Jûnishi: the 12 signs of the zodiac 十二支

Les signes du zodiaque chinois

Les signes du zodiaque chinois

Flick/ lemonfilmblog

12 animals and 5 elements for astrological signs

Jûnishi, the twelve signs of the Japanese zodiac are borrowed from the Chinese lunar calendar and although the latter is no longer used, the twelve signs of the zodiac related to it are still very present in Japanese culture.

Widely used for orientation in time and space, the lunar calendar spread outside the borders of China and it was in the 600s that it was introduced to Korea, then to Japan, by Chinese Buddhist monks.

Among the animals on the calendar, we find the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.

Les douze signes du Jûnichi

Les douze signes du Jûnichi

Pixabay

There are several legends regarding the choice and order of appearance of these animals on the calendar. One of the most famous is that of the Buddha's dinner.

One day, Buddha would have organized a big dinner with 12 places where all the animals of his kingdom were invited. The first twelve animals to arrive would then have the honor of dining with him and of being proclaimed " animal-symbol '' for the whole year.

The animals having heard of the news therefore all rushed to Buddha's home.

Bouddha et les douze signes du zodiaque

Bouddha et les douze signes du zodiaque

Shutterstock

Statue funéraire du  boeuf

Statue funéraire du boeuf

Wikimédia

Statue funéraire du rat

Statue funéraire du rat

Wikimédia

Then came the tiger, then the rabbit, and the dragon. The dragon was the big favorite in the race due to its ability to move quickly through the air. Unfortunately for him, he stopped on the way to help a village in distress. Hence the idea that people born under the year of the dragon would be generous people.

Next come the snake and the horse. Like the rat, the snake played a trick to reach the home of Buddha. He slipped into the horse's mane and leaped in front of it at the finish to scare it and earn a place in the standings.

Le dragon de feu

Le dragon de feu

Flick/ GoShows

Speaking of a horse! Have you ever heard of Hinoeuma?

This superstition surrounding the Chinese zodiac is certainly one of the best known. According to legend, women born under the year of the fire horse are believed to be so strong that dominating their mates!

If this story has something to smile about, it nevertheless seems to be taken seriously by the Japanese since every sixty years, the number of births drops during the year of the fire horse, the couples fearing to give birth to a little girl who would be too strong to be considered for marriage? This is why during the last Hinoeuma in 1966, the birth rate mysteriously dropped from 2.14 to 1.58, only to skyrocket the following year.

Le signe du cheval

Le signe du cheval

publicdomainfiles.com

Un ema de l'année du sanglier

Un ema de l'année du sanglier

Flick/ Mission control

It should also be noted that many places of prayer flourish to the rhythm of the animals of the Chinese zodiac. The Inari shrines, for example, dedicated to the deity of the harvest, organize their annual festival on the first day of the horse in February, while the Benzaiten temples, dedicated to the Buddhist deity of the same name, organize theirs on the first day of the snake. . This is because the deity Inari is related to agriculture where horses are used while the goddess Benzaiten is associated with the serpent and the dragon.

Finally, the twelve signs appear regularly in Buddhist temples where they are personified in the form of guardians of Buddha.

Statues du zodiaque chinois dans un temple bouddhiste

Statues du zodiaque chinois dans un temple bouddhiste

Flick/ Kumiko

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