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Last Update: Nov. 15, 2005

ZODIAC LORE


KANSHI (or ETO) = Zodiac Calendar
JUUNI SHI (or JUNI SHI) = 12 Zodiac Animals

 Origin = China

The Zodiac is part of an elaborate and laborious system based on Chinese astronomy, cosmology, and divination. It was used as a method for counting years, months, days and hours in the Chinese imperial court and civil calendar, and as a system for forecasting one's future and determining one's character. Although replaced in modern times by the Gregorian calendar, the Zodiac is still used today (unofficially) as a popular method of divination in many Asian and Western nations. Furthermore, the Zodiac is the preeminent calendar of old-world Asia. Its 60-year (sexagenary) cycle is still of crucial importance to modern art historians, for it helps them pinpoint the date of artwork made in much earlier times.

Most scholars believe the Chinese Zodiac originated sometime before 1100 BC, well before the Historical Buddha's birth in India around 500 BC. The system grew more elaborate and complex over the centuries, but its importance in China ensured its acceptance elsewhere, and thus it greatly influenced and colored the subsequent development of Buddhist traditions throughout Asia. In China, where Buddhism was introduced in the 1st & 2nd centuries AD, the 12 Zodiac animals became associated with Buddhism's 12 Heavenly Generals as early as the Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD).

When Buddhism arrived in Japan in the mid-6th century AD, the Japanese eagerly imported both the Buddhist teachings and the Zodiac calendar -- the calendar was officially adopted in 604 AD. In Japan, the Zodiac calendar is known as Kanshi or Eto (干支 | えと), and the 12 animals of the Zodiac are known as the Juuni Shi (十二支). The Zodiac's popularity in Japan peaked during the Edo Era (1600-1868 AD), by which time each of the 12 animals were commonly associated with one of eight Buddhist patron deities. At many Japanese temples even today, visitors can still purchase small protective amulets or carvings of their patron Buddhist-Zodiac deity. 

ZODIAC COMPONENTS
The Zodiac is based on a number of important Chinese systems of thought that were transmitted to Japan -- along with Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist philosophies -- between the 6th and 8th centuries AD. 

• TEN STEMS. The ten stems are a cyclic numeric system that date back to China's Shang Dynasty (1600 - 1046 BC). They correspond to the ten days of the ten-day week used by Shang rulers (these days relate to ten suns that appeared in a ten-day cycle in ancient Chinese mythology). The stem names also appear in the names given the early Shang kings. The ten are combined with the 12 zodiac animals (the "12 Branches," see below) to form 60 two-symbol units. Each unit represents a year in the Zodiac calendar, and the 60-year cycle is known as the sexagenary cycle. The cycle was repeated ad infinitum for counting years in China. In Japan, the sexagenary system was adopted in 604 AD by Empress Suiko, and is known as Jikkan Junishi 十干十二支 (literally "10 stems and 12 branches"). The modern-day cycle started in 1984. Alternate readings (names) for the ten stems were derived by combining the Five Elements with yin-yang dualism, yielding ten "alternate" combinations. For a complete listing of the 10 stems and 12 branches, see charts below.
  
  As a method for dating, the 60-year Zodiac cycle is crucial to modern art historians, for it helps them date artwork from much earlier times. For example, the online dictionary JAANUS says this: 

"The zodiac system is important in art history for dating art works. For example, according to the halo inscription on the bronze statues of Shaka Nyorai (Historical Buddha) and his attendant at the Daihouzouden 大宝蔵殿 (part of Houryuuji Temple 法隆寺), the statues were made in the year of Boshi 戊子 for Japanese Minister Soga 蘇我. Since the statues are in the very early Asuka 飛鳥 style and the Soga clan flourished until the mid-7th century AD, the year of Boshi can be pinpointed to 628 AD."

