紺屋の白袴

こうやのしろばかま

人のことばかりに忙しくて、自分のことまで手が回らず、なおざりにすること。
紺屋は布を染めるのが仕事ですが、忙しくて自分の袴は白いままだということ。

ひとのことばかりにいそがしくて、じぶんのことまでてがまわらず、なおざりにすること。
こうやはぬのをそめるのがしごとですが、いそがしくてじぶんのはかまはしろいままだということ。

“Kouya no shirobakama” means “the dyer’s white hakama.” Kouya is a dyer, as in a person who dyes cloth. Hakama were the formal divided skirts (think super-baggy bell bottoms) that the samurai and lords often wore. This refers to an ironic situation that occurs all too often. The specialist is so busy taking care of other people that s/he neglects her/his own self. The dyer is so busy dying things for everyone else that he neglects his own clothes (which is why they are still white). Think of the hair sylist with the really bad hair or the carpenter whose own house is in need of repair.