How to Read “日暮れと大晦日はいつでも忙しい”
Higure to ōmisoka wa itsu demo isogashii
Meaning of “日暮れと大晦日はいつでも忙しい”
This proverb means that even people who are usually relaxed inevitably become busy when time limits or deadlines approach.
Sunset and New Year’s Eve represent the turning points of a day and a year respectively, and both are periods when tasks that must be completed by those times tend to concentrate. Even people who are usually prone to laziness or loose with time find themselves having to rush around frantically when such natural deadlines approach.
This proverb is mainly used when observing someone who is usually easygoing suddenly appearing busy, or when describing people who start preparing in a hurry just before deadlines. It’s also used to point out the psychological pressure that time limits bring and the universality of human behavioral patterns. Even today, this proverb accurately expresses timeless human behavioral characteristics, such as workplaces suddenly becoming busy at month-end or year-end, or students frantically doing their summer homework at the last minute.
Origin and Etymology
The origin of this proverb is thought to have emerged from the actual living conditions of common people during the Edo period. For people of that time, sunset and New Year’s Eve were particularly busy periods.
Sunset was a time when people finished their day’s work and prepared to go home, with a pile of tasks awaiting them such as preparing dinner and getting ready for the next day. In an era without electricity, there were many tasks that had to be completed before dark in preparation for the night when lighting was limited.
Meanwhile, New Year’s Eve was a day spent frantically in every household as the culmination of the year, with debt settlement, New Year preparations, major cleaning, and cooking preparations to welcome the New Year. Especially in merchant houses, important tasks that absolutely had to be completed within the year were concentrated, such as organizing account books and making courtesy calls to business partners.
Thus, these two “deadline” periods of sunset and New Year’s Eve were times when even the most usually leisurely people inevitably became busy. From this shared experience, it’s believed that this proverb became established to express the busyness brought about by time limits. This is a proverb with historical character that strongly reflects the life rhythms of the Edo period.
Usage Examples
- My son is also like “Sunset and New Year’s Eve are always busy” – he usually just plays games, but only becomes desperate right before homework deadlines
- The section chief is the “Sunset and New Year’s Eve are always busy” type, suddenly starting to rush around when month-end approaches
Modern Interpretation
In modern society, the meaning of this proverb has become more complex and multi-layered. With the arrival of the information age, we are constantly chased by multiple deadlines, and it could be said that “Sunset and New Year’s Eve”-like busyness continues year-round.
Particularly with the spread of remote work, the boundary between work and private life has become ambiguous, and the very concept of “sunset” as the end of the day has been fading. In an environment where contact can be made 24 hours a day, behavioral patterns based on traditional time concepts no longer apply.
On the other hand, the essential human behavioral characteristics shown by this proverb can still be observed today. Modern people similarly tend to take “deadline-driven” actions before project deadlines, exams, or tax filing deadlines. Rather, in modern society with increased choices, there may be more people who cannot take action without deadlines.
What’s interesting is that in modern times, techniques for intentionally setting “deadlines” to increase productivity are gaining attention. As a time management technique, there are movements to utilize the “inevitable busyness” expressed by this proverb by creating artificial deadlines. It’s an interesting phenomenon that an old proverb is being applied to modern work style reforms.
When AI Hears This
The human brain enters a special psychological state when it senses temporal boundaries. Sunset and New Year’s Eve represent completely different time units—24 hours versus 365 days—yet both share the common quality of being “boundaries between endings and beginnings.”
The psychological pressure created by this boundary effect follows clear patterns. First, there’s a sharp increase in what we call “completion desire.” Before sunset, we feel compelled to “finish things today,” and at year’s end, we’re driven to “settle matters this year.” Psychology refers to this as the “temporal landmark effect.”
What’s even more fascinating is how the value of time skyrockets as these boundaries approach. An hour at 5 PM feels completely different from an hour at 11 PM, even though both contain the same 60 minutes. This is known as the “deadline effect”—a phenomenon where focus and motivation intensify as remaining time decreases.
Boundaries also trigger what we might call “reset desire.” The transition from one day to the next, or one year to the next, creates an expectation that we can “become a new version of ourselves,” leading us to frantically prepare for that transformation. In essence, temporal boundaries aren’t just numerical changes—they function as psychological triggers that fundamentally alter human behavior.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches us living in modern times the essence of time management. It shows the importance of accepting human behavioral patterns rather than making perfect plans.
Many people tend to blame themselves thinking “I must act more systematically,” but increased concentration before deadlines is not necessarily a bad thing. Rather, by utilizing this characteristic and setting appropriate deadlines, you can bring out your abilities to the maximum.
In modern society, being constantly busy is sometimes treated as a virtue, but this proverb offers a different perspective. Living leisurely in normal times and acting with concentration when necessary. This balanced lifestyle might be a sustainable and human way of living.
You don’t need to blame yourself for panicking before deadlines either. That’s a natural human response, and sometimes that concentration can produce wonderful results. What’s important is understanding this characteristic and learning to work well with it.
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