60-YEAR SEXAGENARY CYCLE 10 Stems combined with 12 Branches Japanese = Jikkan Junishi 十干十二支 Current cycle began 1984 (Koushi); ends 2043 (Kigai) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 甲子 乙丑 丙寅 丁卯 戊辰 己巳 庚午 辛未 壬申 癸酉 甲戌 乙亥 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 丙子 丁丑 戊寅 己卯 庚辰 辛巳 壬午 癸未 甲申 乙酉 丙戌 丁亥 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 戊子 己丑 庚寅 辛卯 壬辰 癸巳 甲午 乙未 丙申 丁酉 戊戌 己亥 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 庚子 辛丑 壬寅 癸卯 甲辰 乙巳 丙午 丁未 戊申 己酉 庚戌 辛亥 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 壬子 癸丑 甲寅 乙卯 丙辰 丁巳 戊午 己未 庚申 辛酉 壬戌 癸亥 The 60-year cycle gets more complicated when the alternate ten stems (derived by combining the five elements with yin-yang dualism) are used. In this latter system, six of the animals are associated with the "yang" element and six with the "yin" element -- they are either yang or yin, but never both. In above chart, the 57th year is known as KOUSHIN. It is a Monkey Year of great misfortune. The next Koushin year occurs in 2040 AD. Details here.

• TWELVE BRANCHES, TWELVE ANIMALS
  The 12 branches (animals) are combined with the above 10 stems to form 60 two-symbol units. Each unit represents a year in the zodiac calendar, and the 60-year cycle is known as the sexagenary cycle (see chart above). The twelve branches correspond to the twelve stations Jupiter passes through in one revolution around the sun, which were in turn associated with the 12 animals. At the same time, each Zodiac animal represents one year of a twelve-year cycle, a day in a twelve-day cycle, a two-hour period in each day, and a compass direction. Says the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York: "The twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac are well-known symbols associated with forecasting people's futures and determining their character. By the 4th century BC, they were well established in Chinese thought. The earliest depictions appear in ceiling paintings from a tomb dated 533. During the Tang dynasty, pottery representations of these symbols were placed in tombs, reflecting the court's fascination with divination and astrology."  <End quote by Metropolitan Museum of Art. The above photo of the Twelve Zodiac Animals comes from the museum as well; Qing dynasty (1644-1911); 19th century; Nephrite; Gift of Heber R. Bishop, 1902>  

• FIVE ELEMENTS &
  YIN-YANG DUALISM
  The five elements 五行 (Jp = Godai, Ch = Wu Hsing) are wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. The five were combined with the binary Yin-Yang system -- Yin 陰 (Jp = in) and Yang 陽 (Jp = you) -- resulting in ten "alternative" readings for the ten stems. See below chart for these alternative readings. In the 60-year cycle, odd years were classified as YANG years, even years as YIN. Even today, when the 60-year cycle reaches completion, some people in Japan who are 60-years of age hold a special birthday ceremony called kanreki 還暦. Additionally, Chinese ideas of illness, especially Taoist notions of illness as caused by imbalances of yin and yang forces in the body, were introduced to Japan probably by the late Nara or early Heian periods. Taoist notions embodied various concepts of the Zodiac calendar. Click here for an example of Taoist traditions based on the Zodiac calendar.
  
  In China, the first celebrated exponent of the five-element theory was Tsou Yen (350 - 270 BC). The five energies were symbolized as (1) wood, which as fuel gives rise to (2) fire, which creates ash and gives rise to (3) earth, which in its mines contains (4) metal, which (as on the surface of a metal mirror) attracts dew and so gives rise to (5) water, and this in turn nourishes (1) wood. This is called hsiang sheng (相生), or the "mutually arising" order/cycle of the fundamental forces. These forces were also arranged in the order of "mutual conquest" (相勝) -- likewise read hsiang sheng, but sheng is a different ideogram -- in which (1) wood, in the form of a plow, overcomes (2) earth, which, by damming and constraint, conquers (3) water which, by quenching, overcomes (4) fire which, by melting, liquifies (5) metal, which, in turn, cuts (1) wood. <quoted from "TAO, The Watercourse Way" by Alan Watts>
  
  The five elements also correspond to the five parts of the body: hips (yellow), navel (white), heart (red), between the eyebrows (dark, black, or blue), and the top of the skull (bright). <source Flammarion Iconographic Guide, p. 311). Elsewhere, in Buddhism, there is another five-element concept related to five-tier pagodas and five-element stupas. Click here for details.  

