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【No. 1135】Mittsu no Fukuro (三つの袋 - Three Bags)

Jan 26, 2018 09:39
There is a classic story called 三つの袋 (mittsu no fukuro), which is used in a Japanese wedding.

The literal meaning of "mittsu no fukuro" is "three bags," and these bags are often mentioned as important things in married life or keys to matrimonial harmony.

The first one is 給料袋 (kyuryo bukuro), which means "pay envelope."

Economic stability is of course important.

The second one is 堪忍袋 (kannin bukuro), which means a limit of patience.

Sometimes you should endure something for your happy married life.

The third one is お袋 (ofukuro), which means "mother" or "mother-in-law."

This implies that you must not to forget that your parents raised you, and have to take good care of your parents.
三つの袋

日本の結婚式のスピーチでは、「三つの袋」という定番ネタがあります。

この「三つの袋」は、結婚生活で大切なものや、夫婦円満の秘訣としてよく紹介されます。

一つ目は、給料袋です。

経済的に安定することは、当然ですが重要です。

二つ目は、堪忍袋です。

堪忍袋は我慢できる限界を表した言葉です。

結婚生活を送る上で、時には我慢も大事だということです。

三つ目は、お袋です。

お袋とは母親(もしくは姑)のことで、育ててもらった恩を忘れず、大切にしていきなさいということです。

Corrections (3)

No. 1 Kiwi

I never understood why one's mother is called お袋。Is it because kangaroos raise their joeys in their pouches?

Toru
Thank you for the comment, Kiwi-san.
I think that most Japanese people don't know the etymology. I talked about お袋 in the following entry. If you have time, please check it :)
http://lang-8.com/kanotown/journals/72569617963816665032649022677124416558
Kiwi
Thanks, but I don’t really believe it. Children carried in bags? No way
Toru
Sorry for my confusing English.

There are several theories about the reason why one's mother is called お袋.
The first one is that mothers managed the property (money) with bags.
The second one is that we grow up in our mother's bosom (here the bosom implies psychological one). Bosom is called 懐 (futokoro), and it changed to fukuro, and ofukuro.
Also, there is another theory -- it comes from the fact that we called uterus ふくろ (fukuro).
No. 2 John
  • Mittsu no Fukuro (三つの袋 - Three Bags)
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • There is a classic story called 三つの袋 (mittsu no fukuro), which is used in a Japanese wedding.
  • There is a classic story called 三つの袋 (mittsu no fukuro), which is told in Japanese weddings.
  • The literal meaning of "mittsu no fukuro" is "three bags," and these bags are often mentioned as important things in married life or keys to matrimonial harmony.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • The first one is 給料袋 (kyuryo bukuro), which means "pay envelope."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Economic stability is of course important.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • The second one is 堪忍袋 (kannin bukuro), which means a limit of patience.
  • The second one is 堪忍袋 (kannin bukuro), which means unlimited patience.
  • Sometimes you should endure something for your happy married life.
  • Sometimes you should endure something for a happier married life.
  • The third one is お袋 (ofukuro), which means "mother" or "mother-in-law."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • This implies that you must not to forget that your parents raised you, and have to take good care of your parents.
  • This implies that you must not forget that your parents raised you, and you have to take good care of your parents.

Good job. Keep going.

Toru
Thank you so much for the correction!
No. 3 alexthegreat
  • There is a classic story called 三つの袋 (mittsu no fukuro), which is used in a Japanese wedding.
  • There is a classic story called 三つの袋 (mittsu no fukuro), which is told at a Japanese weddings.
  • The second one is 堪忍袋 (kannin bukuro), which means a limit of patience.
  • The second one is 堪忍袋 (kannin bukuro), which means one's limit of patience.

    I think using "one's" makes the meaning clearer.

  • This implies that you must not to forget that your parents raised you, and have to take good care of your parents.
  • This implies that you must not to forget that your parents raised you, and that you have to take good care of your parents.

These ideas towards marriage seem a bit old fashioned, but the post was very interesting. I really like the term 堪忍袋. I don't think we have anything similar in English. We have some expressions for when you lose your patience like "the last straw".

Toru
Thank you so much for correcting my post and letting me know the interesting expression!
I learned something new (^^)

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