How to Read “Early rising three ryō, frugality five ryō”
Hayaoki sanryō kenyaku goryō
Meaning of “Early rising three ryō, frugality five ryō”
This proverb teaches that the habit of waking up early and the spirit of frugality are virtues worth three ryō and five ryō respectively.
By waking up early, you can use your day effectively. This time management eventually brings great benefits.
Frugality helps you avoid wasteful spending. This directly protects and increases your wealth.
People use this proverb when teaching the importance of diligence and saving. It’s used to convey the importance of good habits to young people or to remind yourself.
Rather than simply saying “wake up early” or “save money,” showing their value in concrete monetary terms makes the message more real and impactful.
Even today, both time management and money management remain essential for success in life. This proverb expresses the value of invisible habits using money as a measure everyone can understand.
It represents the excellent wisdom of our ancestors.
Origin and Etymology
No clear records remain about the exact origin of this proverb. However, it’s believed to have emerged from the daily lives of common people during the Edo period.
The specific amounts of “three ryō” and “five ryō” suggest a time when monetary economy had spread among ordinary people.
During the Edo period, one ryō was worth about 80,000 to 100,000 yen in today’s value. This means three ryō equaled about 240,000 to 300,000 yen, and five ryō about 400,000 to 500,000 yen.
These were substantial amounts of money.
The proverb expresses the benefits of waking up early as three ryō and the benefits of frugality as five ryō. By using specific amounts, it clearly communicates how valuable these habits are.
Interestingly, frugality is assigned a higher value than early rising. This likely reflects that frugality more directly saves money.
Early rising, on the other hand, generates benefits indirectly through effective use of time. The practical life wisdom of Edo period people is condensed in this simple numerical comparison.
Interesting Facts
During the Edo period, a craftsman’s daily wage was about six monme of silver to one bu (about one-quarter ryō). This means three ryō equaled what a craftsman earned in about 12 to 15 days of work.
The fact that the habit of early rising was considered worth that much shows how much people valued time back then.
This proverb has various versions. “Hayaoki sanmon no toku” (early rising brings three mon of profit) is also well known.
Three mon is far less than three ryō. This version uses a modest expression meaning “even a small gain is worthwhile.”
It’s interesting that the same value of early rising is expressed with contrasting amounts: three ryō versus three mon.
Usage Examples
- I’ve kept the habit of waking up at 5 AM to study. Just like “Early rising three ryō, frugality five ryō,” this accumulation will surely bear fruit in the future
- Since they say “Early rising three ryō, frugality five ryō,” I’ll make morning activities and stopping wasteful spending my goals this year
Universal Wisdom
This proverb has been passed down because humans instinctively want to choose the “easy path.” We want to sleep a little longer in the morning. We want to spend money right now.
Resisting these temptations has been a human challenge throughout all ages.
Our ancestors understood this human weakness well. That’s why they didn’t preach these as abstract “virtues.” Instead, they expressed them with concrete amounts: “three ryō” and “five ryō.”
People understand visible benefits better than invisible values.
By converting the value of waking up early and saving money into money that everyone desires, they tried to motivate behavioral change.
Thinking more deeply, this proverb teaches the concept of time perspective: “small sacrifices today become big benefits tomorrow.” Humans tend to prioritize immediate pleasure.
But by enduring that and accumulating good habits, you eventually achieve great results.
This “delayed gratification” concept is recognized in modern psychology as an important element of self-control and success.
People in the Edo period saw through human nature through experience, even without scientific knowledge. This proverb contains understanding of human weakness and practical wisdom for overcoming it.
When AI Hears This
The human brain has the highest willpower for several hours after waking up. It depletes as time passes. This is called the “ego depletion theory.”
Early rising requires obeying your alarm clock just once, and that day’s benefit is secured.
Frugality, however, requires fighting temptations like “should I buy this?” or “maybe I’ll splurge a little” many times from morning to night.
Behavioral economics research shows humans have “hyperbolic discounting” tendencies. We choose small immediate pleasures over larger future benefits.
Frugality is difficult because you must continuously suppress your desire for immediate gratification for the future benefit of saving. And you must do this dozens of times a day.
With early rising, you only need to work hard once in the morning for your future self.
This proverb assigns frugality five ryō versus early rising three ryō, about 1.67 times the value. This reflects the difference in willpower usage frequency.
If early rising consumes willpower once, frugality consumes it at least ten times.
People in the Edo period knew neither neuroscience nor behavioral economics. Yet they encoded in these numbers their physical sense that frugality is 1.67 times “harder” than early rising.
It’s a remarkably accurate empirical rule that converted human cognitive costs into monetary value.
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches modern you is the truth that small daily choices greatly change your life. Mornings when you hit snooze repeatedly on your smartphone alarm.
Online shopping you end up clicking through. The accumulation of these small choices shapes your future.
In modern society, 24-hour stores and online services are normal. The value of time has become less visible.
But precisely because of this, the value of waking up early to secure time for yourself may actually be increasing. One morning hour becomes precious self-investment time that no one can interrupt.
The same applies to frugality. With the spread of cashless payments, the feeling of spending money easily fades. That’s why the habit of consciously managing expenses becomes more important now.
It’s not simply being stingy. It’s choosing to spend money on truly valuable things.
The amounts of three ryō and five ryō may change with time. But the value that good habits give to life never changes.
The small step you start today will surely change your tomorrow.
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