Not Saying Is A Flower

Edward Trimnell on page 62 of his book Tigers, Devils, and Fools: A Guide to Japanese Proverbs uses the translation "Not saying is a flower" which is a direct translation of iwanu ga hana. The meaning, he writes, is "some things are better left unsaid." Daniel Crump Buchanan on page 74 of his book Japanese Proverbs and Sayings writes that this is short for "Not to speak is the flower of wisdom" and he goes on to say the English equivalent might be "Silence is Golden".