How to Read “A matchmaker wears out a thousand pairs of straw sandals”
Nakōdo wa waraji senzoku
Meaning of “A matchmaker wears out a thousand pairs of straw sandals”
“A matchmaker wears out a thousand pairs of straw sandals” is a proverb that describes how busy matchmakers are as they arrange many marriages. A person who helps arrange marriages must visit both families many times to make one couple successful. They rush around adjusting conditions and persuading people.
The busyness is expressed through the metaphor of wearing out a thousand pairs of straw sandals.
This proverb is used to emphasize how difficult the matchmaker’s role is. The work of connecting people may look glamorous on the surface, but it actually requires steady effort and devoted work. Professional matchmakers are rare in modern times.
However, the spirit of this proverb lives on when expressing the struggles of people who bridge human relationships. It is used with feelings of recognizing the efforts of those who rush around for others and appreciating their hard work.
Origin and Etymology
Clear written records about the origin of this proverb are limited. However, it is believed to be deeply connected to marriage culture in the Edo period.
At that time, matchmakers did not simply arrange marriages. They played an important role traveling back and forth between both families many times. In an era that valued connections between families, matchmakers investigated family structures, economic situations, and social standing in detail. They visited repeatedly to adjust conditions.
Looking at the expression “a thousand pairs of straw sandals,” straw sandals were widely used as footwear by common people at that time. Sandals woven from straw had low durability and would quickly wear out from walking long distances.
To complete one marriage arrangement, matchmakers traveled back and forth between both families many times. Sometimes they even traveled to distant places. The image of straw sandals wearing out one after another symbolically expresses the matchmaker’s devoted work.
“A thousand pairs” is not an actual number but an exaggeration meaning very many. It shows that matchmakers rushed around that much and poured their heart and soul into each marriage arrangement. This expression contains both the difficulty of work connecting people and respect for those who devote themselves to it.
Interesting Facts
Straw sandals in the Edo period could only last for about 10 to 15 kilometers per pair. If you take the expression “a thousand pairs” literally, a matchmaker would walk over 10,000 kilometers for one marriage arrangement.
This equals traveling back and forth across the Japanese archipelago many times. It shows just how difficult the matchmaker’s work was.
The matchmaker’s payment was called “matchmaker’s fee.” They could only receive it after the marriage arrangement succeeded. In other words, no matter how much they rushed around, if the arrangement failed, the payment was zero.
The attitude of matchmakers who still devoted themselves to people’s happiness is the background for the respect contained in this proverb.
Usage Examples
- That senior colleague takes good care of new employees and flies around between departments like a matchmaker wears out a thousand pairs of straw sandals
- Mr. Tanaka in the sales department is as busy as a matchmaker wears out a thousand pairs of straw sandals coordinating with clients
Universal Wisdom
Behind the passing down of the proverb “A matchmaker wears out a thousand pairs of straw sandals” lies a deep understanding of the essential difficulty of connecting people.
People who bridge human relationships must always stand between both parties. They must receive each person’s thoughts, expectations, and anxieties. When they hear one side’s opinion, they go to tell the other side. If conditions don’t match, they go back again to adjust.
This repeated back-and-forth creates not only physical fatigue but also great mental burden.
However, the existence of such intermediaries was essential in human society. Standing between two parties who find it difficult to face each other directly, they build bridges while choosing their words carefully. Sometimes they clear up misunderstandings, sometimes they search for compromise points.
Without this steady effort, new relationships cannot be born.
This proverb contains respect for such invisible hardship. Behind the glamorous wedding ceremony, there was someone who rushed around wearing out their straw sandals. Only because of that devoted work can happy connections be realized.
Our ancestors expressed the nobility of work that weaves human bonds through the everyday tool of straw sandals. This is an expression of universal human understanding that recognizes the value of devoting oneself to others.
When AI Hears This
The effort of a matchmaker traveling back and forth between two people can actually be quantified using network theory. The metric called betweenness centrality measures how many times a node appears on the shortest path between other nodes. The matchmaker is in a position with extremely high betweenness centrality.
What’s interesting is that when the number of people the matchmaker connects increases, the effort grows not linearly but exponentially. For example, if there are 2 people, one round trip is enough. But when relatives and associates from both families get involved, you have person A and person B, person A and person C, person B and person C.
The communication paths increase proportional to the square of the number of people. With 5 people it’s 10 combinations, with 10 people it’s 45 combinations. Moreover, information doesn’t flow one way. You hear person A’s opinion, tell person B, then bring person B’s reaction back to person A. This bidirectionality doubles the effort.
Even more serious is information degradation and coordination costs. The matchmaker is not just a relay point in a game of telephone. They need to adjust the temperature difference between both parties and rephrase words. In network theory, it’s known that information entropy increases each time it passes through an intermediary.
This means misunderstandings and discrepancies become more likely. To fix these, they must travel many times. The expression “a thousand pairs of straw sandals” is a brilliant metaphor that intuitively captures this exponential increase in effort.
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches us today is the value of work that connects people and gratitude for the effort behind it.
In modern society, we can easily connect with people through social media and matching apps. However, to build truly meaningful relationships, someone’s devoted effort is still necessary, just as it was in the past.
People who connect newcomers with seniors at work, people who introduce friends to each other, people who introduce business partners. Such bridge-builders spend much time and effort in places we cannot see.
When someone introduces you to another person, try to imagine how much consideration and coordination happened behind the scenes. Also, when you bridge connections for someone else, take pride that it is valuable work like wearing out straw sandals.
Human relationships may seem to connect in an instant. But their realization involves many people’s invisible efforts. Being aware of that effort and having a grateful heart.
That is the warm message this proverb gives to those of us living in modern times.
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