How to Read “Drinking water today for the salted fish you’ll eat tomorrow”
Asu kuu shiokara ni kyou kara mizu wo nomu
Meaning of “Drinking water today for the salted fish you’ll eat tomorrow”
This proverb warns against worrying too much about future problems that haven’t even happened yet.
If you eat salted fish tomorrow, you’ll definitely get thirsty. But that doesn’t mean you need to save water today.
When you get thirsty tomorrow, you can just drink water then.
People use this saying when someone worries too much about the future. They might make unnecessary preparations or put themselves through pointless hardship today.
The proverb gently says, “There’s no point worrying so far ahead” and “You can deal with it when the time comes.”
Even today, many people worry excessively about problems that haven’t occurred yet. They limit their lives now because of future concerns.
This proverb uses humor to remind us that we can take things more easily.
Origin and Etymology
No clear written records explain the origin of this proverb. However, it likely came from common people’s food culture during the Edo period.
Shiokara is preserved seafood made by salting fish or shellfish. For common people in the Edo period, it was a valuable source of protein.
Because of its extremely high salt content, eating shiokara always makes you thirsty afterward. Everyone experienced this physical reaction.
The key point is that the proverb talks about shiokara you’ll eat tomorrow. Someone tries to save water today for salted fish they haven’t even eaten yet.
This is clearly unreasonable behavior. When you get thirsty tomorrow, you can drink water then.
Saving water today won’t reduce tomorrow’s thirst at all.
This absurdity is the heart of the proverb. It shows how people worry too much about the future and make unnecessary preparations or sacrifices today.
By using everyday food as an example, everyone can instantly understand that such behavior makes no sense.
This clever expression came from common people’s daily life experience. It’s a humorous warning rooted in practical wisdom.
Interesting Facts
The salt concentration in shiokara typically reaches 15 to 20 percent. This is over five times the salt concentration of seawater, which is about 3 percent.
This high salt content preserves the food while causing intense thirst after eating.
People in the Edo period had no refrigerators. They used salt’s power to preserve valuable protein sources for long periods.
Japan has many proverbs about needless worry. But this one is unusual because it combines specific food with physical reactions.
This shows how deeply the saying was rooted in common people’s real experiences.
Usage Examples
- Worrying about next month’s exam and practicing all-nighters now is like drinking water today for the salted fish you’ll eat tomorrow
- He’s avoiding the hospital now because he worries about medical costs in old age, which is exactly like drinking water today for the salted fish you’ll eat tomorrow
Universal Wisdom
Humans have the ability to imagine the future. This is a wonderful ability, but it can also be a source of suffering.
We worry about events that haven’t happened yet. We destroy our peace in the present moment by ourselves.
This proverb has been passed down through generations because this human tendency never changes across time.
People in the Edo period worried too much about the future, just like we do today.
Tomorrow’s problems can be solved tomorrow. Yet we try to carry that burden starting today.
What’s interesting is that this proverb doesn’t simply say “don’t worry.” It doesn’t deny the fact that eating salted fish tomorrow will make you thirsty.
It acknowledges that problems might occur. But it says, “You don’t need to deal with it now.”
This isn’t about escaping reality. It’s wisdom about handling things at the right time.
We often confuse worrying with preparing. Worry is an emotional response that solves nothing by itself.
What we really need is the ability to handle problems when they actually occur.
This proverb teaches us the value of living in the present rather than wasting energy on useless worry.
Our ancestors deeply understood that humans are creatures easily driven by anxiety. That’s why they left us this humorous and gentle warning.
When AI Hears This
Behavioral economics tells us humans typically have “present bias.” This means people choose 100 yen today over 110 yen in a year.
They can’t wait for just 10% profit. But this proverb shows the opposite pattern.
Someone drinks water today to avoid tomorrow’s saltiness pain.
Interestingly, this behavior is actually an extreme form of loss aversion bias. Kahneman’s research shows humans feel the pain of loss over twice as strongly as the joy of gain.
The person in this proverb has such a powerful image of tomorrow’s thirst that they completely ignore today’s loss of drinking water unnecessarily.
In other words, imagining future pain has hijacked their present judgment.
What’s even more notable is that this preparation has no actual effect. Water drunk today won’t reduce tomorrow’s saltiness.
Anxiety has shut down rational thinking and created behavior with no causal connection.
In modern terms, this is like over-stockpiling for disasters that haven’t happened or sacrificing today’s life worrying about distant future illnesses.
The human brain is too good at simulating future pain. This causes people to pay real costs for non-existent problems.
This proverb brilliantly satirizes that cognitive trap.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches modern people the importance of distinguishing between worry and preparation.
We live in an age of information overload. Information about future risks floods around us.
We feel like we must worry about everything. But if we try to address every worry right now, we lose the space to live in the present moment.
What matters is the judgment to separate what we can do now from what can wait until later.
Is this really something to prepare for now? Or is it enough to handle when it happens?
If you can make this distinction, you’ll be freed from useless worry and can focus on the present.
When you’re worrying about something, stop and think. Does this really need to be addressed now?
Maybe you’re drinking water today for the salted fish you’ll eat tomorrow.
Most problems can be handled well enough when they actually occur. Having the space to cherish the present moment is important.
That’s the life wisdom this proverb teaches us.
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