How to Read “When persimmons turn red, doctors turn pale”
Kaki ga akakunareba isha wa aokunaru
Meaning of “When persimmons turn red, doctors turn pale”
This proverb means that when autumn arrives and persimmons ripen, the pleasant weather reduces the number of sick people. This causes doctors to lose income and worry about their business.
Autumn has neither summer’s heat nor winter’s cold. It’s the most comfortable season for humans. Fewer people get sick, so fewer patients visit doctors. This puts doctors out of business.
This proverb is used to express the relationship between seasons and health. It’s especially used when explaining autumn’s pleasant climate and how fewer people fall ill during this time.
By saying doctors worry, it humorously and memorably conveys just how healthy autumn is as a season.
Even today, people use this phrase when talking about how seasonal changes affect health. It expresses how autumn’s refreshing climate positively influences people’s health. This is wisdom rooted in daily life, showing our ancestors’ keen observation and expressive power.
Origin and Etymology
No clear written records exist about the origin of this proverb. However, it’s believed to be folk wisdom passed down widely since the Edo period.
Persimmons have been cultivated in Japan since ancient times. In autumn, they ripen to a vivid orange color. This season has neither summer heat nor winter cold. It’s the most comfortable time of year.
People in the past knew from experience that this pleasant climate was deeply connected to people’s health.
The expression that doctors “turn pale” means their faces lose color. In other words, they look troubled. During the Edo period, most doctors relied on consultation fees and medicine sales as their main income. When sick people decreased, doctors’ income naturally decreased too.
The persimmon itself deserves attention. Persimmons are rich in vitamin C, tannins, and other beneficial nutrients. People in the past lacked scientific knowledge, but they felt that eating persimmons improved their health.
Combined with autumn’s pleasant climate and eating nutritious persimmons, people became increasingly healthy.
This proverb expresses the relationship between nature’s rhythms, human health, and the medical profession with a touch of humor.
Interesting Facts
Persimmons actually have health benefits that justify the saying “When persimmons turn red, doctors turn pale.” Their vitamin C content is about twice that of tangerines. Eating just one persimmon provides almost all the vitamin C you need for a day.
They also contain tannins that help with hangovers and potassium that helps prevent high blood pressure. People in the past couldn’t analyze this scientifically, but they knew persimmons’ health benefits through experience.
Autumn really is a season with fewer illnesses. When you compare weather data with medical statistics, autumn clearly shows fewer hospital visits than summer’s heatstroke and food poisoning or winter’s flu and colds.
This proverb was a truth discovered through people’s observation alone, in an era without statistics.
Usage Examples
- This autumn is so comfortable. “When persimmons turn red, doctors turn pale” is really well said.
- With this refreshing climate, it’s like “When persimmons turn red, doctors turn pale.” Everyone seems to be staying healthy.
Universal Wisdom
This proverb teaches us about the complex structure of society. Human happiness and someone else’s misfortune are two sides of the same coin. People living healthy and happy lives is wonderful. But behind that reality, doctors worry about reduced income.
This isn’t just about doctors. In peaceful times, weapons dealers struggle. When crime decreases, locksmiths and security companies see less demand.
Many professions exist by solving people’s misfortunes and difficulties.
However, this proverb carries no tone of criticism. Rather, it acknowledges such professions exist while conveying that people’s health matters more. Even if doctors turn pale, it’s better for people to live energetically. You can feel a bright, human-affirming spirit.
This wisdom has been passed down because it acknowledges society’s structural contradictions. But instead of lamenting them, it shows an attitude of accepting them with humor.
No perfect society exists, but we should still prioritize people’s happiness. Our ancestors’ warm perspective is embedded in these words.
When AI Hears This
This proverb hides a structural contradiction that expert businesses face. Doctors have knowledge to cure diseases. But if they spread that knowledge perfectly, they eliminate their own work.
In other words, those who hold information lack incentive to provide “information that completely solves the problem.”
In economics, this can be analyzed as a type of principal-agent problem. Patients (principals) must rely on doctors’ (agents’) expertise. But doctors’ revenue is more stable if they continue treating patients moderately rather than making them completely healthy.
If knowledge about eating persimmons to prevent illness spreads, doctors’ income decreases in the short term. This creates motivation for doctors not to actively spread preventive information.
The same structure exists everywhere in modern society. If lawyers give advice that prevents disputes, lawsuits decrease. If security companies teach perfect countermeasures, ongoing contracts become unnecessary. In education, if students learn methods to study independently, cram schools become unnecessary.
What’s interesting is that mechanisms like “flat-rate systems” and “prevention success fees” are emerging to solve this contradiction. If doctors receive compensation for maintaining patients’ health, recommending persimmons benefits doctors too.
Depending on incentive design, adversarial relationships can transform into cooperative ones.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches modern people the importance of living in harmony with nature’s rhythms. In our convenient modern lives, we’ve become less sensitive to seasonal changes. Air conditioning maintains comfortable temperatures year-round. The same foods are available regardless of season.
However, the human body has adapted to nature’s rhythms over tens of thousands of years.
Think about maximizing autumn’s health benefits. Use the comfortable climate to move your body outdoors. Enjoy seasonal foods. Heal summer’s fatigue. Living in alignment with nature will balance your mind and body.
This proverb also teaches the importance of prevention. Don’t rely on doctors after getting sick. Instead, maintain a lifestyle that prevents illness. That’s true health.
Modern medicine emphasizes preventive care too, but people in the past already practiced it.
Be grateful for seasonal blessings. Make nature’s rhythms your ally. Such a simple way of living will guide you to wellness.
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