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According to the traditional Oriental zodiac calendar, 2025 is the Year of the Snake (巳年).  This animal has long been regarded in Japan as an auspicious being that brings about good fortune and fertility.  巳年 is considered to be a year of change and development, during which one’s hard efforts will come to fruition.  Of interest, the following are some snake-related old Japanese sayings.

(1) 竜頭蛇尾 — "Ryū-tō da-bi" ... Literally, the kanji characters are: 竜/dragon + 頭/head, 蛇/snake + 尾/tail ... So, the meaning is an action or event which starts out with a bang but ends in a whimper ... Something that initially appears wonderful or amazing, but ends disappointingly.

(2) 蛇に睨まれた蛙 — "Hebi ni nira-mareta kaeru" ... In this case the saying is about a frog/蛙 which is being stared at (睨) by a snake/蛇 ... As you can imagine, the frog might remain still, so as not to provoke the snake ... So, the meaning is "being frozen in fear or terror, unable to move" ... There is a similar saying in English: “A deer in the headlights”.

(3) 蛇に噛まれて朽縄に怖じる — "Hebi ni kama-rete kuchi-nawa ni ojiru" ... In this case, if you are bitten (噛) by a snake (蛇), you might thereafter fear (怖) a rotten rope (朽縄) {which looks like a snake} ... So, making a mistake once may lead to excessive caution in future attempts ... Or a case of being overly careful due to a bad experience ... An English equivalent is: “Once bitten, twice shy".

(4) 藪をつついて蛇を出す — "Yabu o tsutsui-te hebi o dasu" ... In this case, if you poke-around (つついて) in a bamboo grove or bush (藪) a snake (蛇) may suddenly come out (出) ... The saying means to bring trouble on oneself through an unnecessary action ... A related saying in English is to: "Let sleeping dogs lie".  In current Japanese, it is often heard in the shortened form "yabu-hebi".　Written by Goodfield

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NOTE:  There are shrines in Japan which have connections to snakes.  Click on the link to learn more...

https://blog.gaijinpot.com/year-of-the-snake-where-to-find-snakes-in-japan/