Hinoe-Uma: The Year of Fire Horse

 Happy New Year.

The zodiac animal for this year marks 丙午(Hinoe-Uma), which comes around only once every sixty years.

This year’s 年賀状(Nengajo, New Year’s cards). I draw a clumsy horse by hand on each card and add a short message before sending them to friends.

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.

Changes in the number of births in Japan

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.

Light Between Sky and Sea “Winter Fantasy” at Sanuki Manno Park

 At Sanuki Manno National Government Park in Kagawa Prefecture, the annual illumination event Winter Fantasy is held from November 29, 2025, to January 12, 2026. Now in its 20th year, this season’s theme is “Light Connecting the Sky and the Sea.” Using approximately 650,000 LED bulbs and spotlights, the park is transformed into a luminous landscape inspired by the sky, the ocean, and the creatures that inhabit them.

I visited on Sunday the 28th. With the year-end and New Year holidays already underway, many people had likely returned to Kagawa from other prefectures. Admission requires payment at either the North or West gate for both entry and parking, but the roads leading to the gates were backed up for nearly two kilometers. It took over an hour just to get inside the park.

Sunset comes around 5:00 p.m. at this time of year, so I had hoped to enter shortly after 4:00 p.m. and enjoy a walk through the park while there was still some daylight. In reality, the crowds were far heavier than expected, and by the time I finally entered, it was already past 5:30 p.m., with dusk settling in.

I have always loved that brief moment after sunset when the sky deepens into a rich indigo, while a faint band of orange still lingers along the western horizon.

The temperature was around 2°C (36°F), so cold that my fingertips went numb while holding my smartphone. I regretted not disabling fingerprint authentication beforehand and bringing gloves with me.

Even so, it was a wonderful experience, almost as if I were spending time beneath a sky filled with countless stars. Next year, I plan to visit again, but this time I’ll be sure to avoid the busy year-end holiday period.

Why Christmas in Japan Is Nothing Like the West

 Christmas in Japan looks quite different from the way it is celebrated in the West.

In Europe and the United States, Christmas is a solemn family holiday. Most shops close, people return home, and the cities grow quiet. Japan, on the other hand, treats Christmas as a day for couples, a peak season for shopping malls, restaurants, and romantic marketing campaigns.

Being single on Christmas even has its own nickname: “クリぼっち(Kuri-bocchi)” (literally, “Christmas alone”). Some single people jokingly sing Jingle Bells as “Single Bell,” turning self-deprecation into seasonal humor.

シングルベル、シングルベル、鈴がなる♪
(♪ Single bell, single bell, single all the way)

Christmas tree in a shopping mall

The Day Christmas Arrived in Japan

Christmas first reached Japan in the 16th century.
In 1549, Francis Xavier arrived as a missionary, and Christianity began spreading across Japan. In 1552, a Christmas Mass was held in Yamaguchi—considered the very first Christmas celebration on Japanese soil.

Christianity later disappeared from public life due to the Tokugawa shogunate’s ban. But when the ban was lifted in 1873, Christmas returned to Japan as part of the Westernization boom of the Meiji era.

By 1886, Japan saw its first decorated Christmas tree at Meidi-ya in Yokohama. December 7 is still known as “Christmas Tree Day” because of this event.

When Christmas Became a Visible Part of Japanese Life

On December 25, 1926, Emperor Taisho passed away.
Starting the following year, December 25 became a national holiday known as the Taisho Emperor Festival.

For roughly twenty years (1927–1947), Christmas coincided with a public holiday. This accidental overlap quietly planted the idea that December 25 is a special day.

Although Christmas faded during World War II due to its Western origins, it resurfaced powerfully after the war. American movies, music, and magazines introduced a glamorous, “Hollywood-style” Christmas that captivated the Japanese imagination.

From the 1950s onward, department stores and shopping streets launched full-scale Christmas promotions—complete with trees, gifts, cakes, and the tradition of giving presents to children.
This is when Christmas finally became a firmly established part of everyday Japanese life.

The Curious Birth of Japan’s “Kentucky Christmas”

When Japanese people think of Christmas dinner, many imagine Kentucky Fried Chicken.
This unique custom began with the wildly successful 1974 marketing campaign, “Kentucky for Christmas!” After that, eating fried chicken on Christmas became a nationwide tradition.

 Here are five commemorative KFC plates from my home.
KFC Party Barrel typically includes a bucket of chicken, a cake, salad, sometimes lasagna in recent years, and used to have a decorative plate. I haven’t eaten one in ages, I’ve been on a ketogenic diet for about ten years, but the nostalgia remains.

How Christmas Became “A Night for Lovers”

By the 1980s, women’s magazines were running annual Christmas features with predictable themes:
“A Night with Your Boyfriend,” “Romantic Date Spots,” “Perfect Christmas Gifts.”
This was when the idea of “Christmas = a romantic couple’s holiday” firmly took root among young people.

In 1980, Yumi Matsutoya’s hit song “恋人がサンタクロース(Koibito ga Santa Claus)” (“My Lover Is Santa Claus”) amplified the image of Christmas as a night filled with romance and anticipation.

