＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
Do you know exactly all the “10 signs of the zodiac” and “12 signs of the Chinese zodiac”? Even if you do, there are probably not many people who can write them all correctly in Chinese characters.
In the Edo period (1603-1867), it was customary in the world of antiques to include the “date. In doing so, it was common to write the “Gen-go(the era name)” and the “zodiac signs” (the ten signs of the zodiac and twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac) together.
The Chinese zodiac is a numeral system with a cycle of 60, combining the 10 signs of the zodiac with the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac.
１．The ten signs of the zodiac
This is based on the Chinese theory of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements.
The 10 signs of the zodiac are Kou(甲), Otsu(乙), Hei(丙), Tei(丁), Bo(戊), Ki(己), Kou(庚), Shin(辛), Jin（壬）, and Ki(癸).
To these, the five elements of wood（木：Ki）, fire(火：Hi), earth(土：Tsuchi), metal(金：Ka), and water(水：Mizu) are connected, and then the “elder brother” (yang) and “younger brother” (yin) are added, and they are called Ki-no-e（甲）, Ki-no-to（乙）, Hi-no-e（丙）, Hi-no-to（丁）, Tsuchi-no-e（戊）, Tsuchi-no-to（己）, Ka-no-e(庚), Ka-no-to(辛), Mizu-no-e(壬), and Mizu-no-to(癸).
２．The twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac
The twelve Chinese zodiac signs are familiar with the Chinese zodiac, which represents the year of birth.
It is a generic term for a cat(Ne), a cow(Ushi), a tiger(Tora), a rabbit（U）, a dragon(Tatsu), a snake(Mi), a horse(Uma), a sheep(Hitsuji), a monkey(Saru), a bird(Tori), a dog(Inu), and a wild boar(I).
In Chinese characters, the Chinese zodiac signs are written: 子 (shi), 丑 (chu), 寅 (in), 卯 (bo), 辰 (shin), 巳 (shi), 午 (go),未 (bi), 申 (shin), 酉 (yu), 戌 (jutsu), and 亥 (gai).
The twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac correspond to each month of the “lunar calendar” as follows.
子 (shi) (November), 丑 (chu) (December), 寅 (in) (January), 卯 (bo) (February), 辰 (shin)(March), 巳 (shi) (April), 午 (go) (May), 未 (bi) (June), 申 (shin) (July), 酉 (yu) (August), 戌 (jutsu) (September), 亥 (gai)(October)
This is where the “午” in “Boys’ Festival（「端午の節（Tango-no-sekku））」）” on May 5comes from, meaning “May.
３．Relationship between “The ten signs of the zodiac” and “The twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac”
The Chinese zodiac (or “zodiac sign” or “eto”) is a numeral system that combines the ten signs of the zodiac with the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac to form a cycle of 60.
甲子(Ki-no-e-ne or Koshi or Kashi), 乙丑 (Ki-no-to-ushi or Itchu), 丙寅 (Hi-no-e-tora or Heiin), 丁卯(Hi-no-to-u or Teibo), 戊辰 (Tsuchi-no-e-tatsu or Boshin), and so on….
４．What kind of year will it be this year?
Incidentally, this year (2019) is the Year of the 己亥 (Tsuchi-no-to-i or Kigai).
The “己” represents the nature of the earth and is meant to represent the tenacity to steadily work hard and evolve in the fields, while the “亥” represents the nature of water and signifies the state of life of plants and other organisms trapped inside seeds.
Therefore, it is said that in the year of the “己亥 (Tsuchi-no-to-i or Kigai)” it is better to maintain the current situation and take a defensive stance than to try something new due to the “conflicting” relationship between earth and water.
５．Names of institutions, historical events, writings, and popular beliefs bearing the “Chinese zodiac”
（１）Hanshin Koshien Stadium（阪神甲子園球場）
Hanshin Koshien Stadium, famous as the home of high school baseball and the Hanshin Tigers, was so named because it was completed on August 1, 1924, the year of the “甲子(Ki-no-e-ne or Koshi)”.
（２）The Isshi Incident（「乙巳（いっし）の変」）
The “Isshi Incident” was an incident in which Soga no Iruka was assassinated by Prince Nakano Oe in 645, resulting in the downfall of the Soga clan and marking the beginning of the “Taika Reforms.” It was named as such because it occurred in the year of the “乙巳 (Ki-no-to-mi or Isshi)”.
（３）Jinshin Rebellion(「壬申（じんしん）の乱」)
The Jinshin Rebellion was the largest civil war in ancient Japan, which occurred in 672. Prince Oama (later Emperor Tenmu), the younger brother of Emperor Tenchi’s son Prince Otomo, allied himself with local powerful clans and led a rebellion. It was named after the year of the Jinshin calendar, as it occurred in that year.
（４）Boshin War（「戊辰（ぼしん）戦争」）
The Boshin War (1868-1869) was a Japanese civil war fought between the forces of the new Meiji government, centered around the Satsuma, Choshu, and Tosa clans, and the forces of the former shogunate and the Oshu-Uetsu Alliance. It was named after the year Boshin, which fell in 1868.
（５）Xinhai Revolution（「辛亥（しんがい）革命」）
The “Xinhai Revolution” (1911-1912) was a republican revolution that occurred in the Qing Dynasty, abolishing the ancient monarchy and establishing the “Republic of China”, a republic led by Sun Yat-sen. It was named as such because 1911 was the year of “Xinhai”.
（６）Kashi-Yawa (「甲子夜話（かっしやわ）」)
“Kashi-Yawa” is a collection of essays by Matsura Seizan, the lord of Hirado. It was named after the fact that it was started to be written on the night of Kashi in 1821, after Matsura retired from his position as lord of the domain. It was written over a period of 20 years until 1841, and is a large work consisting of 100 volumes in the main series, 100 volumes in the sequel, and 78 volumes in the third series.
（７）Hinoeuma（「丙午（ひのえうま）」）
There is a famous myth (superstition) about the year of the Hinoeuma. It says that women born in the year of the Hinoeuma are too fiery and bring misfortune to their husbands.
This myth originates from the “Yaoya Oshichi Incident”(*) that actually happened during the Edo period, but it has been widely believed.
（＊）Yaoya Oshichi Incident
This is a case in which Oshichi (1668-1683), the daughter of a greengrocer in Komagome, Hongo, Edo, fell in love with Yamada Sahei, a page from Enjoji Temple, who had taken refuge during the great fire of 1682. She then set fire to the temple in her desire to be reunited with him, and was was condemned to death. Since it was written in Ihara Saikaku’s “Koshoku Gonin Onna,” it has become widely known through numerous adaptations in kabuki and joruri plays. She was born in the year of the Hinoeuma.
There is even a Senryu(Haiku-like poem) that goes, “The year of the Hinoeuma brings a heavy burden.”（＊）
（＊）＜「丙午しっかり重荷つけてくる」＞
In the Edo period, women who were unfortunate enough to be born in the year of the Hinoeuma had no choice but to remain single for the rest of their lives unless their bringing large dowry.
Perhaps because of this, the number of births and birth rate in the years of the Hinoeuma are both extremely low. The most recent was in 1966 (Showa 41). The next year is 2026, but what will happen?
Incidentally, according to the theory of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, “Hinoeuma” is closely related to fire. “Hinoe” is the “elder brother of fire” and is a yang hexagram, which means summer in terms of seasons and south in terms of direction. “Uma” is also a yang hexagram, and because of the overlapping of yang, it is said that “there are many fires in the years of Hinoeuma.