Jikkan

This is the additional page for the fact page of "Name and Months", saying about the meaning of Jikkan, Junishi and Eto which was imported from China in Japanese meaning. Please wait a minute for loading images.

Thank you very much to my Japanese teacher, Sakurako Sensei who let me borrow her lovely Japanese Eto postcard to scan the picture of animals you see in this page.

Jikkan

Jikkan or the Ten Celestial Stems, always match with Junishi ( Junishi_Kanji  - the Twelve Hoary Signs)  and becoome Eto ( Eto_Kanji  - the Sexagenary Cycle)

Jikkan consists of 5 elements, each element is separated into 2 kinds :
 

KI
(wood)
E_kanji (E)
 Ki no E_kanji(Ki no E)  = Big brother of wood
To_kanji (To)
 Ki no To_kanji(Ki no To)  = Younger brother of wood
HI
(fire)
E_kanji (E)
 Hi no E_kanji(Hi no E)  = Big brother of fire
To_kanji (To)
 Hi no To_kanji(Hi no To)  = Younger brother of fire
TSUCHI
(soil)
E_kanji (E)
 Tsuchi no E_kanji(Tsuchi no E)  = Big brother of soil
To_kanji (To)
 Tsuchi no To_kanji(Tsuchi no To)  = Younger brother of soil
KA
(metal)
E_kanji (E)
 Ka no E_kanji(Ka no E)  = Big brother of metal
To_kanji (To)
 Ka no To_kanji(Ka no To)  = Younger brother of metal
MIZU
(water)
E_kanji (E)
 Mizu no E_kanji(Mizu no E)  = Big brother of water
To_kanji (To)
 Mizu no To_kanji(Mizu no To)  = Younger brother of water

Junishi

Junishi or the Twelve Hoary or Chinese zodiac signs, consists of 12 animal signs :
 
 

Ne (rat)
Ushi (ox)
Tora (tiger)
1.  (Ne) 
Rat
2.   (Ushi)
Ox
3.   (Tora)
Tiger

 
U (rabbit)
Tatsu (dragon)
Mi (snake)
4.  (U) 
Rabbit
 
5.   (Tatsu)
Dragon
 
6.   (Mi)
Snake

 
Uma (horse)
Hitsuji (sheep)
Saru (monkey)
7.   (Uma) 
Horse
 
8.   (Hitsuji) 
Sheep
 
9.   (Saru)
Monkey

 
Tori (cock)
Inu (dog)
I (boar)
10.   (Tori)
Cock
 
11.   (Inu)
Dog
 
12.   (I)
Boar

Eto

Eto or the Sexagenary cycle, is the 60-year cycle that the signs of Jikkan and Junishi combine together for each year. The beginning will be "Ki no E · Ne", then "Ki no E · Ushi", "Hi no E · Tora",...until the 60-year cycle is completed. For 61st year, the cycle will be begin again.

For example, the first year of latest Eto is 1984. In 1998, it is the 15th year and Eto is "Tsuchi no E · Tora" (Big brother of soil - Tiger). And in 1999, the Eto is "Tsuchi no To · U" (Younger brother of soil · Rabbit). The last year of this Eto cycle will be 2043, " Mizu no To · I" (Younger brother of water · Boar).

The combination of Jikkan and Junishi also used to specify time and directions.

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