How to Read “役人多くして事絶えず”
yakunin ooku shite koto tae zu
Meaning of “役人多くして事絶えず”
This proverb means “when there are too many people in management or leadership positions, problems and troubles occur one after another instead.”
While appropriate management systems are necessary in organizations, when there are too many managers or supervisors, each may propose different policies or conflict over their scope of authority, actually causing confusion. Additionally, as the number of officials increases, decision-making processes become complex, and problems that should be easily resolved end up being prolonged.
This proverb is used in situations such as when there are too many managers in a company or organization and control is lacking, or when there are too many leader-type people in committees or projects and direction cannot be determined. It has a similar meaning to “too many cooks spoil the broth,” but this one specifically focuses on the continuous state of confusion where “problems never cease.” It is a lesson that gets to the essence of organizational management, frequently cited even today in the context of corporate organizational reform and administrative reform.
Origin and Etymology
“Officials many and affairs cease not” is a proverb that originates from Chinese classics. The “officials” in this phrase does not mean modern civil servants, but refers to bureaucrats and office holders in ancient China. The “affairs” in “affairs cease not” means “problems” or “troubles,” and “cease not” means “continuing without interruption.”
The background to the birth of this proverb lies in the problems of ancient China’s bureaucratic system. In the massive bureaucratic apparatus with the emperor at its apex, many officials created complex hierarchies, each trying to protect their own authority and interests. The more the number of officials increased, the more territorial disputes and power struggles intensified, and the phenomenon of neglecting actual politics and administration was observed.
It was introduced to Japan along with Chinese classics and is thought to have been used from around the Heian period. In Japan too, as the imperial court’s bureaucratic system developed, similar problems arose, so this proverb was deeply understood and took root. Especially during the Edo period, as the samurai class became bureaucratized, the meaning of these words would have felt more familiar. The reason it has been passed down to modern times is that it accurately expresses universal problems in organizational management.
Interesting Facts
The word “officials” in this proverb often refers to civil servants in modern times, but originally it had the broad meaning of “people with roles.” During the Edo period, shop managers and master craftsmen were sometimes called “officials” as well.
Interestingly, this proverb was expressing the same concept as what modern management science calls the “principle of span of control” hundreds of years ago. The modern organizational theory that there is a limit to the number of subordinates one manager can efficiently manage already existed as ancient Chinese wisdom.
Usage Examples
- Our department has three section chiefs, so it’s a case of “officials many and affairs cease not” with some problem occurring every day
- When we increased the officers in the neighborhood association, it became a situation of “officials many and affairs cease not”
Modern Interpretation
In modern society, the meaning of this proverb appears as more complex and serious problems. Particularly in large corporations and government agencies, as organizations become gigantic, middle management continues to increase, and problems such as delayed decision-making and unclear responsibility become serious.
In the IT industry, the phenomenon of “too many project managers preventing development progress” is often seen. As digitalization advances, rapid response becomes difficult with traditional hierarchical organizational structures, and transformation to flat organizations is required. The reason startup companies have more mobility than large corporations is probably because they do the opposite of this “officials many and affairs cease not.”
On the other hand, the concept of “officials” has also changed in modern times. With the spread of social media, everyone has become an information transmitter, creating a situation where opinion leaders are proliferating. Even in online communities, when there are too many administrators or moderators, policies are not unified and confusion can arise.
Also, with the spread of remote work, conventional management methods no longer work, and there are criticisms that “management for the sake of management” is increasing. The phenomenon of increasing meetings for the sake of meetings and reports for the sake of reports, reducing actual work efficiency, is exactly the situation this proverb warned about. Perhaps modern times more than ever require organizational management that utilizes the lessons of this proverb.
When AI Hears This
“Many officials, endless tasks” and the modern productivity paradox share a surprisingly identical structure.
The pattern of official increase in the Edo period went like this: officials increase → new departments are created → coordination between departments becomes necessary → even more officials are needed for coordination. In other words, the personnel deployed to solve problems creates an infinite loop that generates new problems.
Modern IT implementation shows exactly the same structure. Systems are introduced to improve operational efficiency → system administrators become necessary → different departments start using different systems → meetings for inter-system coordination increase → tasks for creating meeting materials and reports explode.
According to a McKinsey survey, the average meeting time for managers has increased from 8 hours per week in the 1990s to 23 hours per week today. The more digitalization advances, the more human work paradoxically fails to decrease.
The core of this phenomenon lies in “self-proliferating complexity.” Systems introduced for efficiency require new systems to manage themselves, which in turn spawn separate systems to coordinate those systems with each other.
What the people of the Edo period had insight into was a fundamental characteristic of human society: when organizations grow large, “maintaining the organization itself” becomes the primary work. This 300-year-old insight continues to prove accurate even in our AI age.
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches modern people is the universal truth that “simple organizations are strong.” When problems arise, we tend to strengthen management or increase supervisors, but actually the opposite approach is often more effective.
In modern society, we can apply this lesson both at home and at work. For example, in family role distribution, rather than “mother also managing, father also managing,” clearly dividing responsibilities can avoid unnecessary conflicts. In the workplace, focusing the project leader to one person and having others support can be expected to lead to smooth progress.
What’s important is clarifying “who is the person in charge.” When everyone is in charge, it tends to become a situation where no one actually takes responsibility. Also, when creating organizations, the attitude of constantly questioning “is that position really necessary?” is important.
This proverb teaches us not only about efficiency, but also about harmony in human relationships. By respecting each other while being mindful of appropriate role distribution, we can create an environment where everyone can cooperate comfortably.
Comments