The Welcome to Spirits podcast to boosy dive into mythology, legends, and folklore.

Every week we pour a drink and learn about a new story from around the world.

I'm Amanda.

And I'm Julia. And Amanda, if I covered my eyes and then covered my ears and then covered my mouth,

what would that mean to you? I would say, hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil,

aka some of my very favorite emojis to use when I'm like, I made a little mistake,

but aren't I, cute little rascal? Incredible. Yes, Amanda, I think a lot of us have probably

heard the phrase, hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. But do you know where that phrase

comes from? None, none whatsoever. Do you have a guess? Probably East Asia, but I don't think I can get more specific than that.

No, actually, that's really interesting because I really thought, maybe it's because of my

upbringing, my Western Catholic perception or what have you, but like hearing the mention

of evil, I always sort of assumed this was a Christian thing. I think I was thinking more about

where monkeys

are from, because it's not the West. So, and it's not Europe. And so that's my best guess.

No, Amanda, that's a great point. My brain didn't go past that. I just thought of the phrase.

And I said, I don't know, Christianity, probably. I couldn't be more wrong, but you

couldn't be more correct, Amanda. Because this phrase, as well as the imagery that accompanies it,

these three monkeys covering their ears, their eyes, and their mouths, respectively,

actually comes from a Japanese proverb, but even more so, it has even more of a history.

These three monkeys, did you know, actually have names in this, like, Japanese maxim.

No, I did not.

It is Mizaru, which means does not see, Kikazaru, which means does not hear, and Iwazaru, which means does not speak.

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