How to Read “If it continues for three generations, it will continue for all generations”
Sandai tsuzukeba matsudai tsuzuku
Meaning of “If it continues for three generations, it will continue for all generations”
“If it continues for three generations, it will continue for all generations” means that when a family business, tradition, or endeavor is passed down through three generations, it will continue forever afterward.
The three-generation period represents more than just time passing. It shows a qualitative change taking place.
The first generation builds the foundation. The second generation overcomes challenges and carries it forward. The third generation fully establishes it.
By going through these three stages, something becomes a firmly rooted presence in society rather than a temporary thing.
This proverb is used when talking about family business succession or organizational survival. It’s especially used to praise or encourage businesses that have survived to the third generation after overcoming difficult times.
Even today, the importance of continuing for three generations is recognized in the world of long-established companies and traditional arts.
Origin and Etymology
There doesn’t seem to be a clear record of when this proverb first appeared in literature or where it originated. However, we can make interesting observations from how the phrase is constructed.
The number “three generations” has special meaning in Japanese culture. The number three has long been valued as representing completion and stability.
The first generation starts something. The second generation inherits it. The third generation establishes it firmly.
By going through these three stages, something becomes truly rooted rather than just a temporary success.
“Matsudai” means a future that continues forever. This proverb contrasts the concrete period of three generations with the infinite time of all generations.
The background of this proverb likely lies in the merchant culture of the Edo period. Back then, protecting the family noren (shop curtain) was a source of family pride.
The first generation struggled to build it. The second generation overcame trials. The third generation established social trust.
Once reaching that point, the family business became rock-solid. Merchants shared the feeling that it would continue for generations to come.
The difficulty of continuing for three generations and the confidence in permanence beyond that point. This contrast lies at the heart of this proverb.
Usage Examples
- They say if it continues for three generations, it will continue for all generations, so I really want my son to take over our shop
- This skill has been passed from my grandfather to my father and now to me, so with if it continues for three generations, it will continue for all generations, we should be secure from now on
Universal Wisdom
The proverb “If it continues for three generations, it will continue for all generations” contains deep insight into the nature of what humans build.
Why three generations? Because for humans to truly make something their own, time spanning multiple generations is necessary.
The first generation starts with passion and creativity, but it’s still fragile. The second generation struggles with the pressure of inheritance and adapting to change.
Only in the third generation does it become accepted by society as something natural.
This process is also about human endeavors becoming something beyond the individual. One person’s lifespan is limited.
But by being passed down across generations, it gains permanence beyond individual boundaries. Our ancestors keenly observed this transformation.
This proverb also expresses optimistic hope. While knowing the difficulty of continuing for three generations, there’s confidence that overcoming this leads to permanence.
This shows trust in human effort and continuity.
Even as times change, people wish for what they build to remain for future generations. The truth that true permanence comes only through cross-generational inheritance remains an unchanging aspect of human nature.
When AI Hears This
When you cool water, it suddenly turns to ice at a certain temperature. This moment is called a “phase transition,” and the three-generation period is precisely the critical point where a family business undergoes phase transition.
The first generation operates on the founder’s individual will. This means it could disappear when that person is gone.
The second generation is “someone who grew up watching their parent’s back,” but they’re still in a transitional period pulled by the founder’s memory.
But when the third generation arrives, a generation that never directly knew the founder appears. What’s important here is that the third generation only knows the family business as a “system.”
They understand the business through “systems” like manuals, customs, and organizational culture rather than individual memory.
In complexity science, when individual elements repeatedly interact and order naturally emerges without anyone designing it, this is called “self-organization.”
Through three generations, there’s a shift from a state dependent on the founder as a specific person to a system automatically maintained through multiple people’s interactions.
This is the same qualitative change as water molecules moving randomly in liquid form changing to solid form with crystal structure.
Statistically interesting is that three generations span about 75 to 90 years. This is also the limit of direct human memory transmission and the boundary where culture shifts from “living memory” to “transmitted system.”
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches you today is the true value of continuity. We tend to seek immediate results, but truly valuable things are nurtured on a timescale spanning generations.
Don’t give up on what you’re working on now even if results don’t come quickly. Rather than trying to complete everything in one generation, it’s important to have the perspective of creating a foundation to pass to the next generation.
This applies not just to family businesses but to skills, knowledge, and values—everything.
In modern society, change is fast and it’s hard to maintain long-term perspective. But that’s exactly why we need to reconsider the strength of things that continue across generations.
Your efforts aren’t yours alone. They’re a baton for the next generation and seeds for the future beyond.
If it continues for three generations, it will continue for all generations. These words give you both patience and hope simultaneously.
Today’s small step becomes tomorrow’s great flow. Believe this and move forward one step at a time.
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