桑そう田でん変へんじて滄そう海かいとなる

expression, godan verb (-ru)

the world is in constant flux; mulberry fields turn into blue seas

Proverb expressing that worldly affairs are ever-changing; often used to reflect on the impermanence of prosperity or circumstances. The literal image is of land becoming sea over time.

• 栄えい枯こ盛せい衰すいは世よの習ならい、まさに桑そう田でん変へんじて滄そう海かいとなるだ。

  The rise and fall of fortunes is the way of the world; truly, mulberry fields turn into blue seas.