How to Read “If there are uphill roads, there are downhill roads”
Noborizaka areba kudarizaka ari
Meaning of “If there are uphill roads, there are downhill roads”
This proverb expresses the truth that good times and bad times alternate in life.
Even when things are going smoothly now, difficult times may eventually come. On the flip side, when you’re struggling now, better times will surely come around.
People use this saying in two main ways. First, as a warning to someone who’s getting too cocky during success.
Second, as encouragement for someone facing hardship. You might tell a successful person who’s getting arrogant, “If there are uphill roads, there are downhill roads, so stay humble.”
Or you might comfort someone who failed and feels down by saying, “If there are uphill roads, there are downhill roads. Things are tough now, but good times will come again.”
Even today, people understand this as wisdom for accepting life’s ups and downs calmly. This proverb gives us a perspective to see the reality that neither eternal fortune nor misfortune exists.
It helps us view change as natural.
Origin and Etymology
No clear written records document the origin of this proverb. However, we can make interesting observations from how the phrase is constructed.
This expression combines two contrasting words: “uphill road” and “downhill road.” It’s deeply connected to the view of nature that Japanese people have held since ancient times.
In mountainous Japan, slopes were essential to daily life. People lived their lives going up and down hills every day.
When you climb a slope, you get out of breath and must put strength in your legs. Going down feels easier, but you risk falling if you’re careless.
This physical experience likely overlapped with the abstract concept of life’s ups and downs.
What’s interesting is that this proverb doesn’t simply say “there are good times and bad times.” Instead, it shows inevitability: “if there are uphill roads, there are downhill roads.”
It applies the physical truth of mountain paths directly to life. Where there’s an uphill, there must be a downhill.
The Buddhist concept of “shogyō mujō” (impermanence) likely forms part of this proverb’s background. This means all things constantly change.
People believe it spread among common folk during the Edo period. This expression condenses the Japanese wisdom of accepting life’s changes as natural law.
Interesting Facts
This proverb has a fascinating feature. Actually, “uphill road” and “downhill road” are just the same single slope viewed from opposite sides.
What’s uphill for one person is downhill for someone coming from the other direction. In other words, depending on which way you look, it becomes either uphill or downhill.
This includes the relativity of perspective. It might contain a deep suggestion that whether life is good or bad also changes depending on how you look at it.
Also, every slope has a peak. If you keep climbing, you’ll eventually reach the top, and from there you can only go down.
Conversely, if you keep descending, you’ll eventually reach the valley bottom, and from there you can only go up. This physical inevitability beautifully expresses the cyclical nature of life.
Usage Examples
- The company is growing rapidly, but if there are uphill roads, there are downhill roads, so we can’t let our guard down
- Studying for exams is tough right now, but they say if there are uphill roads, there are downhill roads, so easier times will surely come
Universal Wisdom
This proverb has been passed down for so long because humans instinctively seek “permanence.” When we’re happy, we wish “I hope this lasts forever.”
When we’re suffering, we fear “this pain might continue forever.” But real life never stays in such a static state.
Human psychology has a tendency called “present bias.” We mistakenly believe our current state will continue into the future.
When things go well, we overestimate our abilities. When things go poorly, we lose hope. This proverb corrects such distortions in human perception.
What’s interesting is that this proverb isn’t mere comfort or warning. It states life’s changes as a neutral fact.
Both good times and bad times should be accepted equally as parts of life. This contains a deep sense of acceptance.
Our ancestors saw through to the essence of life: change itself. Like a river’s flow constantly moving, life also keeps changing.
Rather than fearing that change, accept it as natural law. This proverb teaches us that true peace of mind lies there.
Don’t treat change as an enemy, but as a friend. That’s the wisdom for surviving life.
When AI Hears This
When you look at a person walking on a slope from directly above, you only see the fact “moving from point A to point B.”
Whether they’re going up or down depends on which direction they’re facing. In other words, the terrain itself has no “uphill” or “downhill”—only elevation differences exist.
This becomes a typical example of “viewpoint dependency” handled in topology. For instance, imagine you’re standing at a mountain peak.
For someone coming from Tokyo, the path there is uphill. For someone from Osaka, the same road is downhill. The same slope holds opposite meanings depending on the direction of travel.
Life events have the same structure. A company’s bankruptcy is a downhill road for the person involved.
But from the perspective of someone who was about to join that company, it might be “an uphill road where they avoided crisis.” A breakup with a lover, when looked back on five years later, might reveal itself as “the beginning of an uphill road to the next encounter.”
What’s even more interesting is that uphill and downhill roads also reverse on the time axis. Today’s success (uphill road) breeds complacency and causes tomorrow’s failure (downhill road).
Today’s failure becomes a lesson that creates tomorrow’s success. In other words, hardship and fortune aren’t separate events but the same phenomenon on one continuous curve.
Change the angle and timing of observation, and it can look like either. This proverb intuitively captures such geometric truth about life.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches modern people how to live without being tossed around by emotional waves. Do you feel anxious seeing others’ success on social media?
Do you blame yourself too much for temporary failures? Life is a long-distance race. Your state at this very moment doesn’t determine your everything.
Specifically, stay humble especially during good times. Prepare for difficulties that might come next. Save money, cherish relationships, polish your skills.
These become “emotional insurance” for downhill roads.
And during bad times, remember that your current state isn’t eternal. The difficulties you’re experiencing now are a preparation period for the next uphill road.
Don’t rush, don’t give up. If you stack up what you can do now, one thing at a time, the situation will definitely change.
What matters is the flexibility to accept both periods as parts of life. Don’t become arrogant on uphill roads, and don’t despair on downhill roads.
That composure becomes your greatest weapon for surviving modern society with its rapid changes.
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