『その尾一度振らば山崩れ津波立つ』 means 「With a single swing of its tail, mountains would crumble and tsunamis would rise」. This line from the very first narration of Naruto Episode 1 describes the legendary destructive power of the Nine-Tailed Fox.
| Source: | Naruto |
|---|---|
| Japanese: | その尾 一度振らば山崩れ津波立つ |
| Romaji: | Sono o ichido furaba, yama kuzure, tsunami tatsu |
| Meaning: | With a single swing of its tail, mountains would crumble, and tsunamis would rise |
This single line contains a grammar form that’s hundreds of years old, and it still shows up in Naruto. Learn more about this old, storybook-style Japanese below!
Sono O Ichido Furaba Yama Kuzure Tsunami Tatsu: Meaning in Japanese & English
Credit Attribution
- Sentence from Naruto (Anime)
© Masashi Kishimoto / Shueisha - Audio file generated with VOICEVOX:剣崎雌雄
日本語
その尾一度振らば
山崩れ津波立つ
- Kanji: その尾 一度振らば山崩れ津波立つ
- Kana: その お いちど ふらば やま くずれ つなみ たつ
- Romaji: Sono o ichido furaba, yama kuzure, tsunami tatsu
Natural English
- One swing of its tail would collapse mountains and unleash tsunamis.
- A single swing of its tail could bring down mountains and raise tsunamis.
- With just one swing of its tail, mountains would fall, and tsunamis would surge.
Literal Translations
- Should its tail be swung once, mountains collapse, tsunamis rise.
- If its tail were swung once, mountains would collapse, and tsunamis would rise.
- Were its tail to swing once, mountains would crumble, and tsunamis would stand.
My Preferred Translation
With a single swing of its tails, mountains would crumble and tsunamis would rise.
I kept 「would」 rather than switching to a simpler present tense, because the whole point of the classical grammar here is hypothetical, almost legendary, force.
This isn’t a report about something that happened, but describing something so powerful that it’s said to happen.
「Crumble」 and 「rise」 also sound more epic and legendary than 「fall」 or 「occur」. They keep the vivid, almost mythic imagery of the original Japanese.
Sentence Walkthrough: Learn Japanese Words & Phrases
This line opens Naruto Episode 1, right after a narrator introduces the legendary nine-tailed demon fox, before Naruto himself even appears on screen.
Rather than saying plainly that the fox’s tail causes disasters, the narration frames its power like something out of an old legend, where a single swing is enough to level mountains and summon tsunamis.
1. 『その (sono)』
Meaning: 「that, its」
『その』 means 「that」, 「those」, or 「its」, referring back to something already mentioned.
In this Naruto sentence, it points back to the Nine-Tailed Fox introduced in the previous line, so 『その尾』 naturally means 「its tail」.
As one of Japanese’s most common words, you’ll encounter 『その』 constantly in everyday conversation.
Example:
その判断は妥当だ。
Sono handan wa datou da.
That judgment is reasonable.
2. 『尾 (o)』
Meaning: 「tail」
『尾（お）』 simply means 「tail」. Here, it refers to the Nine-Tailed Fox’s tails, each said to possess immense destructive power.
While less common than words like 「手 (te)」 or 「足 (ashi)」, you’ll still encounter 『尾』 in nature documentaries, fantasy stories, and animal-related vocabulary.
Example:
猫の尾が長い。
Neko no o ga nagai.
The cat's tail is long.
その尾［を振る］
- [to swing] its tail
- [to swish] its tail
- [to wave] its tail
3. 『一度 (ichido)』
Meaning: 「once, one time」
『一度 (いちど)』 means 「once」 or 「one time」. Here, it emphasizes that just one swing of the fox’s tail is enough to make mountains collapse and tsunamis rise, highlighting the overwhelming power of the legendary beast.
Example:
一度失った信用は戻らない。
Ichido ushinatta shinyou wa modoranai.
Trust, once lost, doesn't come back.
4. 『振らば (furaba)』
Meaning: 「if swung」
Dictionary: 「振る（furu）」
- to wave
- to shake
- to swing
「振る (ふる)」 is a common verb meaning 「to wave」, 「to swing」, or 「to shake」. It describes moving something back and forth, whether it’s a hand, a flag, a bottle, or something else.
In our sentence, however, the verb appears as 『振らば（ふらば）』, the classical conditional form of 『振る』.
Like the modern 「〜ば」, it expresses an “if…” condition. The difference is simply how it’s formed.
Modern Japanese changes the final kana to the e-row, while classical Japanese changes it to the a-row instead.
Dictionary | Modern | Classical |
|---|---|---|
振る | 振れば | 振らば |
The everyday verb 『振る』 is still extremely common today, even though this classical form is not.
その尾一度振らば
- If its tail were swung once …
- Were that tail to swing just one time …
- Should that tail so much as swing once …
5. 『山崩れ (yama kuzure)』
Meaning: 「landslide, mountain collapse」
『山崩れ（やまくずれ）』 is a compound noun meaning 「mountain collapse」 or 「landslide」. It’s built from 『山 (yama, “mountain”)』 and 『崩れ (kuzure)』, from the verb 『崩れる (kuzureru)』, meaning 「to collapse」.
In this sentence, it’s generally best understood as a single compound noun, even though it’s easy to mistake it for the verb phrase 「the mountain collapses」.
It’s also possible to analyze 『崩れ』 as the connecting form of 『崩れる』, with the narration omitting particles in its compressed, literary style.
Either way, the meaning is the same: the fox’s power causes mountains to collapse and tsunamis to rise.
『山崩れ』 is a fairly specialized, disaster-related word that you’re unlikely to use in everyday conversation, but it appears in news reports and disaster coverage.
