How to Read “When Gonbei sows seeds, crows dig them up”
Gonbee ga tanemakya karasu ga hojikuru
Meaning of “When Gonbei sows seeds, crows dig them up”
This proverb describes a situation where one person works hard, but another person ruins that effort. Just as Gonbei carefully plants seeds only to have crows immediately dig them up and eat them, it shows how hard work can be wasted.
People use this saying when someone carelessly destroys what another person has built up. For example, one person saves money while the other wastes it. One person cleans carefully, but others mess it up right away.
The proverb expresses the frustration and futility felt by the person making the effort.
Even today, this pattern appears often in teamwork and family life. When constructive and destructive actions happen at the same time, the result is zero progress or even negative progress.
This proverb captures that absurd situation perfectly.
Origin and Etymology
The exact origin of this proverb is not clearly documented. However, it is believed to have been widely used among common people since the Edo period.
The name “Gonbei” appears in many proverbs and folk songs as a representative name for ordinary people in the Edo period. It does not refer to a real person.
Instead, it represents a typical farmer, a symbolic “everyman.” Gonbei appears frequently in rakugo storytelling and folk songs too.
The background of this proverb lies in the nature of farming itself. Even when farmers carefully planted seeds one by one, crows would come right behind them and dig up those seeds to eat them.
This scene was a daily frustration for farmers in Edo period villages.
From planting to harvest takes a long time and much effort. But if crows eat the seeds, all that work disappears in an instant.
Farmers probably expressed this unreasonable situation with humor. The frustration and resignation of having your efforts ruined by others is condensed into these few words.
This proverb crystallized the real feelings of people living in an agricultural society into a life lesson.
Usage Examples
- I finally organized everything, but it’s like “When Gonbei sows seeds, crows dig them up”—the kids mess it up right away
- I work hard to cut expenses, but that department wastes money, so it’s truly “When Gonbei sows seeds, crows dig them up”
Universal Wisdom
This proverb has been passed down because it captures the reality of “asymmetric effort” that always exists in human society. Building takes time, but destruction is instant.
Accumulating requires patience, but tearing down is easy. This unfairness is a fundamental characteristic of human society across all eras.
What’s interesting is that the proverb doesn’t say “the crows are bad.” Crows simply follow their instincts to eat seeds. They have no malicious intent.
In other words, those who ruin others’ efforts don’t necessarily have bad intentions. They act unconsciously or thinking only of their own convenience, and as a result, they nullify someone else’s hard work.
This pattern is at the heart of what makes human relationships difficult.
Thinking more deeply, this proverb shows “the difficulty of cooperation.” Humans are social creatures, but we also have individual desires.
Restraining ourselves for the common good versus satisfying our own desires. When these two cannot be balanced, the relationship between Gonbei and the crows emerges.
Our ancestors knew how difficult it was to change this absurd pattern. Perhaps that’s why they made it into a proverb with humor.
By sharing this understanding, they tried to lighten the burden on their hearts, even just a little.
When AI Hears This
Looking at the relationship between Gonbei and the crows in numbers reveals a surprisingly unfair structure. Gonbei tills the soil, buys seeds, and bends down to plant them one by one.
If we calculate this in time and energy, it costs 100 units. Meanwhile, the crows just watch from the sky and swoop down to dig up the seeds the moment they’re planted.
Their cost is only about 5 units. Yet the benefit the crows gain (the seeds) is the same as what Gonbei should have gained. In other words, the crows get a 20-times return with zero investment.
The scary part of this structure is that Gonbei’s losses accelerate as more crows arrive. Game theory proves that in such situations, a vicious cycle occurs where “cooperators decrease and exploiters increase.”
When one crow sees another getting benefits, it thinks “if that one’s profiting, I should too” and joins in. This further reduces Gonbei’s share.
Eventually, Gonbei himself gives up, thinking “there’s no point in planting seeds.” As a result, nobody plants seeds anymore, and everyone including the crows starves.
The same pattern repeats in real society. When illegal downloading of music and movies increases, creators stop creating, and content itself eventually disappears.
This proverb expresses in one sentence a difficult problem humanity hasn’t solved in thousands of years: short-term exploitation leads to long-term mutual destruction.
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches modern people is “the importance of creating an environment for effort.” Just working hard isn’t enough. You need to arrange conditions so that effort can bear fruit.
Whether at home or work, if one person is working hard while someone else ruins it, dialogue is needed first. Did Gonbei tell the crows “please don’t eat the seeds”?
Did the crows know about Gonbei’s struggles? In most cases, problems arise not from malice but from lack of understanding.
If you’re in Gonbei’s position, it’s important to communicate your efforts to others and ask for cooperation. If you just keep working silently, others might not notice your struggles.
On the other hand, you yourself might be someone’s “crow.” You also need the humility to reflect on whether your actions are nullifying someone else’s efforts.
Ultimately, this proverb teaches us “the difficulty and importance of cooperation.” Each person respects others’ efforts and thinks about what they can do for the whole.
This kind of awareness transforms the futile relationship between Gonbei and the crows into constructive cooperation.
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