FIVE ELEMENTS (五行; JP = Godai, Ch = Wu Hsing) The five major planets were associated with the Five Elements. Wood (ki 木) Fire (hi 火) Earth (tsuchi 土) Metal (kane 金) Water (mizu 水) Jupiter Mars Saturn Venus Mercury TEN HEAVENLY STEMS -- ALTERNATE READINGS FIVE ELEMENTS COMBINED WITH YIN-YANG DUALISM Yin 陰 (Jp = in). Feminine, passive, negative, etc. Yang 陽 (Jp: you) Male, aggressive, positive, etc. The ten stems were given alternate names by combining the binary yin-yang principle to each of the five elements. The yang "e" 兄 (elder) and yin "to" 弟 (younger) were joined with each element, resulting in ten possible combinations. Wood (ki 木) ki-no-e 甲 (yang) Wood (ki 木) ki-no-to 乙 (yin) Fire (hi 火) hi-no-e 丙 (yang) Fire (hi 火) hi-no-to 丁 (yin) Earth (tsuchi 土) tsuchi-no-e 戊 (yang) Earth (tsuchi 土) tsuchi-no-to 己 (yin) Metal (kane 金) kano-e 庚 (yang) Metal (kane 金) kano-to 辛 (yin) Water (mizu 水) mizu-no-e 壬 (yang) Water (mizu 水) mizu-no-to 癸 (yin)

• DIVINATION
  The binary Yin-Yang system is nearly as old as China itself. It is the central pillar of all Chinese systems of divination, and a key element in Chinese philosophy. In the Chinese Book of Changes (I Ching 易經), the yang principle is represented by a straight line _____ and the yin principle by a broken line __ __. The two are combined into abstract line arrangements (hexagrams and trigrams) with various meanings. Certain combinations are auspicious, others inauspicious. Different methods are used to "cast" a reading (divination). See below for examples.

• ZODIAC GOOD/BAD DAYS
  MONKEY MISFORTUNE
  In the Zodiac, yin-yang dualism is combined with the five elements to obtain ten "alternate" readings for the ten stems (see above). In the 60-year cycle of the Zodiac calendar, days and years are further divided into those of great fortune and misfortune, mediocre luck or misfortune, and neutral luck or misfortune. For example, certain Zodiac days of great misfortune in Japan are known as Koushin days 庚申 (Ch: keng-shen or geng-shen). They occur six times yearly, and once every 60 years, and special rites -- influenced greatly by Chinese Taoist and Zodiac beliefs -- are performed on these days to ward off evil influences. One of the main players is the monkey, for the term Koushin 庚申 is comprised of two characters -- KOU 庚, the stem associated with metal and the planet Venus, and SHIN 申, the ninth symbol of the Chinese zodiac and the character for "monkey." In Taoist traditions based on the Zodiac calendar, on the eve of a Koushin Day, three worms (三蟲) believed to dwell in the human body escape from the body and visit the Court of Heaven to report on the sleeping person's sins. Depending on this report, the court might shorten that individual's life. To prevent this, people stayed awake all night on the eve of a Koushin day, and this practice eventually became known as the Koushin Machi (Koushin Vigil, Koushin Wake, 庚申會). In Japan, such beliefs were recorded by the late Heian era, but became particularly widespread during Japan's Edo period (1600-1868 AD), when people regularly tried to determine auspicious or inauspicious times before beginning activities (such as a new business or marriage). See the Monkey Pages for many more details. 
  
