How to Read “Tying up one’s sash at thirty”
Sanjū no shirikukuri
Meaning of “Tying up one’s sash at thirty”
“Tying up one’s sash at thirty” means that when people reach the age of thirty, they naturally reform their lifestyle. They put an end to youthful recklessness and unplanned behavior. They begin living in a more solid and responsible way.
This proverb is mainly used to positively evaluate changes in people who reach a turning point in life. Even if someone was a bit reckless in their twenties, they settle down after turning thirty. They start properly taking care of loose ends. This growth is seen as a natural progression.
Even today, the age of thirty is an important milestone for many people. At work, they are given positions with more responsibility. They also face major life decisions like marriage and raising children.
This proverb teaches the importance of wisdom that naturally comes with age. It reminds us to organize and tidy up our lives. The saying continues to hold meaning in modern times.
Origin and Etymology
There are no clear written records about the origin of “Tying up one’s sash at thirty.” However, the structure of this phrase reveals an interesting background.
The term “shirikukuri” originally referred to tying up the hem of a kimono with a cord to make movement easier. When working, people would properly secure their long kimono hems so they wouldn’t get in the way. This was a practical gesture.
From this action, the term came to mean properly finishing things and drawing clear lines. It became a metaphor for taking care of loose ends in life.
But why “thirty”? In ancient Japan, people viewed life milestones in ten-year intervals. The Analects of Confucius contains the famous phrase “At thirty, I stood firm.” Thirty was considered the age when one became independent as a full adult.
It was seen as the time to escape youthful recklessness and become aware of social responsibility.
This proverb likely emerged by combining this age concept with the everyday metaphor of “shirikukuri.” At the milestone of thirty, you retie the hem of your previous way of living. You begin walking a more solid path in life.
It’s a delicate Japanese expression that overlaps life’s turning point with the action of tying up kimono hems.
Usage Examples
- That person also experienced tying up one’s sash at thirty. He distanced himself from his old party friends and started working seriously.
- They say tying up one’s sash at thirty, and I’m reaching the age where I need to use money more carefully.
Universal Wisdom
The proverb “Tying up one’s sash at thirty” contains deep insight into human growth. Why do people change around age thirty? It’s not simply about age. It’s a natural change brought about by accumulated life experience.
The twenties are a time of trial and error. The excuse “I’m still young” works when you fail. Some recklessness is forgiven. But by the time you reach thirty, you’ve experienced enough consequences of your actions.
You learn firsthand the price of living without a plan. The cost of being late. The loss of trust from breaking promises. The regret of wasteful spending. These small pains accumulate and change a person.
This proverb has been passed down because it shows hope. It demonstrates that humans have the ability to self-correct. Mistakes made in youth don’t necessarily determine your whole life. People can learn from experience. They are beings who can adjust their own course.
This proverb also expresses society’s tolerance. Rather than blaming failures in the twenties, it accepts change at thirty as natural. There’s a warm gaze that believes in people’s growth and watches over them.
People aren’t perfect, but they mature over time. A culture that recognizes this process lives within this proverb.
When AI Hears This
The human brain completes development of the prefrontal cortex between ages 25 and 30. This part governs judgment and planning ability. It’s essentially the brain’s supreme command center. What’s interesting is that neural “pruning” occurs simultaneously with this completion.
During childhood, the brain constantly deletes unused neural pathways to increase efficiency. Around age 30, this work is mostly finished. Only frequently used circuits remain strengthened. In other words, thought patterns and behaviors you perform regularly become fixed as physical brain structure.
For example, if you always procrastinate, that neural pathway becomes thick and strong. It becomes harder to change.
Even more noteworthy is that myelination completes during this period. Nerve fibers get covered with a fatty sheath, increasing information transmission speed. However, flexibility to create new circuits decreases. To use a car analogy, the highway is complete, but building new roads becomes difficult.
The age of thirty that this proverb points to means “the end of high plasticity” in neuroscience terms. Ancient people couldn’t have known brain mechanisms. Yet through human observation alone, they accurately identified this turning point.
This is a rare case where empirical wisdom matched biological fact.
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches modern you is that life requires the courage to draw your own lines. You don’t need to fixate on the specific age of thirty. What matters is taking time at some point to stop and review how you’ve been living.
Are you postponing things that need finishing? Tangled relationships. A messy room. Spending without planning. Irregular lifestyle habits. Things you thought “someday” about when young become heavier burdens the longer you leave them.
The term “shirikukuri” teaches the importance of organizing and tidying. Like tying up kimono hems, you properly finish the loose ends of life. This isn’t about becoming restricted. Rather, it’s preparation to move forward more freely.
Your life’s “shirikukuri” can start today. Small things are fine. Finish loose ends one by one. That accumulation should truly set you free.
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