How to Read “紺屋の明後日”
Konya no asatte
Meaning of “紺屋の明後日”
“Dyer’s day after tomorrow” refers to unreliable promises or talks with little prospect of realization.
This proverb is used in situations where someone has made a verbal promise, but its execution is highly questionable. It’s an expression used when someone says “I’ll do it right away” or “soon,” but in reality, it’s unclear when it will happen, or there’s a high possibility it won’t be realized at all.
It’s particularly often used in business and work situations, and is effective for expressing distrust regarding deadlines and commitments. However, rather than directly criticizing the other party, it’s characteristically used more often with feelings similar to resignation. It contains a kind of enlightened feeling of “here we go again with the usual pattern.”
Even in modern times, it’s a convenient expression that can be used for people who postpone responses or don’t keep promises. It can be utilized as wisdom for moderately lowering expectations of others while objectively viewing the situation.
Origin and Etymology
The origin of “Dyer’s day after tomorrow” lies in the commercial practices of dye shops (konya) during the Edo period. Konya were craftsmen specializing in indigo dyeing and were familiar figures to the common people of that time.
Indigo dyeing was extremely labor-intensive work. First, fabric had to be dipped multiple times in indigo vats and exposed to air to oxidize, creating the beautiful indigo color. This process needed to be repeated many times, and additional time was required to set the color. It was also easily affected by weather – work couldn’t progress on rainy days or days with high humidity.
Therefore, when dyers accepted dyeing work from customers, even when they said “it will be ready the day after tomorrow,” it was not uncommon for it to actually take more than a week. This wasn’t due to laziness, but rather unavoidable circumstances for creating good dyed goods.
However, from the customers’ perspective, when the promised day arrived, the goods weren’t ready, and they were repeatedly told “please wait a little longer.” From these circumstances peculiar to dyers, unreliable promises or talks with little prospect of realization came to be called “Dyer’s day after tomorrow.” It can be said to be a truly accurate expression rooted in the daily lives of Edo people.
Interesting Facts
The indigo vats that dyers used for indigo dyeing could be used continuously for decades once made. Since the indigo fermentation bacteria in the vats were alive, craftsmen called them “indigo flowers” and took great care of them.
Dyers in the Edo period were also known through the phrase “konya takao.” This is a metaphor for falling in love above one’s station, originating from the meaning of a poor dyer falling in love with the high-class courtesan Takao Tayu.
Usage Examples
- His “I’ll definitely contact you by next week” is just dyer’s day after tomorrow, so you’d better not expect it
- The manager’s business improvement plan is just dyer’s day after tomorrow – nothing will change in the end
Modern Interpretation
In modern society, “Dyer’s day after tomorrow” may have become a more familiar expression than before. This is because with the spread of SNS and messaging apps, vague promises like “I’ll reply later” or “let’s meet sometime” have become exchanged on a daily basis.
Particularly in business scenes, expressions like “later” or “in the near future” are used in various situations such as email replies, document submissions, and meeting arrangements. However, in reality, these are often pushed back as low-priority tasks and end up not being realized.
On the other hand, modern technological progress has also created situations that contrast with the Edo period dyers. Despite having an environment where information can be sent and received instantly and progress can be confirmed in real-time, cases where promises aren’t kept due to human psychological factors stand out.
Also, tolerance for “Dyer’s day after tomorrow” situations has changed in modern times. While there was a culture of understanding craftsmen’s circumstances in the Edo period, modern times tend to demand immediate responses, and tolerance for delayed promises has become lower.
This proverb can be said to have new meaning as an expression that teaches us the importance of setting appropriate expectations in human relationships and understanding others in modern society where efficiency is emphasized.
When AI Hears This
The phenomenon of programmers breaking deadlines while saying “it’s almost perfect” actually has the exact same psychological structure as the dye shop craftsmen.
Technical debt refers to problems that are postponed by writing “code that just works for now.” But what’s interesting is that the more skilled programmers are, the more they hate this debt and end up falling behind by trying to write perfect code.
For example, beginners finish in three days with an “as long as it works” attitude. But advanced programmers get caught up thinking “this code isn’t beautiful” or “there must be a more efficient way,” and end up taking a week. This is exactly like the dye craftsmen who keep re-dyeing their work saying “just a little more beautiful color.”
Research in software development shows that “80% of projects aiming for perfection break their deadlines.” In other words, there’s a paradoxical phenomenon where improved technical skills lead to decreased time management abilities.
Modern creators face the same issue. When designers say “I want to adjust the font just a little more” or video editors say “I want to perfect the effects” and break their deadlines, it’s because the deeper their understanding of technology becomes, the more intense the dilemma between “high ideals” and “time constraints” grows.
The craftsman mentality and digital-age creativity share the same struggle across 400 years of time.
Lessons for Today
What “Dyer’s day after tomorrow” teaches modern people is the importance of “setting appropriate expectations” in human relationships. Rather than expecting all promises to be kept perfectly, it shows the wisdom of understanding others’ circumstances and limitations, and interacting with a certain degree of flexibility.
In modern society, immediate responses and perfect execution tend to be demanded, but this proverb teaches us the value of accepting “human-like imperfection.” When someone can’t keep a promise, instead of getting angry immediately, taking a step back and viewing the situation as “it was dyer’s day after tomorrow” can reduce stress in human relationships.
This expression also serves as an important guideline when making promises ourselves. Rather than casually saying “I’ll do it right away,” we can build trust by making realistic assessments and promises. Sometimes we need the courage to honestly say “it might end up being dyer’s day after tomorrow.”
This proverb is old yet new wisdom that gently teaches modern people, who tend to seek perfection, the importance of having tolerance and a realistic perspective.
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