Learn all about Japanese Horoscope – Which animal are you?

Based on Chinese astrology, the Japanese horoscopes is made up of Shinto gods – Shinto is the official religion of the Japanese Empire. It is believed that this change brought about improvements. With gods ruling the horoscope there is a greater diversity of energies and personalities and this helps to identify the behavior of the zodiac animals more clearly. Want to know more about this type of astrology? Then check out the text below:

Basics of Japanese Horoscope

The Japanese Horoscope gods help in the predictions regarding the year of each zodiac animal. A person’s animal sign is determined according to their year of birth.

The animal sign always begins on the first day of the new year (Solar New Year), called Oshogatsu by the Japanese. The first lunation of the year is called “Little New Year”. On that day, they bow to the Moon, as it is when the animal-sign rule on the Wheel of Destiny begins.

This means that in addition to the symbolic animal of that year, there is also the ruling animal of each month. In this way, all twelve animals of the Japanese Horoscope rule each of the twelve months.

Japanese horoscope animals

Twelve animals rule the Japanese horoscope. They are: Rat (Nezumi), Ox (Ushi), Tiger (Tora), Rabbit (Usagi), Dragon (Tatsu), Snake (Mi), Horse (Uma), Goat (Hitsuji), Monkey (Saru), Rooster ( Tori), Dog (Inu) and Boar (Inoshishi).

There is no official justification to explain why these 12 animals were chosen to represent the horoscope. However, there are numerous legends to justify this Eastern mystery.

The most famous legend tells that the Rat was responsible for inviting all the animals that exist to a dinner where they would be presented to the Buddha. It is believed that only the twelve animals of the horoscope attended the dinner and during the event Buddha gave each one a year as a way of showing his gratitude. In this way, people born in these years receive the characteristics of the animal referring to the year of birth.

Chinese horoscope vs Japanese horoscope

As the creation of the Japanese Horoscope was based on the Chinese horoscope, it is very common for people to confuse the two. Even more so because Chinese is much better known and followed in the East than Japanese. However, it is essential to understand the difference between the two so that there are no errors when interpreting.

The agricultural calendar is the main basis of the Chinese horoscope and the astral year begins with the first lunation of the year. Because of this, the start date of an astrological year is never the same, it varies from year to year. In Japanese, astrological organization happens a little differently.

Even though based on the Chinese system, the regents were replaced by Shinto gods and the astral year begins on the first day of the solar new year. In addition, as has been said, animals do not only rule the year, but also the months that make up that year.

Finally, an important feature of the Japanese Horoscope is that the word “year” always accompanies the animal sign. For example, it is common to say “I am of the Year of the Boar”. In the Chinese horoscope, this does not happen.

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