  Yakudoshi 厄年
  Text courtesy of Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii
  http://www.jcch.com/jt.htm
  Bad luck ages are referred to as yakudoshi, with yaku meaning "calamity" or "calamitous" and doshi signifying "year(s)." These years are considered critical or dangerous because they are believed to bring bad luck or disaster. For men, the ages 24 and 41 (or 25 and 42 in Japan) are deemed critical years, with 41 being especially critical. It is customary in these unlucky years to visit temples and shrines to provide divine protection from harm. The birthday person should wear red to bring good health, vitality and long life. The equivalent yakudoshi ages for women are 18 and 32 (19 and 33 in Japan), with 32 thought to be a particularly hard, terrible or disastrous year. Like the age 41 for men, precautions are taken to ward off bad luck.
  
  Kanreki 還暦
  Text courtesy of Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii
  http://www.jcch.com/jt.htm
  For men, the 60th birthday is called kanreki, the recognition of his "second infancy." The Japanese characters in the word kanreki literally mean "return" and "calendar." The traditional calendar, which was based on the Chinese calendar, was organized on 60-year cycles. The cycle of life returns to its starting point in 60 years, and as such, kanreki celebrates that point in a man's life when his personal calendar has returned to the calendar sign under which he was born. Traditionally, friends and relatives are invited for a celebratory feast on one's 60th birthday. It is customary for the celebrant to be given a red hood and wear a red vest. These clothes are usually worn by babies and thus symbolize the celebrant's return to his birth. <end quote from Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii>

MERGING OF BUDDHIST
& ZODIAC SYMBOLISM
In China, from the Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD) onward, Buddhist images of the 12 Heavenly Generals of Yakushi Buddha were associated with the twelve Zodiac animals. But in Japan, this association between the 12 Generals and the 12 animals does not emerge until the Kamakura Period (1185 - 1333 AD), after which the astrological animals often appear in the head pieces of the 12 Generals. See M. W. de Visser's charts relating the Twelve Yaksa to zodiac signs in "Ancient Buddhism in Japan, Vol. II" (Leiden: 1935, pp. 551-553).

Much later, probably in the Edo Period (1603 - 1867), the 12 animals were each associated with one specific patron Buddhist deity, the Eight Buddhist Protector Deities. I'm not exactly sure when this latter system was adopted, nor why it includes only eight patrons instead of twelve. It may have originated much earlier in China, but I've been unable to confirm this. Click here for details on the Eight Buddhist Protector Deities. 

Chinese Listing of the Zodiac Animals
 courtesy of www.uchicago.edu

LEARN MORE

• Eight Buddhist Protectors. In Japan, probably around the Edo Period (1603 - 1867 AD), the 12 animals were each associated with one of eight Buddhist protector deities. (Editor's Note: Not sure when this system was adopted. It may have originated earlier in China.)
   
• Monkey Pages
   
• Dragon Page
   
• Yowatashi Boshi; Stars that Pass in the Night
  Japan's Cultural Heritage Reflected in the Star Lore of Orion
  By Steve Renshaw and Saori Ihara
  http://www2.gol.com/users/stever/orion.htm
   
• Bardo, Star Charts, 28 Lunar Mansions, Much More
  http://www.valdostamuseum.org/hamsmith/Bardo.html  
   
• Hong Kong Observatory (Government of Hong Kong)
  www.hko.gov.hk/gts/time/stemsandbranches.htm
   
• Feng Shui Institute
  www.feng-shui-institute.org/fengshuidivination.htm
   
• Star Mandala
  www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/dictio/data/kaiga/mandara.htm
   
• Other Resources
  http://webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-chinese.html
  www.friesian.com/chinacal.htm
  www.lib.uchicago.edu/~qinchen/Zodiac/za_find.php3
  www.asianart.com/exhibitions/taoism/index.html#8

Copyright Mark Schumacher. Email Mark.
All stories and photos, unless specified otherwise, by Mark
www.onmarkproductions.com