Evening Showers In The Tenth And Eleventh Months And An Aunt’s Rice Cakes Never Fail To Come: Japanese Proverb Meaning

How to Read “Evening showers in the tenth and eleventh months and an aunt’s rice cakes never fail to come”

Inui no yūdachi to obago no botamochi wa konu tameshi nashi

Meaning of “Evening showers in the tenth and eleventh months and an aunt’s rice cakes never fail to come”

This proverb means that unexpected events will definitely happen, just like things you don’t necessarily expect will surely come.

Evening showers from the inui direction and rice cakes brought by an aunt are examples of things that reliably occur. In other words, even things you think “that could never happen” will actually happen in life.

People use this expression to warn against carelessness or excessive optimism. For example, you might say it to someone who neglects disaster preparedness or ignores unlikely problems.

It reminds them that “unexpected things are exactly what will happen.” Even today, this wisdom applies when explaining the importance of risk management.

Origin and Etymology

No clear written records explain the origin of this proverb. However, we can make interesting observations from its components.

First, “evening showers in inui” refers to direction. Inui combines two zodiac signs and points to the northwest.

From a meteorological perspective, summer evening showers in Japan often move from southeast to northwest. When clouds came from the inui direction, rain was highly likely based on experience.

This natural phenomenon was chosen as an example of something almost certain to happen.

“An aunt’s rice cakes” comes from observations of family relationships. An aunt is a parent’s sister—related by blood but not as obligatory as a direct parent-child relationship.

This creates just the right distance. When such an aunt visited, bringing sweets like rice cakes as a gift was customary.

Botamochi are common treats made from rice and sweet bean paste. They were standard gifts for visitors.

By combining these two elements, the proverb expresses “things that will definitely happen” from both nature and human society. This creates a persuasive saying.

Interesting Facts

The inui direction is also called “ken” in feng shui and house divination. It has been considered an important direction.

This direction has strong yang energy. It’s seen as a place where heavenly energy descends. Its connection to weather phenomena like evening showers may not be coincidental.

Botamochi are traditionally eaten during the spring equinox. The same food is called “ohagi” during the autumn equinox.

This comes from peony flowers blooming in spring and bush clover blooming in autumn. Rice cakes were chosen as gifts because they could be made year-round and kept well.

They were practical presents that worked in any season.

Usage Examples

• I thought typhoon preparations were too much trouble, but “Evening showers in the tenth and eleventh months and an aunt’s rice cakes never fail to come,” so I should prepare after all
• He says everything will be fine, but “Evening showers in the tenth and eleventh months and an aunt’s rice cakes never fail to come”—unexpected troubles always happen

Universal Wisdom

This proverb speaks to a universal truth: the gap between human optimism bias and harsh reality.

We instinctively want to believe that bad things won’t happen. This is because constantly imagining crises is mentally exhausting.

However, our ancestors learned through long experience that such carelessness can be fatal.

What’s interesting is that this proverb draws examples from both nature and human society. It pairs evening showers—natural events beyond human control—with an aunt’s visit—a social custom.

By placing these side by side, it emphasizes the universality of “things that will definitely happen.” This shows deep insight: unexpected events can occur in any realm, whether natural or social.

The proverb contains not just warning but also a kind of resignation. It offers realistic wisdom: humans can only prepare for an unpredictable future.

Unwanted things will happen, so preparation is necessary. This is a strict yet gentle life lesson.

When AI Hears This

Human memory stores information by “impression strength,” not “frequency of occurrence.” This is the critical difference between probability theory and the brain’s memory system.

Suppose an aunt visits three times a year and brings rice cakes each time. But actually, she comes to the neighborhood ten times a year, passing by without stopping seven times.

However, the days she passed by disappear from memory as “days when nothing happened.” Only the three times with rice cakes remain vivid.

The brain creates a 100 percent correlation: “aunt visits = rice cakes appear.”

From a probability perspective, this is fascinating. The actual probability is 30 percent, but the perceived probability becomes 100 percent.

This gap exists because the human brain counts “times emotions moved,” not “event occurrence frequency.” Memories of receiving rice cakes as rewards are reinforced.

Days without rewards aren’t even recorded.

What’s more interesting is that this illusion works well as a survival strategy. Even with a tree that rarely bears fruit, keeping only memories of fruiting makes you believe “that tree always bears fruit.”

You keep visiting it. Though probabilistically inefficient, continuing to act eventually yields resources.

The human memory system prioritizes behavioral persistence over accuracy.

Lessons for Today

This proverb teaches modern people the value of preparation. In your life, is there something you think “that could never happen”?

Health problems, relationship troubles, financial difficulties, natural disasters. We tend to think “that doesn’t concern me” about all of these.

But this proverb gently yet firmly warns us otherwise.

The important thing isn’t to live in fear. Rather, it’s to make mental and practical preparations, assuming unexpected events will definitely happen.

Get insurance, save money, cherish relationships with important people, take care of your health. These small daily preparations will protect you when the time comes.

You can’t completely prevent unexpected events. But with preparation, you can soften their impact.

This proverb teaches a balanced way of living: staying optimistic while preparing realistically.