<p>To expand on Aki Tanaka's answer: It's a reference to the Chinese story of Sang Weihan, a 10th-century official during the Five Dynasties period. Per <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=BaQwDwAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PA117&amp;lpg=PA117&amp;dq=sang%20weihan%20inkstone&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=5m8IwWxpif&amp;sig=ACfU3U1GAL8FAIrlamE4YBeESGPA7J7Ssw&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwj6wLqZrNLpAhUDUt8KHSqrCFMQ6AEwAnoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&amp;q=sang%20weihan%20inkstone&amp;f=false" rel="noreferrer">a footnote to West and Idema's translation of The Story of the Western Wing</a>, when he went to take his civil service exams, his examiner failed him because the examiner thought his name was unlucky, because it was a homophone for the word for "mourning". Sang was advised to find another career, but instead he vowed not to give up on the exam until he'd worn through his iron inkstone studying. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sang_Weihan" rel="noreferrer">He eventually passed his exam and went on to have a career as an official.</a></p>

<p>So it's not just an expression, it's also a historical and literary reference.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-08-10T10:28:42.257Z
Learning Chinese idiom from Japanese anime in 2023. Studying is war!
Gao
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-26T20:31:55.773Z
2020-05-26T20:31:55.773Z
ZBL
<p><strong>The kanji on the paper fan is 磨穿鉄硯【ませんてっけん】.</strong></p>
<p>According to <a href="https://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E7%A3%A8%E7%A9%BF%E9%89%84%E7%A1%AF" rel="nofollow noreferrer">weblio</a>, the translation is correct:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>showing unyielding diligence in one's studies; wearing a hole through one's metal inkstone from constant studying</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is actually a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yojijukugo" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>yojijukugo</em></a> or &quot;four-character idiom&quot; that is easier to search compared to identifying the characters in Japanese calligraphy directly.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-20T11:34:14.527Z
2023-05-10T01:46:41.903Z
2023-05-10T01:46:41.903Z
Aki Tanaka
<p>In the anime <em>Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai</em>, Season 2, Episode 2, when Kaguya gives a paper fan for Shirogane's birthday, it shows that she wrote a kanji that, according to the subtitles, is &quot;<em>unyielding diligence in one's studies</em>&quot;.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/nYgXE.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/nYgXE.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/nfuoe.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/nfuoe.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Pyn9M.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Pyn9M.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>I'd like to ask if the meaning is correct. I tried to write it, but as it's in Japanese calligraphy, I couldn't make it.</p>

<japanese-language><kaguya-sama-love-is-war>
What is the written kanji on the paper fan in season 2 episode 2?
# What is the written kanji on the paper fan in season 2 episode 2?
Posted by: username_0 on 2020-05-20
In the anime *Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai*, Season 2, Episode 2, when Kaguya gives a paper fan for Shirogane's birthday, it shows that she wrote a kanji that, according to the subtitles, is "*unyielding diligence in one's studies*".

[![](https://i.sstatic.net/nYgXE.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/nYgXE.jpg)

[![](https://i.sstatic.net/nfuoe.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/nfuoe.jpg)

[![](https://i.sstatic.net/Pyn9M.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/Pyn9M.jpg)

I'd like to ask if the meaning is correct. I tried to write it, but as it's in Japanese calligraphy, I couldn't make it.
**Tags:** japanese-language kaguya-sama-love-is-war
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## 2 answers
### Answer by username_3 on 2020-05-20. Score: 13 | Accepted answer
**The kanji on the paper fan is 磨穿鉄硯【ませんてっけん】.**

According to [weblio](https://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E7%A3%A8%E7%A9%BF%E9%89%84%E7%A1%AF), the translation is correct:

> showing unyielding diligence in one's studies; wearing a hole through one's metal inkstone from constant studying

This is actually a [*yojijukugo*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yojijukugo) or "four-character idiom" that is easier to search compared to identifying the characters in Japanese calligraphy directly.
---
### Answer by username_1 on 2020-05-26. Score: 10
To expand on Aki Tanaka's answer: It's a reference to the Chinese story of Sang Weihan, a 10th-century official during the Five Dynasties period. Per [a footnote to West and Idema's translation of The Story of the Western Wing](https://books.google.com/books?id=BaQwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=sang%20weihan%20inkstone&source=bl&ots=5m8IwWxpif&sig=ACfU3U1GAL8FAIrlamE4YBeESGPA7J7Ssw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj6wLqZrNLpAhUDUt8KHSqrCFMQ6AEwAnoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=sang%20weihan%20inkstone&f=false), when he went to take his civil service exams, his examiner failed him because the examiner thought his name was unlucky, because it was a homophone for the word for "mourning". Sang was advised to find another career, but instead he vowed not to give up on the exam until he'd worn through his iron inkstone studying. [He eventually passed his exam and went on to have a career as an official.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sang_Weihan)

So it's not just an expression, it's also a historical and literary reference.
> **Comments:**
> **username_2** (2023-08-10): Learning Chinese idiom from Japanese anime in 2023. Studying is war!  
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