The 12 animals of the Japanese zodiac

The Japanese zodiac ( “eto” or “junishi” ) was introduced to Japan around the 3rd to 4th centuries and was used primarily as a way of indicating the day, month, year, time of day, orientation in space, as well as the order in a sequence of events in symbolic form. There are twelve signs of animals that are used as symbols for each year: nezumi (rat), ushi (ox), tora (tiger), usagi (rabbit), tatsu (dragon), mi (snake), uma (horse). ), hitsuji (sheep), saru (monkey), tori (rooster), inu (dog), and inoshishi (boar) and 2022 is the Year of the Tiger .

The Japanese are not always aware of the signs of the zodiac, however, it is something that is still ingrained in everyday life, especially in the New Year, so much so that they have a way to remember the order of the animals more easily and that is:ね (ne)・うし(ushi)・とら(tora)・う (u)・たつ (tatsu)・み (mi)・ うま (uma)・ひつじ (hitsuji)・さる (saru)・ とり (tori)・いぬ (inu)・い (i)

As there are twelve animals in the zodiac, it is also known as juni-shi (” the twelve branches “, with “juni” meaning “twelve” in Japanese) as the cycle is every twelve years. Unlike the Chinese zodiac, in the Japanese the animal of the year changes the 1st. January and the pig is replaced by wild boar .

Legend has it that one day Buddha offered a New Year’s Eve party in heaven and invited all the animals, however only a few went. To reward those who attended the party, Buddha gave each animal a year to exert influence with its personality, thus attributing the energy of each animal to each year, within the Eto and influence with its characteristics to everyone who was born. under that year.

Order of animals in the Japanese Zodiac

Long ago, the Buddha gathered 12 animals to create the zodiac and instructed them to gather in the heavens on January 1 and the selection would be according to the order in which they would arrive. Although the Cat and the Rat were neighbors, they did not have a good relationship, so the rat lied to the cat saying that the date for the meeting had changed to a day later. This is why the cat does not appear in the Chinese and Japanese zodiac.

On January 1, the Cow or Ox , being the slowest of all, woke up early as he wanted to be the first to arrive. The Rat had also gotten up early, however, on the way they had to cross a river so he waited for the cow to reach the river and jumped on it to cross without getting wet and thus run away and arrive first. The cow came second

Behind came the Tiger and the Rabbit who arrived in third and fourth places and although both are fast and competitive, the tiger was faster since the rabbit took a little longer to cross the river by jumping over stones and floating logs.

The Dragon and the Serpent came in fifth and sixth place respectively without much trouble. The Horse and the Goat also arrived together and were awarded seventh and eighth places. The Monkey , who had stayed far behind looking around on the road, took up a race jumping from branch to branch and came in ninth place, passing the Rooster , the Dog and the Boar , who came in tenth, eleventh and twelfth place respectively.

At Japanese shrines, you will often see many objects related to the twelve zodiac animals. For example, at Hakuto Shrine (Tottori Prefecture) you will find the rabbit , while Gou Shrine (Kyoto) is dedicated to the boar sign.

These zodiac symbols are often found around shrines throughout Japan, so be sure to look when you visit. If you research the myths and legends about the connection between eto and shrines, you will get an idea of ​​how long their history really is.

During Hatsumode (the first shrine visit of the year and part of New Year’s traditions), many people buy omikuji (fortune paper). Although there are many types of omikuji, eto-mikuji , which means taking out the divination paper of the year you were born, is one of the most popular.

In many stores, businesses, supermarkets, bakeries, etc. You will find objects about the 12 Animals of the Zodiac , especially around the New Year, also because New Year’s greeting cards are usually written, known as nengajo and that usually have some design related to the New Year’s animal.

What zodiac animal are you? Tell us in the comments!

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