It used to be believed that the origin of the word, 'setsuyo' had been a phrase, 'Yo wo setsushi hito wo aisu' (meaning economy in the use of resources and affection for the people) in XueEr of "Lun-yu"(Analects of Confucius).
ちなみに「節用」という言葉の語源はかつて『論語』学而篇の「節用而愛人」（節約の意）からと言われていた。