expression
extremely poor; in dire poverty; as poor as a church mouse
A literary set phrase describing extreme poverty, often used in formal or written contexts. The image is of being so poor that one must wash away poverty itself.
彼の家は赤貧洗うが如しで、明日の食事にも困るほどだった。
His household was in such dire poverty that they struggled even to eat the next day.
赤貧洗うが如しの生活から抜け出すために、彼は必死に働いた。
He worked desperately to escape a life of extreme poverty.
A classical Japanese phrase combining 赤貧 (extreme poverty) with 洗うが如し (like washing away). The exact origin is uncertain, but it evokes the image of being so destitute that one must wash away poverty itself.