in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
Proverb meaning that someone of mediocre ability can stand out when surrounded by those even less capable. Literally 'a bat in a village without birds'.
In that company, he's treated like the top ace, but it's really a case of 'in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king'.
Standard kanji spelling for this proverb.
Common variant with katakana for 蝙蝠.
Variant using 無き instead of なき.
A Japanese proverb of uncertain origin, likely adapted from a similar Chinese or Western saying. The literal image is of a bat, which is not a bird, becoming prominent in a village where there are no birds.