Ugo no Takenoko (雨後の筍 - Appearing in Succession)

When I was reading a news article on the Internet, I found the Japanese idiom ugo no takenoko (雨後の筍), which was used to express that high-rise apartments were built one after another in a city.

Since u (雨) means "rain," go (後) means "after," and takenoko (筍) means "bamboo shoot," the literal meaning of ugo no takenoko is "bamboo shoots after the rain."

It is generally known that after it rains, bamboo shoots grow one after another.

Because of this, Japanese people have come to use this idiom to express that things appear in succession.

雨後の筍

ネット上の記事を読んでいたら、ある日本の都市で高層マンションが次々に建設されるさまを「雨後の筍」と表現していました。

「雨」は "rain," 「後」は "after," 「筍」は "bamboo shoot" を意味するので、「雨後の筍」の文字通りの意味は "bamboo shoots after the rain" となります。

一般に、雨が降ると、筍が次々と生えてくることが知られています。

このことから、物事が次々と現れることを、「雨後の筍」と表現するようになったというわけです。