既往は咎めず

Japanese

Kanji in this term
既	往	咎
き Grade: S	おう Grade: 5	とが Hyōgai

Alternative spelling
既往は咎めず (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Calque of Chinese 既往不咎 (jìwǎngbùjiù).

Proverb

既(き)往(おう)は咎(とが)めず • (kiō wa togamezu) 

1. On things that are past, it is needless to pursue past mistakes; let bygones be bygones.

References

• The Kōjien (広辞苑) Dictionary of the Japanese Language, 5th edition, Iwanami Shoten Publishing, Tokyo.