How to Read “Carry hemp and throw away gold”
Asa wo ninatte kane wo suteru
Meaning of “Carry hemp and throw away gold”
“Carry hemp and throw away gold” describes the foolishness of treasuring worthless things while discarding truly valuable ones.
This proverb warns against getting distracted by trivial matters and losing sight of what’s truly important.
People use this saying when someone has their priorities completely backwards.
For example, someone might chase small profits or temporary satisfaction and give up long-term benefits or truly valuable things.
It criticizes or warns people who get fooled by surface appeal or convenience and can’t recognize true value.
This lesson remains crucial today. In our information-flooded society, we easily notice flashy or accessible things.
But these aren’t always truly valuable. This proverb teaches us the importance of seeing through to the essence of things through its vivid contrast.
Origin and Etymology
No clear written records explain the origin of this proverb. However, we can make interesting observations from how the phrase is constructed.
The contrast between “hemp” and “gold” forms the heart of this saying.
Hemp was widely cultivated in Japan since ancient times. People used it for clothing, rope, bags, and other daily necessities. But its value was never high.
“Gold,” on the other hand, has always symbolized wealth and value across all eras.
The choice of the verb “carry” is also meaningful. Instead of simply “hold” or “take,” the word “carry” suggests the image of bearing a heavy load.
This means going to the trouble of hauling something of low value while throwing away something precious at hand. It expresses a double foolishness.
This proverb may have originated in the merchant world.
In business dealings, people might be blinded by trivial profits right before their eyes. They could lose truly important things like trust or major business opportunities.
The saying may have warned merchants against such failures. A warning against misjudging value is condensed into this simple expression.
Usage Examples
- I changed jobs for a slightly higher salary, but lost my previous company’s excellent benefits—truly carrying hemp and throwing away gold
- He insisted on saving money and used poor-quality materials, then had to redo everything at great loss—this is exactly carrying hemp and throwing away gold
Universal Wisdom
“Carry hemp and throw away gold” reveals a universal truth about the difficulty of human value judgment.
Why do people choose obviously low-value things and let go of precious ones?
The answer lies in how human cognition works. We’re strongly drawn to things right before us, things we can touch, and things we easily understand.
Hemp is visible, tangible, and its uses are immediately clear.
Gold’s true value, however, is an abstract concept—future possibilities and exchange value. People feel reassured by concrete, immediately understandable things.
They tend to underestimate abstract value.
This proverb also reflects the psychology of “loss aversion.” Obsession with acquiring something can blind us to the value of what we already have.
Excitement about new things can make our current treasures seem dull.
Our ancestors saw through this human weakness. That’s why they used extreme contrast to warn us.
What is true value? What really matters? The wisdom to discern these things is the key to enriching our lives.
When AI Hears This
When the human brain processes information, it actually judges using a metric called “signal-to-noise ratio.”
This is the ratio between truly important information (signal) and unimportant information (noise). People who carry hemp and throw away gold completely miscalculate this ratio.
Why do they make this mistake? Information theory describes a phenomenon called “salience bias.”
In other words, the brain prioritizes processing things that stand out, are large, or are heavy. Hemp has large volume and gives strong physical feedback through weight when held.
Gold, meanwhile, is small and quiet. To the brain’s information processing system, hemp appears as a “strong signal.”
This same structure exists in today’s online spaces. Video view counts jump into the brain as prominent numbers.
But whether that video truly has value for your life is invisible. People get captivated by the big number of follower counts (hemp) and overlook the quality of actual relationships (gold).
In information-rich environments, human cognitive systems react easily to superficial features like “size,” “quantity,” and “speed.”
Essential value is hard to quantify, quiet, and takes time to judge. So unless we consciously create filters to remove noise, we’ll keep choosing hemp again and again.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches modern people the importance of developing an eye for discerning value.
Modern society overflows with choices. On social media, the number of “likes” seems like a measure of value.
Advertisements promise immediate comfort. Countless pieces of information compete for our attention.
How can we avoid losing sight of what truly matters in such an environment?
First, develop the habit of pausing to think. When you’re about to choose something, take a breath and ask yourself if it’s truly valuable to you.
Are you choosing it just because it’s flashy, convenient, or everyone else has it?
It’s also important to reevaluate what you already have. Health, trustworthy relationships, time, opportunities to learn.
These may seem plain and ordinary, but we only realize their preciousness after losing them.
What truly matters in your life? Keeping that answer in your heart is the first step toward a life where you don’t confuse hemp with gold.
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