How to Read “Eat through your nose and become a millionaire”
Hana e kū to chōja ni naru
Meaning of “Eat through your nose and become a millionaire”
This proverb means that extreme frugality can help you build wealth. Specifically, it describes someone so dedicated to saving money that they won’t even light a lamp at night to save on oil costs.
They eat in complete darkness. It’s so dark they can’t tell their mouth from their nose. This level of extreme saving, the proverb suggests, will eventually make you rich.
People use this saying when they see someone being extremely frugal. Sometimes it’s said with admiration, sometimes with irony. It was also used to teach young people that small expenses add up to big waste over time.
The proverb has two sides. One is a serious lesson that daily small savings lead to future wealth. The other is a warning against going too far with penny-pinching by showing an exaggerated example.
Today, people understand it less as simple advice to save money. Instead, it makes us think about the importance of balance in life.
Origin and Etymology
The exact first written record of this proverb is unclear. However, it’s believed to have been passed down among common people during the Edo period as a teaching about frugality.
The phrase “eat through your nose” sounds strange at first. But when you understand the living conditions of that time, it reveals a deeper meaning.
In the Edo period, lamp oil was precious for common people. The cost of oil to light the night was a significant daily expense. It wasn’t a small part of the household budget.
This proverb depicts someone who won’t even spend money on that oil. They eat their meals in complete darkness. It’s so dark they can’t even find their mouth and bring food to their nose instead.
This may be hard for us to imagine today. But it expresses someone practicing such thorough frugality.
The ending “become a millionaire” shows the lesson that such extreme saving eventually leads to building wealth. The attitude of treasuring every penny, which over time builds great fortune, reflects values that connected to the merchant way of the Edo period.
This proverb likely emerged as a teaching condensing the wisdom of common people’s lives, mixed with humor.
Interesting Facts
For common people in the Edo period, lamp oil was truly expensive. The rapeseed oil used at that time would cost several hundred yen in modern currency for one night’s light.
Because of this, many households tried to use as little light as possible, even when doing night work.
The expression “eat through your nose” is unique to this proverb. It’s rarely used anywhere else. The humorous scene of trying to bring food to your mouth in darkness and hitting your nose instead is easy for anyone to imagine.
That’s probably why it stuck in people’s memories and was passed down as a proverb.
Usage Examples
- He was such a frugal person, truly living “Eat through your nose and become a millionaire,” and finally bought his dream home
- I heard that company president lived a life of “Eat through your nose and become a millionaire” level saving when he was young
Universal Wisdom
Behind this proverb lies the eternal conflict between human desire and self-control. We all seek prosperity while simultaneously not wanting to give up the comfort and pleasure of this present moment. This contradiction lives in all of us.
What’s interesting is that this proverb isn’t simply recommending frugality. It shows an extreme example to make listeners think. Saving money to the point of “eating through your nose” is clearly going too far.
But does it really take that much to build wealth, or is moderate saving enough? The judgment is left to the listener.
Humans struggle to continue things that don’t show immediate visible results. Each day’s small expenses don’t seem like much in the moment. But our ancestors learned through experience the truth that these accumulate to create big differences.
This proverb contains another deep insight. It’s the reality that building wealth takes time. There’s no way to become rich overnight. Steady accumulation is the sure path.
This harsh but hopeful message is embedded in the saying. It’s universal wisdom that tests human patience and trust in the future.
When AI Hears This
Everyone knows the sensation when wasabi or mustard enters your nose. Tears flow and your head suddenly feels sharp. This happens because the trigeminal nerve, which controls facial sensations, gets intensely stimulated.
This nerve connects directly to the locus coeruleus, the brain’s arousal center. When stimulated, it rapidly releases noradrenaline, a wakeful substance. In other words, nasal stimulation is a switch that forcibly awakens the brain.
What’s interesting is that the brain’s reward system also activates during this arousal response. The sense of release and refreshment after strong stimulation comes from dopamine, a pleasure chemical.
This temporary euphoria is tricky. The human brain tends to mistake “feeling good” for “making good judgments.” It’s actually just a physiological reaction, but it creates the illusion that you’ve become smarter.
From a neuroscience perspective, this proverb touches on the essence of human cognitive bias. We confuse temporary arousal and pleasure with sustained ability improvement and success.
Nasal stimulation only provides a few minutes of wakefulness. It has nothing to do with the thinking power needed to build wealth. Ancient people must have experientially understood how the brain confuses physiological pleasure with actual achievement.
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches modern people is the truth that small choices accumulate to shape our lives. However, what’s important here is that it’s not recommending extreme frugality to the point of “eating through your nose.”
In modern society, we should learn “balance” from this proverb instead. Daily coffee expenses, impulse purchases of small items, subscriptions you keep renewing without thinking. Each one is a small amount, but calculated annually, they become surprisingly large sums.
You don’t need to give up all of them. But it’s worth stopping to consider whether they truly enrich your life.
At the same time, this proverb teaches the perspective of “investing in the future.” Today’s small sacrifice leads to tomorrow’s great freedom. Whether you can hold that conviction greatly affects your quality of life.
Your daily small choices are creating who you’ll be in five or ten years. You don’t need to be perfect. What matters is choosing consciously.
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