[School Festival] Four-character idioms to use as slogans. Clever variations you’ll want to copy.

Last updated:2026/5/1

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked for 10 years as a kindergarten teacher and for 7 years as an after-school childcare instructor, then took a post as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I also engaged in activities that shared Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational play, working with many children. Afterwards, through freelance writing, planning, and editing work at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and conveying ideas. Leveraging the perspective cultivated in educational settings and my experience as an editor, I aim to deliver practical information—focusing on fields related to music and children—that values both input and output. Hobbies include instruments, singing, handcrafts, toys, drawing, traditional play, the outdoors, books, DIY, and crafts. Special skill: spinning-top tricks.
Keyboard playerSAKI
I’ve been playing the Electone since I was six, mainly performing Disney music, anime songs, and music from dramas and films. I post performance videos on YouTube and social media, and I also give concerts. Building on my Electone experience, I took up synthesizer and piano during my student years and performed at school-sponsored events. As a writer, I’ve covered not only music-related topics but a wide range of genres, so I hope to draw on my experience to deliver articles that make readers think, “I want to try that!” or “I want to listen to that!”

We’re introducing festival slogans that use four-character idioms! If you’re looking for cool four-character idioms, feel free to use these as a reference.

We’re also featuring arranged versions—like idioms with some characters swapped or entirely new creations—so it’s a must-see if you think “ordinary idioms are boring”! Compare the meanings of the idioms with the theme and direction of your school festival to find the perfect match.

If it’s hard to decide, taking a survey of everyone is also recommended!

Four-character idioms (1–10)

A hundred flowers bloom

Precisely because you’ve prepared so thoroughly, you can welcome the actual school festival feeling more at ease and genuinely enjoy it.

The phrase “百花斉放” (baihua qifang) seems to powerfully convey a sense of liberation that arises from steady preparation.

This four-character idiom depicts many flowers blooming all at once, conveying not only a beautifully coloring landscape but also a positive emotional tone.

It’s a phrase that seems to capture both the joy of seeing careful preparation pay off and the liberating feeling of finally being able to showcase the results.

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kappamaki

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Blue sky beyond the clouds

How about “Ungai Soten” (Clear Skies Beyond the Clouds) as a motto not only for the school festival but for school life in general? It means that even harsh trials, if you work hard to overcome them, will lead to blue skies.

We all cooperate both in the period leading up to the festival and on the day itself.

There may be sudden mishaps or problems, and we’ll unite to overcome them.

In school life, too, there may be moments when we must overcome trials.

It might be tough, but there are surely views you can only see after you’ve made it through.

“Ungai Soten” is a fitting phrase for times like these.

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Nakajima Junko

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cherry, plum, peach, and apricot (each flower/thing has its own unique beauty)

Oubaitōri is pronounced “ō-bai-tō-ri.” Literally referring to cherry, plum, peach, and Japanese plum trees each blooming in their own way, it has come to mean that everyone should express their unique individuality.

Put simply, Oubaitōri conveys that “it’s important to make the most of your individuality.” Using this four-character idiom as a slogan also gives it a polished look.

Plus, because it sounds pleasant, saying the slogan out loud can help you feel more motivated!

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Yuuki

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Harmony and united cooperation

Even things that are difficult to do alone can become a wonderful school festival when everyone works together.

The four-character idiom wachū-kyōdō expresses this scene.

“Wachū-kyōdō” means uniting hearts as one to tackle tasks and endeavors.

It’s a fitting phrase not only for a festival slogan but also for a school motto.

While engaging with many people around us, we carry out a large event like the school festival.

A festival made successful by uniting everyone’s hearts will surely remain a cherished memory.

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Nakajima Junko

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Eternal recurrence

“Eternal recurrence,” a concept known from the thinker Friedrich Nietzsche, is the idea that the life you are living—each and every day—repeats itself endlessly.

Preparing for the school festival can feel like the same tasks over and over, and at times you might get bored or feel tempted to slack off.

But even if each day seems repetitive, when you look back you’ll realize that it was precisely those preparations that made the festival the best it could be—and even they will become cherished memories.

And when the festival day finally arrives, you may find yourself wishing that such a wonderful day would repeat like an eternal recurrence.

Try expressing, with this phrase, the beauty of memories gained through repetition.

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SAKI

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Once-in-a-lifetime encounter

Ichigo ichie, meaning a once-in-a-lifetime encounter.

A school festival may be something you can experience once a year while you’re in school, but every single thing that happens on that day is actually a once-in-a-lifetime moment.

The food selling out at a booth, the joyful voices of visitors, clashing with your teammates—each may seem like something you could experience again and again, but your feelings are different every time, so in truth, each is its own ichigo ichie.

With the determination to work hard to witness those wonderful sights you can only encounter at a school festival, and only in that place, how about choosing this phrase?

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SAKI

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To each their own.

Having teammates with diverse personalities come together to create an event is an essential element in making a school festival exciting.

A phrase that highlights both collaboration with such teammates and each person’s individuality might be “juunin toiro” (literally, “ten people, ten colors”).

It’s a saying that brings back various memories, including the fact that a group of people with different ways of thinking can sometimes clash.

It also conveys the powerful energy that emerges when personalities that usually face in different directions start moving toward the same goal.

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kappamaki

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