白はく髪はつ三さん千ぜん丈じょう

expression

many years of stress and anxiety (as would cause one's hair to grow white)

Literary expression, often used hyperbolically to describe deep, long-lasting worry or hardship. The literal meaning is 'three-thousand jō of white hair' (about nine kilometers), a poetic exaggeration.

See also: 丈 (じょう)

• 彼かれの苦く労ろうは白髪はくはつさ三千丈んぜんじょうと言いっても過か言ごんではない。

  It is no exaggeration to say his hardships amount to 'three-thousand jō of white hair'.