In Japan, there is a custom of sending New Year’s greeting cards at the beginning of the year, and sometimes the Chinese zodiac of the year is drawn on them. Some people express themselves by comparing themselves to the meanings of the animals of the Chinese zodiac of their birth year, for example, “I was born in the year of the ox, so my strengths are sincerity and persistence. The Chinese zodiac has become such a natural part of Japanese people’s daily lives. The Chinese zodiac also has a variety of interesting stories to tell. In this article, I would like to introduce the Japanese custom of the Chinese zodiac.
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Origin of the zodiac

The Chinese zodiac is the twelve signs such as Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar, and these are applied to twelve different animals. Incidentally, the zodiac sign for 2021 is the year of the Ox, the second one. The Chinese zodiac has been used since ancient times in China to represent the calendar and directions. The oldest record of the the Chinese zodiac can be found in the oracle bone script of the Shang dynasty (1700 B.C. to 1046 B.C.), in which the zodiac was used to record dates. Later, as time progressed, the Chinese zodiac came to be used to express years, times, and directions. As time went on, the Chinese zodiac was originally just a symbol, but it is said that the names of animals were applied to them in ancient China to make it easier to remember. The Chinese zodiac is a concept that is still widely used today in many Asian countries that were influenced by China at that time, and is related to the culture and lifestyle of each country. In China, Boar = Pig. Other animals in the Chinese zodiac differ from country to country and region to region, such as cats instead of rabbits in Tibet and Thailand, and leopards instead of tigers in Mongolia.

Order and reading of the zodiac signs

The animals of the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac have a specific order, and each year they move one by one in order. It is read in Japanese as follows. “ne”, “ushi”, “tora”, “u”, “tatsu”, “mi”, “uma”, “hitsuji”, “saru”, “tori”, “inu”, “i”.

The story of the zodiac in Japan

Each of the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac has a specific role and symbolism, and the origins of the Chinese zodiac have been handed down in Japan in the form of folk tales. Let’s take a brief look at the story of them. At the end of one year, the gods decided to take turns deciding the leader of the animals for the year, and announced that the first to twelfth animal to came to greet the god at the New Year would be the leader. At the same time, God encourages the smallest of the animals, the rat, to be the leader, saying, “Because you are the smallest, you must be the best. The rat understood God’s feelings and determined to be the best no matter what it took. When the cat heard the rumor about the leader competition, he asked the rat, “So I should go to the god on New Year’s Day to greet him? The rat answered to cheat him, “No, you should spend New Year’s Day sleeping peacefully and go to the god on the second day to greet him. Before dawn on New Year’s Day, the ox said, “I’m a slow runner, I’m sure I won’t make it if I walk normally. I must leave early this evening,” and headed for the god. Seeing this, the rat got on the ox’s back and left for God with him. The ox managed to walk all night and was the first to arrive at the god’s house at sunrise on the first day of the new year, but just as he was about to pass through the gate, the rat quickly jumped off his back and became the first. And the ox came in second. On the other hand, the tiger, who heard a rumor about a New Year’s competition, said, “I don’t know if the competition is really on and it may be a waste of time, but I’ll give it a try anyway,” and set off and came in third with his speed. Originally, rooster had been given the task by the god to let people know that it was morning by crowing when the dawn came. If he crowed on the morning of New Year’s Day, he would wake up other animals and increase the number of competitors, but after some consideration, he decided that he had to do his God-given job properly, so he crowed at dawn to let everyone know it was morning. The animals jumped up at the sound of the rooster’s crow and rushed to the god one after another, followed by the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the sheep, the monkey and the dog. the rooster went to the gods immediately after the crowing, but since the monkey and the dog were fighting on the roadside, the rooster stopped the fighting between them and it made him delayed . After all the monkey, the rooster and the dog reached in order. Finally, it was the boar that was the 12th animal to arrive. These twelfth-ranked animals were chosen as the twelve signs of the zodiac, the leaders. By the way, when the cat was cheated by the rat and failed to arrive, it later went to the god and was told, “What are you talking about coming now? Wash your face and come back.” It is said that the cat realized for the first time that it had been cheated by a rat, and from then on, whenever it found a rat, it began to chase rats. When the weasel(Itachi in Japanese) lost the competition and failed to become one of the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac, it complained to the god, saying, “I didn’t know the competition, so please let me try again. Then the god said, “Then I’ll make you the first of the month,” and the first day of every month came to be called “Tsuitachi,” which is named after Itachi.

Meanings of the zodiac animals

Here we will look at the meanings of each of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac in turn.

rat

The first animal in the Chinese zodiac is the rat. Rats have a high fertility rate, and once they have a mating pair, they can multiply into dozens or hundreds of rats in no time. Therefore, they are often a symbol of fertility, and rats are associated with prosperity of descendants.

Ox

Ox has long been a partner in life rather than a food source. it was an indispensable animal in daily life, carrying heavy loads and plowing fields. Ox is a symbol of strength, persistence, and sincerity.

Tiger

Tiger is a brave and courageous animal. It also has the meaning of decisiveness and talent.

Rabbit

Rabbits have an image of being gentle and calm. For this reason, it has the meaning of a symbol of safety. It also has the meaning of leap and improvement due to its jumping power.

Dragon

It is the only imaginary creature among the Chinese zodiac, but in the East, dragon has been a close motif in daily life. In China, Dragon has been a symbol of power since ancient times, and Japan has also been influenced by this. From here, dragon has the meaning of power.

Snake

Snake repeatedly sheds its skin and grows, making it a symbol of eternity, life, and rebirth.

horse

Like ox, horses was an important partner in life. Horses is one of the Chinese zodiac, symbolizing health and a good harvest.

Sheep

Sheep is an animal that prefer to live in groups. So, it is a symbol of family security.

Monkey

Monkeys are highly intelligent and have been believed to be messengers of God, making them a symbol of the wise.

Rooster

The rooster is considered a symbol of prosperity of business in Japan, and there are festivals throughout the country called “rooster market” with the Chinese character for rooster in them.

Dog

Dogs, along with ox and horses, have lived together since ancient times. Dogs are especially loyal to their owners, so they are a symbol of loyalty.

Boar

The meat of boar has long been thought to be good for all illnesses and symbolizes good health. The word “headlong rush like a boar” also has the image of a single-minded and passionate person.

The zodiac is deeply rooted in Japanese culture.

How was it so far? The Chinese zodiac has been a part of Japanese culture and life for a long time, and the episodes of the twelve different animals may have made some people feel relaxed and fauzzy as they show the personality of each animal. Since the animals are assigned in a set cycle every year, it would be interesting to find out the Chinese zodiac sign of your birth year and its meaning.