Akashiya Sanma is one the most influential comedians and talk-show hosts in Japan. During a variety show one day, he blurted out the phrase, 「生きて いるだけで、まるもうけ」(いきているだけ、まるもうけ; ikiteiru dake, maru mouke), which he used to imply, “I profit just by living,” and the phrase had profound impact on viewers.
まるもうけ means to profit or to gain. Japanese people tend to avoid the topic of profiting or gaining because the flip side may be exploiting someone else. That being so, the word should be cautiously used to suit the time and place.
Sanma apprenticed himself to a professional comedic storyteller, Shonosuke Shofukutei. According to Sanma, Shonosuke liked to talk about a particular lesson from Zen Buddhism: 本来無一物 (ほんらいむいちもつ; honraimuichimotsu) meaning, “All things come from nothingness.” Shonosuke would use this phrase when he wanted to emphasis that desires often prevent people from doing what is in their best interest. However, as we were born with nothing and will die with nothing, it is absurd to cling to fortunes and social statuses. He wanted to remind his disciples how lucky they were to simply be alive. Sanma took this lesson to heart, and its influence is what lead to the conception of his wise phrase.
With the difficulties and fears the COVID-19 pandemic has brought, we have realized that staying safe and healthy is priceless and cannot be replaced by anything; inconveniences and complaints are not worth the same as a human life.
-Midori Ukita, JASH Language Coordinator