(Lyrics: Yumi Matsutoya, English translation by Umineko)

♪Long ago, the stylish woman next door said to me on Christmas Day
"Tonight, when eight o'clock comes around, Santa will come to my house."
"That's not true, that's only in picture books."
She winked at me when I said that, and added,
"When you grow up, you’ll understand too, someday.”

My bf is Santa Claus, he's really Santa Claus, racing past the whirlwind.
My bf is Santa Claus, a tall Santa Claus, who came from the snowy town♪

 

Times Change: “Kuri-bocchi” Becomes Normal

But the landscape has changed dramatically in recent years.
A 2024 survey found that 42% of single men and women aged 25–34 spend Christmas alone, while only 21% spend it with a romantic partner.

When I was around twenty, this would have been unthinkable.
Back then, many young women rushed to “find a boyfriend before Christmas,” and as the days grew colder in late October and November, group dating events 合コン(goukon) multiplied.
There was a palpable sense of “I refuse to spend Christmas alone!”

Today’s young adults, however, seem much more relaxed.
You cannot will a romantic partner into existence by a deadline, and perhaps the modern attitude is far healthier.

Light and Reflection at Ritsurin Garden

 Last weekend, we visited Ritsurin Garden for its 2025 Autumn Evening Lighting event (令和７年栗林公園秋ライトアップ).

Ritsurin Garden is a strolling-style feudal garden built in the early Edo period, with a history that spans nearly 400 years. Set against the backdrop of Mt. Shiun, the garden features six ponds and thirteen artificial hills arranged with remarkable precision. It is the largest among Japan’s designated cultural landscape gardens and was recognized as a 特別名勝 (Special Place of Scenic Beauty) in 1953.

商工奨励館 a symmetrical building constructed in 1899, originally used as a museum.

The garden hosts nighttime illumination events twice a year—once during the autumn foliage season and once in spring when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. This year marks the 25th autumn edition. The 2025 event runs for ten days, from November 21st to 30th, with extended opening hours until 9 p.m.

A boatman takes visitors around the South Pond in a 30-minute ride, up to six passengers.

We went on Sunday, the 23rd. Since the following day was a substitute holiday for Labor Thanksgiving Day, it fell right in the middle of a three-day weekend, and the garden was extremely crowded.

The reflections on the water are beautiful.

Amid the crowd, I happened to overhear a heartwarming little exchange between a mother and her young daughter—one I couldn’t resist sharing here.

A girl of about six asked,

「ライトアップって何？ “What does light-up mean?”」
Her mother replied,
「ライトをアップすることよ “It means.. to up the lights”」

Technically correct, and completely unhelpful. It took all my effort not to burst out laughing. It makes sense grammatically, but it explains absolutely nothing, and that’s exactly why it’s funny.

This kind of humor is surprisingly difficult to explain to English speakers. In Japanese, nighttime illumination of buildings, gardens, or landscapes is commonly referred to as a "light-up." Ritsurin Garden’s event is literally called that in Japanese, 秋のライトアップ (Autumn Light-Up).

It’s one of those charming moments where the flavor of a language appears in the gap between literal meaning and actual usage.

Costco Comes to Toon

 When I opened the morning edition of the Ehime Shimbun, a bold headline leapt off the page:

“Costco to Open in 東温(Toon), Shikoku’s First, Targeting Late 2027.”

The store will be built in Toon City, only a short drive from my home in Matsuyama. For years, young people in Shikoku have looked enviously at other regions where Costco’s giant warehouse stores already stood. The fact that this news appeared on the front page says everything about how significant it is for our prefecture.

The front page of the Ehime Shimbun.

Btw, the city name Toon (東温) is pronounced “Toh-on,” with two distinct syllables. English speakers read “Toon” as in “cartoon,” but in Japanese it’s softer and longer, almost like saying “toe-on.”

According to the report, the Costco Wholesale Toon Warehouse will occupy a 66,000-square-meter lot just south of the Fujigrand Shigenobu shopping complex. The facility will include parking for about 1,000 cars and an attached gas station, with an estimated 400 employees.
At the press conference, Ehime Governor Tokihiro Nakamura and Toon Mayor Akira Kato shook hands with Costco Japan’s president, Ken Theriault—a symbolic moment sealing Ehime’s long-awaited connection with a global retail powerhouse.

Local reactions, however, have been a mixed bag.
Many residents are thrilled—saying things like “Finally, we don’t have to drive all the way to Kobe or Hiroshima for Costco!”—while others express concern about weekend traffic jams on Route 11, noise from the gas station, or the future of smaller local shops.

Incidentally, Japanese people pronounce the name as “Cost-to-co” (コストコ), clearly enunciating the t sound in the middle. In English, however, the t is almost silent, the tongue briefly touches the alveolar ridge but releases no sound before gliding into co. The result is something closer to [kɑːskoʊ].

 So why “コストコ” in Japanese? Perhaps it’s because コスコ—without the t—was already taken by China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited, a major Chinese shipping company. Besides, that extra “to” adds a hint of rhythm and warmth, almost like the onomatopoeia tokotoko—the gentle sound of little footsteps. To Japanese ears, “コストコ” feels friendlier, even a bit cute.

I often drive past the planned construction site, so I’ll be able to watch the warehouse gradually take shape, enjoying the countdown until its 2027 opening.