The three monkeys Statue 18"

The three monkeys, also known as the "three wise monkeys" or "three mystical monkeys” The meaning of the three wise monkeys is said to come from a proverb from Confucius' scriptures, which says "see no evil, hear no evil, and say no evil." However, the first representation with the monkeys was in 1636, in the Toshogu shrine, in Nikko, a mountain town north of Tokyo.