How to Read “A ten-foot square feast is no more than one full stomach”
Shokuzen hōjō ippō ni sugizu
Meaning of “A ten-foot square feast is no more than one full stomach”
This proverb means that no matter how luxurious a meal is, it ultimately just fills your stomach.
Even if rare delicacies from land and sea are spread before you, even if the finest ingredients are used lavishly, the satisfaction your body gets is essentially the same as a simple meal.
Both just make you full.
This proverb serves as a warning against being fooled by material luxury or outward splendor.
It’s especially used to caution against seeking unnecessary extravagance or placing too much value on superficial glamour.
By using eating, something everyone experiences daily, it clearly conveys the importance of seeing the essence of things.
Today, we can understand this in the context of excessive consumption or spending for appearances.
This proverb teaches us the wisdom to distinguish between what we truly need and what is mere luxury.
Origin and Etymology
No clear written record of this proverb’s origin seems to exist.
However, we can make interesting observations from the words themselves.
“Hōjō” originally means one jō square, about three meters on each side.
In Buddhism, a lay Buddhist named Vimalakirti lived in a small hōjō-sized room.
From this story, monks’ living quarters came to be called “hōjō.”
Eventually, the term also came to refer to the head priest himself.
The expression “shokuzen hōjō” likely describes dishes filling a hōjō-sized space before a meal.
This represents unimaginable luxury.
Enough food to fill this limited space suggests the extravagant banquets of the powerful and wealthy.
Yet no matter how lavish the food, the human stomach has limits.
As “ippō ni sugizu” (no more than one full stomach) indicates, it ultimately just makes you full, nothing more, nothing less.
This vivid contrast is the heart of the proverb.
Buddhist ideas about impermanence and warnings against material wealth likely form its background.
Usage Examples
- Rather than waste money at fancy restaurants, home cooking is enough—a ten-foot square feast is no more than one full stomach
- We were planning a lavish wedding reception, but remembering that a ten-foot square feast is no more than one full stomach, we revised our budget
Universal Wisdom
Behind this proverb lies deep insight into the nature of human desire.
We humans have a tendency to seek more and better things.
But this desire has no end. No matter how far we go, we’re never satisfied.
What’s interesting is that this proverb uses “eating,” the most basic human activity, as its example.
Food is essential for survival. Everyone experiences it daily.
That’s why this proverb’s lesson is universally understandable.
No matter how luxurious the meal, the body only needs nutrition and energy.
All it gets is the physical satisfaction of feeling full.
People often confuse essential value with superficial splendor.
We mistakenly believe that obtaining more expensive, rarer, or better-looking things will bring greater satisfaction.
But the satisfaction we actually get doesn’t increase in proportion to the luxury.
This proverb doesn’t teach that pursuing material wealth is futile.
Rather, it emphasizes the importance of having eyes that can see the essence of things.
What is truly necessary, and what is mere decoration?
Those who can make this distinction are the ones who know true richness.
This timeless wisdom is embedded here.
When AI Hears This
No matter how lavish the dishes before you, there’s a limit to how much the human stomach can hold.
Thinking about this numerically reveals something interesting.
Let’s say the first bite gives you 100 points of satisfaction.
The second bite gives 80 points, the third 60 points.
As you keep eating, the additional satisfaction from each bite decreases.
When you’re full, the next bite gives zero satisfaction.
If you keep eating beyond that, it becomes negative.
In other words, no matter how much food exists, there’s a limit to the total satisfaction humans can gain.
Economics calls this the law of diminishing marginal utility.
What’s fascinating is that this law applies not just to food, but to money and possessions too.
Someone earning 300,000 yen annually would find 100,000 yen life-changing.
But for someone earning 100 million yen, an additional 100,000 yen brings incomparably less joy.
The essence of this proverb touches on how the brain processes information.
Human satisfaction is determined not by absolute amounts, but by changes in amount.
From an evolutionary perspective, this is a survival advantage.
If our brains wanted to keep eating even when full, we’d become immobile and vulnerable to predators.
The design where satisfaction naturally decreases allows humans to move on to the next action.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches us the importance of having eyes that can discern what true richness really is.
In modern society, where social media overflows with photos of lavish meals and luxury brand advertisements surround us, we easily get captivated by superficial glamour.
But stop and think.
What do you truly need?
A meal at a fancy restaurant and dinner with family both fill your stomach equally.
Perhaps who you eat with and how you feel matters much more.
This isn’t recommending frugality.
Enjoying luxury sometimes is one of life’s pleasures.
What matters is not confusing outward splendor with essential value.
It’s understanding what truly brings you satisfaction.
This proverb reminds you of the heart that “knows enough is enough.”
Rather than exhausting yourself chasing more than you need, cherish the satisfaction you can get from what you have now.
When you can live this way, your heart will become freer and richer.
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