6. 『津波 (tsunami)』
Meaning: 「tsunami」
『津波（つなみ）』 means 「tsunami」. It’s one of the few Japanese words borrowed directly into English.
Here, it’s paired with 『山崩れ』 to show that the fox’s power affects both land and sea, reinforcing the legendary scale of the destruction.
Although not an everyday conversation word, it’s important vocabulary that appears frequently in news reports and discussions of natural disasters.
7. 『立つ (tatsu)』
Meaning: 「to stand, to rise」
『立つ』 usually means 「to stand」, but it’s also commonly used for things that rise up, including waves.
Here, describing the tsunami as 『立つ』 creates a much more vivid image than simply saying a disaster “occurs”. It makes the wave itself feel as though it’s rising from the sea.
Despite this dramatic use, 『立つ』 is one of the most common verbs in Japanese.
Today’s Sentence Vocabulary
Word Overview & Frequency Chart
Word | Japanese | English | Frequency Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
その | sono | that, its | ~30 |
尾 | お o | tail | ~5000 |
一度 | いちど ichido | once | ~350 |
振る | ふる furu | to swing | ~1000 |
〜ば | ~ba | classical conditional | ~50 |
山崩れ | やまくずれ yama kuzure | mountain collapse | ~73,000 |
津波 | つなみ tsunami | tsunami | ~15,000 |
立つ | たつ tatsu | to stand, rise | ~250 |
Building Blocks: Learn Japanese Sentence Structure
| Core Sentence | A does B (Subject) |
|---|---|
| 津波が立つ。 Tsunamis rise. | (Subject)が (verb)。 |
| Building Blocks | Japanese Sentence |
|---|---|
| Object (Swing what?) | その尾 its tail |
| Frequency (How often?) | 一度 once |
| Condition (What if?) | 振らば if swung (classical) |
| Result (What happens?) | 山崩れ津波立つ mountains crumble and tsunamis rise |
その尾一度振らば、
Should its tail be swung once,
山崩れ津波立つ
mountains collapse, tsunamis rise.
Sentence Pattern: The Classical Conditional 〜ば
# | Formula | Example |
|---|---|---|
① | For ru-verbs: remove る + add ば | 見ば miba if you see |
② | For u-verbs: change to a-stem + add ば | 読まば yomaba if you read |
③ | For i-adjectives: remove い + add くば | 安くば yasukuba if it were cheap |
This classical 〜ば attaches to a verb or adjective’s mizenkei rather than the modern kateikei.
Example 1
雨降らば、道濡れん。
Ame furaba, michi nuren.
Were rain to fall, the road would grow wet.
Example 2
花咲かば、鳥集まらん。
Hana sakaba, tori atsumaran.
Were the flowers to bloom, the birds would gather.
Example 3
敵来たらば、我ら戦わん。
Teki kitaraba, warera tatakawan.
Were the enemy to come, we would fight.
Example 4
心定まらば、迷いは消えん。
Kokoro sadamaraba, mayoi wa kien.
Were one’s heart made up, hesitation would vanish.
Unlike the modern form, you’ll mostly encounter this pattern in proverbs, classical literature, historical dramas, fantasy stories, and anime narration reaching for an ancient tone.
Beyond the Translation: Tone, Nuance & Cultural Notes
One thing I love about this sentence is that the grammar is doing as much storytelling as the words themselves.
A modern narrator could have said:
その尾を一度振れば、山が崩れ、津波が立つ。
The meaning is almost identical.
But the feeling isn’t.
The moment 『振れば』 becomes 『振らば』, the narration stops sounding like everyday Japanese and starts sounding like an old legend.
Add in the missing particles and the short, rhythmic wording, and it feels like something copied from an ancient chronicle rather than spoken by a modern narrator.
The vocabulary reinforces that feeling too.
Instead of simply saying disasters “occur”, the narration gives us 『山崩れ』 and 『津波立つ』, vivid images of mountains collapsing and enormous waves rising from the sea.
Before Naruto even appears on screen, the language has already told us that this isn’t just a story about ninjas.
It’s the retelling of a legend.
Level Up: Check Your Understanding
① Quick Quiz
What’s the meaning of this sentence?
『その尾 一度振らば山崩れ津波立つ』
A) The fox caused mountains to crumble
B) The fox’s tail will cause tsunamis and landslides.
C) With one swing of its tail, mountains would crumble, and tsunamis would rise.
② Mini Quest
Which is the classical conditional form?
A) 振れば
B) 振らば
③ Final Challenge
Complete the sentence:
『その尾 一度振らば _____ 津波立つ』
Answers
① C
② B
③ 山崩れ
You leveled up your Japanese today:
✅ Japanese Sentences +1
✅ Japanese Words +7
✅ 日本語 EXP +170
Congratulations 🎉
おめでとう🎉
Learn More Japanese with…
Naruto
- 『昔妖狐ありけり』
Learn the Classical Ending 「〜けり」
Final Fantasy 1
- 『偶然とは思えぬ。』
Learn the Archaic Negative 「〜ぬ」
You just saw how a single vowel change can transform a sentence from everyday Japanese into the language of legends, and how expressions like 『山崩れ津波立つ』 help paint such a dramatic picture of the Nine-Tailed Fox‘s immense power.
The next time you watch a historical anime, drama, or play a game full of legends, keep an ear out for this kind of classical 「〜ば」. You probably won’t use it yourself in everyday conversation, but from now on you’ll recognise it the moment you hear it.
That’s one of the best parts of learning Japanese through anime, manga, and games.
See you in our next Jonin lesson!
Alex 🥷✨