Happy New Year.
The zodiac animal for this year marks 丙午(Hinoe-Uma), which comes around only once every sixty years.
What Is 干支 (Eto, the Japanese Zodiac)？
Strictly speaking, eto refers not just to the twelve zodiac animals, but to a much older calendrical system inherited from ancient China. It combines two separate cycles: 十干(jikkan, the Ten Heavenly Stems) and 十二支(junishi, the Twelve Earthly Branches).
In modern Japan, however, people usually think only of the twelve animals.
That explanation probably sounded more confusing than helpful, so let me break it down.
The 60-Year Cycle Explained Simply
The Ten Heavenly Stems consist of—unsurprisingly—ten elements, while the Twelve Earthly Branches consist of twelve.
At first glance, you might assume this creates a 120-year cycle (10 × 12). But both advance together, one step per year. The full cycle therefore repeats after 60 years, which is the least common multiple of 10 and 12.
The Heavenly Stems originated in ancient China and were used to describe time, direction, and the energies of the Five Elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.
| Kanji | Onyomi | Kunyomi |
|---|---|---|
| 甲 | kō | kinoe |
| 乙 | otsu | kinoto |
| 丙 | hei | hinoe |
| 丁 | tei | hinoto |
| 戊 | bo | tsuchinoe |
| 己 | ki | tsuchinoto |
| 庚 | kō | kanoe |
| 辛 | shin | kanoto |
| 壬 | jin | mizunoe |
| 癸 | ki | mizunoto |
By the way, this is admittedly a niche aside, but anyone who has studied even a little law in Japan will find the Heavenly Stems oddly familiar. They often appear as placeholders for people’s names in legal problems, used in their 音読み(onyomi), not the zodiac-style 訓読み(kunyomi) ones. For example,
甲 (the owner) sold his land to 乙 (the first purchaser), but the transfer of ownership was not registered.
Subsequently, 甲 sold the same land again to 丙 (the second purchaser). 丙 paid the purchase price and duly completed the registration of the transfer of ownership.Meanwhile, when 乙 borrowed money from 丁 (a creditor), 乙 had agreed to establish a mortgage on the land in favor of 丁. However, because the mortgage was never registered, it cannot be asserted against third parties.
Later, 丙 offered the land as collateral to 戊 (a bank), and a mortgage in favor of 戊 was properly registered.
In this situation, can 乙 assert ownership of the land against 丙? Furthermore, does 戊’s registered mortgage take priority over 丁’s interest?
The Twelve Earthly Branches (Zodiac Animals)
Now, on to the better-known part: the twelve zodiac animals, each represented by a Chinese character.
| Character | Reading | English |
|---|---|---|
| 子 | Ne | Rat |
| 丑 | Ushi | Ox |
| 寅 | Tora | Tiger |
| 卯 | U | Rabbit |
| 辰 | Tatsu | Dragon |
| 巳 | Mi | Snake |
| 午 | Uma | Horse |
| 未 | Hitsuji | Sheep |
| 申 | Saru | Monkey |
| 酉 | Tori | Rooster |
| 戌 | Inu | Dog |
| 亥 | I | Boar |
Last year, 2025, was 乙巳(Kinoto-Mi).
The next Heavenly Stem after 乙 is 丙, and the next Earthly Branch after 巳 is 午.
That brings us to 2026, 丙午(Hinoe-Uma).
By now, you can probably see how the combination of stems and branches completes a full cycle every sixty years.
The Dark Folklore of Hinoe-Uma
Hinoe-Uma has long been associated with deeply discriminatory folklore.
Women born in this year were said to be “hot-tempered,” “cursed,” or even “destined to bring ruin upon their husbands.” Some superstitions went so far as to claim they would “devour seven husbands.”
As a result, during the previous Hinoe-Uma year in 1966, Japan saw a dramatic drop in births—more than 25% fewer than the year before.
It is hard to imagine many people in Japan in 2026 genuinely believing such superstitions.
That said, even in 1966, many women reportedly did not believe the folklore themselves. Still, they faced pressure from family and neighbors: “Why not just wait until next year?”
To avoid conflict, some postponed pregnancy anyway.
Given Japan’s already severe declining birthrate, one cannot help but wonder whether we will see even a slight echo of that pattern again this year.
For anyone still thinking about the legal problem mentioned earlier, the correct answer is as follows:
乙, who lacks registration, cannot assert ownership against 丙, who has completed registration. Furthermore, 戊’s mortgage takes priority over 丁’s claim.
And on that note, I wish you a very calm, rational, superstition-free New Year.
