” By using a word about creating beauty, it criticizes the act of making things look good on the surface.
Our ancestors believed covering mistakes with pretty words is more shameful than the mistakes themselves. This harsh warning is embedded in the proverb.
Interesting Facts
The verb “kazaru” is rarely used in modern Japanese. But you can still see its meaning of “beautiful decoration” in words like “monyo” (pattern) and “bunshoku” (ornamentation).
Interestingly, the character “bun” (文) originally meant beautiful patterns and decorations. So “Decorate one’s mistakes” contains a visual image—drawing beautiful patterns to hide something ugly.
A contrasting expression exists: “Ayamachite wa aratamuru ni habakarukoto nakare” (When you make a mistake, don’t hesitate to correct it). This teaches you to fix mistakes immediately without holding back.
“Decorate one’s mistakes” is harsher. It criticizes not just failing to correct mistakes, but actively covering them up. This makes it a stronger warning.
Usage Examples
- He won’t admit his mistake and keeps making excuses to decorate his mistakes
- If he had failed, he should have apologized honestly. By decorating his mistakes, he lost everyone’s trust
Universal Wisdom
“Decorate one’s mistakes” reveals the danger of human self-defense instincts. Everyone resists admitting their mistakes. It hurts our pride. We fear others will think less of us.
But this fear leads us to hide and cover up our errors.
What’s interesting is the proverb doesn’t say “hide one’s mistakes.” It says “decorate one’s mistakes.” This shows deep insight into human psychology.
People don’t just hide mistakes. They actively beautify and justify them. They pile up excuses and twist logic to make their actions seem right.
Our ancestors understood this behavior damages human character more than the mistakes themselves.
Why has this proverb survived through the ages? Because the difficulty of admitting mistakes is a timeless human weakness.
The higher your position, the older you get, the harder it becomes to admit mistakes. Pride gets in the way. Your status gets in the way.
But truly strong people can admit their weaknesses and mistakes. This proverb teaches an unchanging truth. Inner honesty, not surface decoration, determines human worth.
When AI Hears This
In digital communication, we deliberately add extra information when sending data. For example, Hamming code technology sends 7 bits of data, but only 4 bits are actual information.
The remaining 3 bits are for “checking.” This redundancy allows the receiver to restore the original correct information, even if noise corrupts the data during transmission.
The process of correcting mistakes has the same structure. When a person makes a mistake, that experience functions as a “check bit.”
Someone who only does correct actions has zero redundancy. If their judgment criteria are wrong, they have no way to notice.
But someone who has experienced mistakes possesses both correct and incorrect patterns. This works as a self-verification function.
In information theory, error correction ability is proportional to redundancy. In other words, the more “extra information” you have, the higher your probability of approaching truth.
Mistakes that seem wasteful are actually redundancy built into the human judgment system. Only by correcting them do you complete “corrected, accurate data.”
A life without mistakes is like fragile communication without error correction functions.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches modern people that honesty is the strongest strategy. In today’s world, everyone can post on social media. Information spreads instantly.
Cover-ups get exposed quickly. Instead, the courage to admit mistakes honestly builds trust—the most valuable asset of all.
When you make a mistake at work or fail in relationships, how do you respond? Do you think up excuses, shift blame, and try to cover the surface?
Stop in that moment. Admitting mistakes isn’t shameful. It’s the first step toward growth.
What matters isn’t being perfect. It’s being honest. No human avoids making mistakes. But how you face those mistakes reveals your character.
Have the strength to say simply, “I was wrong.” That one sentence deepens trust in you and opens the door to real growth.
Don’t decorate your mistakes. Learn from them. That’s the most important message this proverb gives to you living in the modern world.
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