The title is derived from the ancient Japanese legend of three wise monkeys who "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil". The source that popularized this pictorial maxim is a 17th century carving over a door of a famous shrine in Nikko, Japan and has been linked to the philosophy of Confucius: "Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; make no movement which is contrary to propriety".