Momo kuri sannen, kaki hachinen. Peaches and chestnuts take three years; persimmons take eight.
Traditional Japanese proverb
The saying compares fruit trees that bear on different timescales. As a proverb, it reminds us that worthwhile achievements need the time appropriate to them.
Why this date: Late October is chestnut and persimmon season, making the proverb's harvest imagery immediate.
Language note: 桃 (もも / momo) is peach; 栗 (くり / kuri) is chestnut; 柿 (かき / kaki) is persimmon. The proverb teaches that different results need different amounts of time.
Patience becomes wiser when it respects that different work matures at different speeds.
DJW practice example: 実りには、それぞれの時間がかかる。 Minori ni wa, sorezore no jikan ga kakaru. Each harvest takes its own time.
Sources: Kanjipedia — 桃栗三年柿八年: https://www.kanjipedia.jp/kotoba/0005182400 MAFF — Chestnuts in season: https://www.maff.go.jp/j/pr/aff/1910/spe2_01.html Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market — Persimmons: https://www.shijou.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/about/shoku/seika/kaki