Kotowaza 
- A
Japanese: ATAMA KAKUSITE SHIRI KAKUSAZU
(By hiding your head you expose your butt.)

English: Burying your head in the sand.

- I
Japanese: I-SUN NO MUSHI NIMO GOBU NO TAMASHII
(Even a one-sun bug has a five-bu soul.
 - Sun and bu are units of length that are no longer used in Japan,
where the Metric system is used instead. There are ten sun in one bu,
so this proverb is saying that even a little bug has a big soul.)

English: Tread on a worm and it will turn.

- U
Japanese: UWASA WO SUREBA KAGE GA SASU
(If you gossip about someone, their shadow will appear.)

English: Speak of the devil (and he's sure to appear).


- E
Japanese: EN NO SHITA NO CHIKARA MOCHI

English: There's a man who makes efforts in the background (space under the floor).

- O
OBORERU MONOHA WARAWOMO TSUKAMU

English/Japanese: A drowning man will clutch at a straw. 

 --All Proverbs Translated by Andrew Becraft
   (Pan-Pacific Bricks)