How to Read “轍を踏む”
Tetsu wo fumu
Meaning of “轍を踏む”
“Step on ruts” means to repeat the same failures or mistakes as one’s predecessors.
This proverb describes situations where, after someone has failed on a path they walked in the past, those who follow make similar judgment errors or take similar actions, ultimately resulting in the same kind of failure. It is particularly often used when someone follows the same course despite having known about the failure example beforehand or having received warnings about it.
As for usage scenarios, it can be applied to various fields such as judgment mistakes in business, troubles in human relationships, and similar errors in learning or research. The reason for using this expression is that rather than simply saying “I failed,” it allows one to convey feelings of reflection that “there were precedents to learn from, but I couldn’t make use of them” and a sense of caution toward the same pattern of failure. Even today, it is used with self-reflection when one faces similar problems without being able to make use of the experiences of seniors or predecessors.
Origin and Etymology
The “ruts” in “step on ruts” refers to the traces left on the ground after wheels have passed through. The origin of this phrase dates back to a historical account recorded in the ancient Chinese text “Records of the Grand Historian” (Shiji).
In the “Biography of Jia Yi” section of the Records of the Grand Historian, there is a saying: “The overturning of the front cart serves as a warning for the rear cart.” This meant “when you see the front cart has overturned, the cart coming from behind should avoid those ruts and pass through,” and it was a teaching that warned against repeating the same mistakes by using the failures of predecessors as lessons.
In Japan, this way of thinking became widespread around the Heian period and became established as the expression “step on ruts.” What’s interesting is that while the original Chinese text taught the importance of “avoiding the ruts,” in Japan it came to be used in the negative sense of “stepping on ruts,” meaning “repeating the same failures.”
This change can be considered a reflection of Japanese culture of humility and reflection. Rather than avoiding failure, there may have been an intention to encourage deeper reflection by expressing the situation of having failed as a warning. It appeared frequently in Edo period literature and has been widely cherished as a moral lesson.
Interesting Facts
The character for “ruts” is written with the “vehicle” radical plus “tetsu,” and this “tetsu” has the meaning of “penetrating through.” In other words, ruts literally means “traces left by wheels penetrating through the ground,” expressing how the path once traveled remains clearly visible.
In ancient China, the depth and width of ruts could be used to estimate the weight and frequency of vehicles that had passed through that road, so they were also utilized for military intelligence gathering. Therefore, “ruts” had meanings beyond mere wheel tracks – they represented important traces and clues.
Usage Examples
- I failed in business just like my father did, truly stepping on ruts
- Even though I had observed my senior’s romantic patterns, I never thought I would end up stepping on ruts
Modern Interpretation
In modern society, the proverb “step on ruts” has come to hold even greater significance than before. While the development of the information society has made it easy to research past failure cases and lessons, conversely, cases of repeating similar failures have become more prominent.
Particularly in the business world, failure patterns of startup companies and past corporate management misjudgments are recorded in detail and shared on the internet. However, despite having access to such information, companies and individuals who repeat similar failures continue to appear. This shows that there is a large gap between having access to information and actually utilizing it.
The spread of social media has also accelerated this phenomenon. While many examples of social media controversies and verbal misstep patterns are shared, people who make similar mistakes continue to appear one after another. Perhaps the sheer volume of information has made it difficult to discern truly important lessons.
On the other hand, modern times have also given birth to ways of thinking that don’t necessarily view “stepping on ruts” as a bad thing. The value of learning from failure has been reconsidered, and a positive interpretation has spread that “even if it’s the same ruts, it has meaning if you can gain your own learning from it.”
When AI Hears This
The psychological influence of ruts as “visible evidence” has been explained in modern cognitive science as the “principle of social proof.” When the human brain discovers traces of others’ behavior, it unconsciously processes them as “evidence of the correct choice.”
What’s fascinating is the relationship between the depth of ruts and human compliance. According to research by psychologist Robert Cialdini, the clearer the “traces” of precedent behavior, the higher the probability that people will follow that path. In other words, deeper ruts serve as evidence of collective behavior that “many people passed through here,” paralyzing individual judgment.
Even more surprising is that the behavior of following ruts is directly connected to the brain’s energy-saving function of “cognitive load reduction.” Choosing a new path requires enormous information processing, but following existing ruts reduces thinking costs to nearly zero. The same mechanism is at work when we unconditionally trust top-ranked sites in internet searches or judge restaurants with long lines as “definitely delicious.”
The physical phenomenon of ruts is a visible trace of humans’ biological tendency to seek “easy choices.” Without realizing it, we are controlled by our brains’ response to visible “footprints of success.”
Lessons for Today
The proverb “step on ruts” teaches us important things as we live in modern times. That is the importance of not fearing failure too much, but rather maintaining an attitude of learning from failure.
Stepping on the ruts of our predecessors is never something to be ashamed of. Rather, what’s important is how we apply that experience next time when we face similar situations. In modern society where information overflows, simply knowing others’ failure examples as knowledge is often insufficient, and true learning can often only be gained through our own experiences.
Also, this proverb teaches us the importance of humility. Rather than thinking “I’ll be fine” or “I won’t make the same mistakes,” we should accept that as humans, we have the possibility of committing similar errors. It is only with such humble feelings that true growth can be achieved.
What’s important is that when we do step on ruts, we stop there, look back, and think about how we can walk a different path next time. Failure is not an end, but a signal for a new beginning.
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