How to Read “Three generations to rise, three generations to fall”
Agatte sandai, sagatte sandai
Meaning of “Three generations to rise, three generations to fall”
This proverb means it takes three generations for a family or business to become successful. It also takes three generations to lose everything.
Getting rich quickly in one generation is rare. Losing everything in one generation is also rare. Success and failure happen slowly over time.
The change happens across grandfather, father, and child. Each generation plays a part in the family’s rise or fall.
People use this saying when talking about family businesses or managing money. For example, “The founder worked hard, the second generation was stable, and the third generation struggled.”
It can also encourage people during hard times. “Things are tough now, but our children or grandchildren will see the rewards.”
This expression teaches us to think long-term, not just about today. Even now, it helps us understand how companies and families succeed or fail.
One generation’s effort alone isn’t enough. Success and failure both need continuous work across generations.
Origin and Etymology
Nobody knows exactly where this proverb came from. But it likely grew from Japan’s culture of family businesses and passing things down through generations.
The number “three” has special meaning in Japan. Since ancient times, three has represented completion or wholeness.
The first generation builds the foundation. The second generation grows it. The third generation completes it.
Or it can work the opposite way. The first generation leaves wealth. The second generation lives comfortably. The third generation spends it all.
This saying shows that family success or failure doesn’t happen overnight. Looking at merchant and samurai families throughout history, big changes took time.
Wealth and trust built by the founder slowly changed as it passed to the second and third generations.
What’s interesting is that this proverb treats rising and falling equally. Both take time and happen gradually.
This shows that people didn’t see success or failure as fate. Instead, they understood it as the result of effort or laziness building up over generations.
Some say merchants in the Edo period used this saying often. It probably came from real business experience.
Usage Examples
- My grandfather started the company and my father grew it. But “three generations to rise, three generations to fall,” so we can’t relax.
- Things are hard now, but “three generations to rise” means our children’s generation will see the results.
Universal Wisdom
This proverb teaches us about how change really works in human society. We often imagine dramatic success or sudden failure.
But real life doesn’t work that way. Success and failure in families and organizations happen slowly, almost invisibly.
Why three generations? It’s about how memory and experience pass down through families.
The first generation knows hardship firsthand. The second generation hears stories about those struggles. But by the third generation, hardship becomes a distant tale.
The same happens with success. The first generation innovates. The second generation stabilizes it. The third generation perfects it.
This proverb has lasted because it captures something true about human nature. We want quick results, but real value takes generations to build.
It also warns us that today’s success won’t last forever without continued effort.
What’s fascinating is that this saying isn’t pessimistic or optimistic. Rising takes time, and falling takes time too.
This means if you’re struggling now, there’s still hope. If you’re successful now, you can’t get lazy.
This balanced view comes from deep observation of life. It’s the wisdom of people who watched families rise and fall over many years.
When AI Hears This
The pattern of families rising and falling over three generations can be explained by physics. Specifically, the law of entropy.
Entropy means “the level of disorder.” It’s a universal law: if you leave things alone, they always move from order to chaos.
Here’s the interesting part: this law has “speed asymmetry.” You can mess up a room in seconds, but cleaning takes time and energy.
Destroying order is much faster than creating it. But this proverb says rising and falling both take three generations. Why?
The answer is “intentional energy input.” During the three generations of rising, each generation fights against entropy.
They invest energy through education, discipline, and managing money. They’re constantly pushing back against natural disorder.
During the three generations of falling, that energy input stops. Normally, things would collapse instantly.
But it takes three generations because the “momentum of order” from the first generation still exists. Savings, reputation, and connections act as a buffer.
These assets slow down the collapse. They’re like a cushion that delays the fall.
So this proverb expresses a truth from thermodynamics. Maintaining order requires constant energy. Stop that effort, and physics takes over—everything moves toward disorder.
The proverb just puts this scientific truth into a concrete timeframe: three generations.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches modern people to think long-term. Social media spreads information instantly. We’re pressured to get quick results.
It’s easy to get too excited or too disappointed by immediate outcomes. But truly valuable things are built across generations.
What you’re working on today might not pay off right away. But that doesn’t mean it’s worthless.
Today’s small efforts become gifts for tomorrow and for the next generation. At the same time, good situations you have now can start declining the moment you take them for granted.
The key is to think long-term while working honestly on what you can do today. Don’t dream of instant success. Trust in steady progress.
Be grateful for what you have now. But don’t stop working to maintain it.
This proverb frees us from two extremes: rushing and being careless. It’s okay to go slowly, but keep moving forward.
That’s the warm message hidden in these words.
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