殷いん鑑かん

noun

past example serving as a warning

Rare literary noun, used almost exclusively in the proverb 殷鑑遠からず (いんかんとおからず), meaning 'the lesson of the past is close at hand' or 'history repeats itself as a warning'.

See also: 殷鑑遠からず

• 「殷いん鑑かん遠とおからず」ということわざがある。

  There is a proverb: 'The warning of the past is not far away.'