勧善懲悪(かんぜんちょうあく)

かんぜんちょうあく
noun
rewarding good and punishing evil; poetic justice
formalcultureartidiom
1. rewarding good and punishing evil; poetic justice
A moral principle and narrative theme in which good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds are punished. Commonly used to describe stories, dramas, and cultural works that follow this clear-cut moral framework.
勧善懲悪(かんぜんちょうあく)の物語(ものがたり)。
A story of good triumphing over evil.
時代劇(じだいげき)は勧善懲悪(かんぜんちょうあく)が多(おお)い。
Period dramas often feature good-versus-evil storylines.
子供向(こどもむ)けのアニメは勧善懲悪(かんぜんちょうあく)の構造(こうぞう)がはっきりしている。
Children's anime have a clear good-versus-evil structure.

A four-character compound (四字熟語(よじじゅくご)): 勧(かん) (encourage) + 善(ぜん) (good) + 懲(ちょう) (punish) + 悪(あく) (evil). This is one of the foundational moral themes in East Asian literature and drama.

Cultural note

This concept is central to traditional Japanese storytelling. Period dramas (時代劇(じだいげき)) like 水戸黄門(みとこうもん) and 遠山(とおやま)の金(きん)さん are classic examples — the hero always defeats the villain and justice prevails. Modern usage sometimes carries a slightly dismissive tone, implying the story is simplistic or predictable.

Common collocations

  • 勧善懲悪(かんぜんちょうあく)の物語(ものがたり) — a good-versus-evil story
  • 勧善懲悪(かんぜんちょうあく)もの — a work with a good-vs-evil theme
  • 勧善懲悪(かんぜんちょうあく)の精神(せいしん) — the spirit of rewarding good and punishing evil

Related words

Related Words

Related: 因果応報(いんがおうほう) (karmic retribution)
Related: 自業自得(じごうじとく) (reaping what you sow)
Related: 正義(せいぎ) (justice)
general
Added 2026.3.27 0:20 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
19500/19740_kanzenchouaku