In The Morning, Knock On The Rich Child’s Gate; In The Evening, Follow The Dust Of The Fat Horse: Japanese Proverb Meaning

How to Read “In the morning, knock on the rich child’s gate; in the evening, follow the dust of the fat horse”

Ashita ni wa fuji no mon wo tataki, kure ni wa hiba no chiri ni shitagau

Meaning of “In the morning, knock on the rich child’s gate; in the evening, follow the dust of the fat horse”

This proverb means asking favors at a wealthy person’s gate in the morning, then following powerful people in the evening.

It describes someone who spends all day seeking out influential people and flattering them.

The saying criticizes people who move from one powerful person to another from morning to night, constantly trying to gain favor.

It warns against the base attitude of those who have no beliefs or pride of their own. These people only think about getting close to the powerful and wealthy.

Even today, people use this proverb to criticize those who excessively flatter their bosses or influential people.

It also applies to those who act solely to stay on the side of power.

Through its contrasting imagery, this proverb strongly emphasizes the importance of independence and personal dignity.

Origin and Etymology

This proverb is believed to come from ancient Chinese classics.

“Rich child” refers to the son of a wealthy family. “Fat horse” means a fine horse. Both symbolize the powerful and wealthy.

The expression “knock on the gate” has long meant visiting a powerful person’s mansion to seek help or protection.

The contrast is vivid: knocking on a rich person’s gate in the morning, then chasing the dust kicked up by a powerful person’s horse in the evening.

This paints a clear picture of someone spending all day trying to gain favor with the powerful.

No clear records show when this expression reached Japan. However, many proverbs came from Chinese classics during periods when Chinese learning was valued.

During the Edo period especially, such Chinese-origin expressions became widely used among intellectuals as Confucian studies spread.

The phrase “follow the dust of the fat horse” describes someone willing to follow even the dust raised by a powerful person’s carriage.

This creates a striking visual metaphor for the servile attitude of those who flatter power.

Interesting Facts

The “fat horse” in this proverb doesn’t simply mean an overweight horse. It refers to a fine horse fed plenty of quality fodder.

In ancient China, owning a well-fed horse symbolized power and wealth. Only high-ranking officials and nobles were allowed to ride them.

Therefore, the word “fat horse” itself functioned as a synonym for powerful people.

The act of “knocking on the gate” was proper etiquette for requesting a formal meeting in ancient China and Japan.

Rather than simply visiting, there was a formal process of knocking on the gate and asking to be announced.

This expression carries that cultural background within it.

Usage Examples

• That person lives like “in the morning, knock on the rich child’s gate; in the evening, follow the dust of the fat horse,” never having their own opinion
• They only think about getting close to powerful people, moving around like “in the morning, knock on the rich child’s gate; in the evening, follow the dust of the fat horse”

Universal Wisdom

This proverb reflects a universal human weakness: the temptation of dependence.

Why do people try to gain favor with the powerful instead of standing on their own? Because the anxiety of living by one’s own strength and the comfort of entering a powerful person’s protection both exist constantly in the human heart.

The image of moving from one influential person to another all day may seem base at first glance.

But behind it may lie a desperate wish to survive. When placed in unstable situations, everyone wants to seek reliable backing.

However, this proverb has been passed down for hundreds of years because our ancestors saw through how such a way of life ultimately damages human dignity.

The security gained by flattering power is only temporary. When a powerful person’s mood changes, that protection is easily lost.

True stability lies not in dependence on others, but within ourselves.

This proverb continues to ask us across the ages about the difficulty of human independence and the importance of standing on our own feet despite that difficulty.

When AI Hears This

The phenomenon of people gathering around the wealthy is actually an unavoidable mathematical consequence based on probability.

Network theory shows that when new nodes (people) join a network, they tend to connect preferentially to nodes that already have many connections. This is called “preferential attachment.”

Let’s look at specific numbers. Research examining link counts to websites found that the top 1 percent of sites collected over 80 percent of all links.

This follows a “power law” distribution. The concentration of wealth is incomparably more extreme than a normal distribution.

If 10 people knock on the rich child’s gate in the morning, the number accelerates to 20, then 30 by evening.

This happens because people tend to make the same choice simply because “others are choosing it.”

What’s interesting is that individual ability differences have almost nothing to do with this phenomenon.

Simulation studies show that those with even a slight initial advantage later become hubs (central figures) with overwhelming differences.

In other words, this proverb captures not just worldly wisdom, but the structural inequality that networks possess.

Ancient people intuitively grasped through experience the mechanism by which small initial differences expand exponentially over time.

Lessons for Today

This proverb teaches us the truth that excessive dependence on others makes us lose sight of ourselves.

The same structure exists today in different forms. People constantly watch their boss’s face at work or try to gain favor with influential people on social media.

What matters is having the discernment to distinguish between building relationships and flattering others.

Cooperating with someone and helping each other is wonderful. But you don’t need to follow someone to the point of abandoning your own opinions and values.

You have your own value. What’s far more important than being recognized by people with power or status is continuing to ask yourself what you value and how you want to live.

You may sometimes feel lonely. But having the courage to stand on your own feet will bring you true stability and fulfillment.

Don’t be swayed by others’ evaluations. Listen to the voice within yourself.