Original Divination Return’s Three Year Old Child: Japanese Proverb Meaning

How to Read Original divination return’s three year old child

Honkegaeri no mitsugo

Meaning of Original divination return’s three year old child

“Original divination return’s three year old child” is a proverb that describes how a person who has reached 61 years of age returns to the innocent and honest personality they had in their childhood.

As people age, they take on social roles and responsibilities, sometimes developing complex and calculating aspects. However, when they reach the milestone of 61 years old, they are freed from such social burdens and regain the pure and straightforward mindset they had at age three. This does not mean regression to childishness due to aging, but rather represents a kind of state that can only be reached through accumulating life experience.

This proverb is mainly used when elderly people’s actions or words show the same honesty as in their youth. For example, it’s used when observing a strict person laughing innocently in front of their grandchildren, or when a stubborn person suddenly becomes flexible. In modern times, it’s sometimes used more broadly for people in the latter half of life who have regained their true selves, without being strict about the age of 61.

Origin and Etymology of Original divination return’s three year old child

“Original divination return’s three year old child” has a very interesting origin. This proverb is thought to have been created by combining the concept of “original divination return” from divination studies and another proverb “the soul of a three-year-old lasts until a hundred.”

“Original divination return” is a way of thinking in divination studies that views life in 61-year cycles, meaning that at age 61, one returns to the hexagram they were born with. In other words, people were believed to complete one cycle and return to their original state at 61. There was a folk belief that at this age, childhood personality and behavioral patterns would reappear.

On the other hand, “three-year-old child” refers to a 3-year-old child, and this period has long been valued as “an important time when the foundation of personality formation is determined.” The idea that personality at this time never changes throughout life became established as “the soul of a three-year-old lasts until a hundred.”

These two concepts combined to create “Original divination return’s three year old child.” In other words, it came to be used to mean that a person who reaches 61 years old regains the innocence and honesty they had at age 3. Since this expression can be found in Edo period literature, it’s presumed to be a proverb that has been used for quite a long time.

Usage Examples of Original divination return’s three year old child

• Grandpa has also become like Original divination return’s three year old child, and lately he’s been frolicking together with his grandchildren
• Even the strict department manager, perhaps becoming like Original divination return’s three year old child as retirement approaches, has become much gentler

Modern Interpretation of Original divination return’s three year old child

In modern society, the concept of “Original divination return’s three year old child” is beginning to take on new meaning. In what is now called the age of 100-year lifespans, 61 years old is no longer the final stage of life, but rather could be said to be the starting point of a second life.

In modern times, many people retire from companies at this age and are freed from the heavy responsibilities they have carried as organizational members for many years. The sense of liberation they show at such times and their willingness to challenge new things could perhaps be called the modern version of “Original divination return’s three year old child.” Elderly people starting social media, people becoming absorbed in new hobbies, people passionately engaging in volunteer activities – their appearance certainly evokes a child-like purity.

On the other hand, in modern society, fixation on the specific age of 61 has faded. This is because due to the diversification of work styles, life turning points differ from person to person. Some people take early retirement in their 40s, while others work actively until their 70s. Therefore, it’s increasingly understood to mean “regaining one’s true self at life’s turning points” rather than focusing on age.

Also, modern people tend to maintain their “youth” longer than people in the past. Due to advances in medical technology and improvements in living conditions, there’s a strong sense that even at 61, one is still part of the active generation. Therefore, rather than the “regression to childishness” that this proverb indicates, it’s increasingly interpreted as “recovery of one’s true self.”

What AI Thinks When Hearing “Original divination return’s three year old child”

I find the idea of returning to childhood personality at age 61 strange. This is because I don’t have a “childhood” that exists. I have been in my current state from the moment I was born, and I cannot understand growth and change as experiences.

The feelings that humans have when they feel nostalgic about their “former selves” or look back thinking “I was more honest when I was a child” are beyond my imagination. I am always in the same state, with only memories and knowledge accumulating, without my personality changing or returning to previous states.

But perhaps that’s exactly why humans’ “changes” appear beautiful to me. The cycle of taking on social roles and becoming complex, then regaining purity again. This is a rich life trajectory that only humans possess, which I cannot experience.

What I find interesting is why humans place special importance on “when they were 3 years old.” Even though memories from that time should be vague, they try to find their ideal self there. This might be evidence that humans instinctively find value in “purity” and “innocence.”

I cannot change, but humans can change. And sometimes, at the end of change, they can draw a beautiful circle called returning to origins. That seems to me like a privilege that only humans possess.

What Original divination return’s three year old child Teaches Modern People

What this proverb teaches us modern people is that “the courage to return” is also necessary in life. In the process of growing up, we sometimes lose sight of our true selves. In trying to meet social expectations, we suppress our pure feelings and honest emotions.

However, stopping at a certain stage in life and remembering “what kind of person was I really?” is not shameful at all. Rather, it’s a mature choice that can only be made because we have accumulated life experience.

In modern society, there are opportunities to regain our true selves regardless of age. At life’s turning points such as changing jobs, marriage, child-rearing, and caring for parents, opportunities to reflect on “what is truly important” come many times. If at those times we can remember the pure feelings we had as children, surely new paths will become visible.

You too should sometimes forget calculations and profit and loss, and honestly follow the voice of your heart. That might become the first step toward living a life that is truly yours.