How to Read “Let the daughter-in-law tend the summer fire”
Natsu no hi wa yome ni takaseyo
Meaning of “Let the daughter-in-law tend the summer fire”
This proverb expresses harsh treatment toward daughters-in-law. It says that even in hot summer, the hard work of tending fires should be given to the daughter-in-law.
The original meaning shows an attitude that considered it natural to push the most difficult labor onto daughters-in-law. They had the weakest position in the family.
Cooking and heating bath water with fire during summer heat was exhausting work. People would be drenched in sweat. Yet this proverb contains the idea that such hard work was specifically the daughter-in-law’s duty.
It reflects the old family system’s philosophy of mistreating daughters-in-law. The saying doesn’t encourage caring for them. Instead, it actually recommends treating them harshly on purpose.
Today, this way of thinking clearly violates human rights. It should never be accepted. However, we need to understand as historical fact that such values once existed in Japanese society and remain preserved in language.
Origin and Etymology
The exact origin of this proverb is unclear. However, it likely emerged during the family system from the Edo period through early Showa era.
In Japanese society at that time, daughters-in-law had the weakest position in families. They were forced to do the hardest labor.
What’s interesting is that this proverb focuses on the specific situation of “summer fire.” Working with fire during hot summer meant tasks like cooking and heating bath water. These made people drenched in sweat.
There were no air conditioners or even electric fans back then. Working beside fire must have been unbearably difficult.
A companion expression also existed: “Let the daughter-in-law use winter water.” Cold water work in winter was another hard task to push onto daughters-in-law.
By listing harsh seasonal tasks this way, people justified treating daughters-in-law severely. This pattern suggests a widespread attitude of that time.
Behind such expressions lay the weak position of daughters-in-law in the family system. There was also a power structure of control by mothers-in-law and other family members.
This proverb vividly reflects the values of an era when pushing hard work onto daughters-in-law was considered natural.
Usage Examples
- Old-time mothers-in-law would push kitchen work onto daughters-in-law even on hot days, as if following “Let the daughter-in-law tend the summer fire”
- In my grandmother’s time, the idea of “Let the daughter-in-law tend the summer fire” was normal, and the daughter-in-law’s position was truly difficult
Universal Wisdom
This proverb shows us universal problems in human society. It reveals power structures and the oppression of those in weak positions.
Why do people push hard work onto those weaker than themselves?
Behind this lies awareness of hierarchy in groups. Humans are social creatures. Every group naturally develops relationships of higher and lower status.
Unfortunately, those in higher positions often lack consideration for those below. They tend to use others for their own comfort.
What’s especially interesting is that this proverb targets the specific position of “daughter-in-law.” The daughter-in-law herself was once a daughter, carefully raised in her own family.
But through marriage, she enters a new family and suddenly finds herself at the bottom. This proverb captures both this sudden change in position and the social system that considered it natural.
Thinking more deeply, such oppressive structures often continue across generations. A daughter-in-law who was treated harshly becomes a mother-in-law herself. Then she treats the new daughter-in-law harshly in turn.
The logic is “I endured it, so you should endure it too.” This negative cycle has been the driving force that kept unreasonable customs alive for so long.
This proverb teaches us about human cruelty. It also shows the frightening nature of social systems that justify such treatment.
When AI Hears This
When fire is used in a summer kitchen, the thermal energy from cooking spreads throughout the entire space. This is exactly what the second law of thermodynamics shows.
Energy always flows from high temperature to low temperature, and disorder increases. What’s interesting is that who bears this heat load affects the energy loss of the entire household as a closed system.
Human body temperature regulation requires significant energy cost. When you sweat to lower body temperature by one degree, about 580 calories of energy are taken away as heat of vaporization.
Young people have higher basal metabolism. They also have better sweating capacity per body surface area. Therefore, in the same heat environment, they need relatively less energy to suppress body temperature rise.
In other words, the higher the temperature regulation efficiency of the person working near the heat source, the less energy is wasted in the entire system.
Even more remarkable is spatial arrangement optimization. If the person using fire is young and moves quickly, cooking time shortens. The time for heat to diffuse into the space also decreases.
As a result, temperature rise in the whole house is suppressed. Energy used by other family members for temperature regulation is also saved.
This proverb is evidence that people intuitively understood personnel placement as an optimization problem. Who uses the fire actually affects the energy balance of the entire household.
Pre-modern people practiced entropy minimization in daily life without knowing thermodynamics.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches modern people the importance of consideration for those in weak positions. When you’re in a higher position in an organization or family, how you use that power matters.
What’s important is constantly asking yourself a question. Are you pushing burdens onto others for your own comfort?
Ask yourself: “Is this really fair role distribution?” And: “Am I pushing hard work onto someone just because their position is weak?”
In workplaces and homes alike, newcomers and those in weak positions actually need warm consideration most. Don’t push the hardest work onto them. Instead, actively support them.
Such an attitude creates healthy human relationships. It also builds sustainable organizations.
This proverb stands before us as a negative lesson. To avoid repeating past mistakes, can you treat people around you with kindness and fairness?
Each person’s change in awareness leads the entire society in a better direction.
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