{"id":5472,"date":"2025-12-04T11:05:05","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T02:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oh-mama.tokyo\/?p=5472"},"modified":"2025-12-04T11:05:05","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T02:05:05","slug":"questions-about-shodo-japanese-calligraphy-why-does-next-years-new-year-card-say-%e5%8d%88","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oh-mama.tokyo\/?p=5472","title":{"rendered":"Questions About Shodo, Japanese Calligraphy:\u00a0Why Does Next Year\u2019s New Year Card Say \u5348?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

December is finally here!
In Japan, that means it\u2019s time to start preparing New Year\u2019s cards. These cards are meant to arrive on January 1st\u2014a special day called Gantan<\/em>. It\u2019s a little different from Christmas cards, which you usually send early so they reach the recipient before Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, if you drop your cards in the mailbox between December 15th and 25th, the post office will deliver them right on New Year\u2019s Day. So don\u2019t worry\u2014nobody receives New Year\u2019s cards before January 1st. That would feel strange for us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Animals Show Up Every Year<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve ever received a Japanese New Year\u2019s card, you\u2019ve probably noticed the animal illustrations. And the ones you get next year will almost certainly feature\u2026 a horse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why a horse? Because each year is assigned one of the twelve zodiac signs. The sign for 2026 is \u5348.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A long time ago, the twelve characters \u201c\u5b50\u4e11\u5bc5\u536f\u8fb0\u5df3\u5348\u672a\u7533\u9149\u620c\u4ea5\u201d were used for all kinds of things\u2014months, directions, even times of day. They\u2019re not exactly easy to memorize, though. To make things friendlier for ordinary people, each character was paired with an animal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We even have a picture book at home called \u201cJyunishi no Shinnenkai\u201d<\/a><\/em> (\u201cThe Twelve Animals\u2019 New Year\u2019s Party\u201d) that we bought for our son. Once each character is connected to an animal, it suddenly feels much easier\u2014and much cuter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Wait\u2026 \u5348 Isn\u2019t the Same as \u99ac?!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s something fun:
The character \u5348, the zodiac sign, is not the same as the character for the actual animal horse, which is \u99ac.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was a kid, I learned to tell them apart like this:
\u725b (cow) has horns \u2192 the top vertical line sticks out
\u5348 (zodiac horse) has no horns \u2192 the line does not stick out<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It made perfect sense to my childhood brain!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And an important note:
When you\u2019re talking about the real animal\u2014like in \u201chorseback riding\u201d (\u4e57\u99ac) or \u201chorsepower\u201d (\u99ac\u529b)\u2014you must use \u99ac. If you write \u4e57\u5348 or \u5348\u529b, Japanese speakers will stare at it thinking, \u201cWhat\u2026 is this a typo? Is that even a word?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So What Will Your New Year\u2019s Card Say?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you open your New Year\u2019s mail next year, which kanji<\/em> character will you find\u2014\u5348 or \u99ac?
Maybe even both!<\/p>\n\n\n