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草葉の陰 (kusabanokage) Japanese meaning: under the sod | Kotomora
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成せい
功こう
を
見み
る
こと
は
でき
ない
。
He is now under the sod and cannot see this success.
I reported to my departed friend in the other world.
Kanji 影 shadow, silhouette, phantom Related words あの 世よ あの世 is a more common and neutral term for the afterlife, while 草葉の陰 is a poetic, euphemistic expression specifically evoking the image of a grave.
墓はか 墓 is the concrete word for 'grave' or 'tomb', whereas 草葉の陰 is a figurative, literary phrase for the state of being dead and buried.
Written forms 草くさ 葉ば の 陰かげ
Standard kanji spelling for this fixed expression.
草くさ 場ば の 影かげ
Alternate kanji spelling; less common than 草葉の陰.
Etymology Literally 'the shade of grass leaves', a euphemism for the grave or afterlife. The exact origin is uncertain, but it draws on the image of grass growing over a burial mound.
