Where does “ネズミ講” come from?

ネズミ講 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 講, from Middle Chinese 講.

ネズミ講 (Japanese): a pyramid scheme

Definitions

  1. a pyramid scheme

Ancestry of “ネズミ講”, step by step

ネズミ講 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 講

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese講reading or lecture; reading of sacred scriptures...
2Middle Chinese講—

via Japanese ねずみ算

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseねずみ算exponential growth
2Japanese算—
Every word from Middle Chinese 講 →Every word from Japanese 講 →