非ひ理り法ほう権けん天てん

expression

right over wrong, law over right, power over law, heaven over power

A proverb-like phrase from a 14th-century samurai banner, expressing a hierarchy of forces. It is a historical and literary expression, not used in everyday conversation.

• 楠木正成くすのきまさしげは「非ひ理り法ほう権けん天てん」の旗はたを掲かかげて戦たたかったと伝つたえられる。

  It is said that Kusunoki Masashige fought under a banner bearing the phrase '非理法権天'.

• 「非ひ理り法ほう権けん天てん」という言こと葉ばは、道どう理りよりも法ほうが、法ほうよりも権けん力りょくが、権けん力りょくよりも天てんが勝かつという意い味みだ。

  The phrase '非理法権天' means that law triumphs over reason, power over law, and heaven over power.