勧善懲悪
かんぜんちょうあく rewarding good and punishing evil; poetic justice
Why it means this
勧善 (encourage good) + 懲悪 (punish evil) — a four-character phrase for the moral scheme of a story where virtue is rewarded.
Breakdown
- 勧 カン persuade, recommend, advise
- 善 ゼン virtuous, good, goodness
- 懲 チョウ penal, chastise, punish
- 悪 アク bad, vice, rascal
Each character links to its full entry — origin story, stroke order, and readings.