In Japan, some say the tradition of naming years after animals comes directly from a Buddhist legend.  Buddha called all the animals of the world to honor him and only the twelve appeared and each was given a year in order of their arrival as a reward for its faithfulness.  The legend also goes that the ox was actually first to arrive but the rat, which had hitched a ride on the ox’s back, leaped ahead of the ox and presented itself to Buddha first.

There are a few variations of these stories from the Japanese or Chinese perspectives.  Most people, though, want to know why the dog and not the cat was included as one of the twelve years and that was answered by a Chinese version that said the rat was the one the Jade Emperor put in charge of extending the imperial invitation for the animals to assemble.  Although the cat was a good friend of the rat, the rat forgot to invite him and thus the cat became the rat’s natural enemy.

Whichever legend you’d like to believe, all the twelve animals of the Oriental Zodiac are considered lucky.  It is also thought that you can tell a lot about a person’s personality by what zodiac year they were born–very similar to the Western idea of astrological signs.  Once you know someone’s animal year, you can also calculate someone’s age unless they either look 12 years older or younger than their chronological years!

Click here to link to another website for more information on the Japanese Zodiac, find your animal sign and personality traits associated to that birth year.

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Tombo are also known as kachimushi or ‘victory insect.’  The fact that they are quick to attack and catch other small insects in mid air and have such a fierce name, the tombo motif was a favorite among the warrior classes, who used it on military implements such as helmets and especially arrow quivers–for both sword and arrow should fly straight and fast like the insect.  Tombo were often combined in designs using arrows as well as the iris motif with its straight sword-like leaves.

In modern Japan, the tombo has acquired a more nostalgic (natsukashii) image of long ago days of childhood chasing dragonflies through the rice paddies.  Although they are seen in abundance in early summer, tombo have become associated with the autumn and are often represented in Japanese art flying among the autumn grasses.  A folk belief persists that the tombo is the steed of departed ancestors who return to visit their families at the summer feast of Obon.

Dragonfly and Cricket Quilted Wall Hanging

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Because the moon is deemed to shine its brightest in autumn, the full moon and the hare motif has also become associated with autumn in Japanese art.  ”Aki no nana kusa,” or the seven grasses of autumn, often appear with the rabbit in the moon and have provided a motif for Japanese art since the Nara Era (710-794).  The seven grasses are, ”kikyo,” purple Chinese bell flowers, “hagi,” Japanese bush clover, “susuki,” Japanese pampas grass, “kuzu”, millet, “nadeskiko,” fringed pink flowers, “fujibakama,” boneset, and “ominaeshi” which resembles Queen Anne’s lace.

Another hare motif that is very commonly seen in Japanese art is the the hare and ocean wave motif.  This unusual combination originated from a story in the Kojiki (Japan’s oldest history book) called “Inaba no Shirousagi,” or the “White Rabbit of Inaba” (present day Shimane prefecture). According to the legend, a white rabbit crossed the ocean from Okino Island to the mainland at Inaba by using the backs of sharks as stepping stones and thus appeared to be running over the tops of the waves. This story became the theme of a Noh song that translates roughly, “While the moon floats over the ocean, a rabbit runs over the waves, what interesting island scenery.”

Rabbits, Moon and Waves

Rabbits, Autumn Moon and Fall Flowers

Rabbits, Moon and Autumn Grass

The iris has captivated the hearts of Japanese since ancient times.  A native species, called kakitsubata, became especially popular from a story in the 10th century, “Tales of Ise.” An aristocratic poet, weary of the fashionable life in Kyoto, set out on a long journey. Arriving at Yatsuhashi (meaning ‘eight bridges’), he saw irises in full bloom in a marsh crisscrossed with the eight bridges that gave the area its name. The sight filled him with such longing for his wife far away that he wrote a verse for her, beginning each line with a syllable from the flower’s name, ka-ki-tsu-ba-ta. Ever since, kakitsubata and zigzag wooden bridges have been linked as a motif in art, literature and gardening.

The iris is also known as hanashoubu, ‘hana’ meaning flower and ‘shoubu’ a play on words that can also mean ‘martial spirit’ or  ‘victory or defeat’ as in a match or a showdown. Designs of hanashoubu and dragonflies were often stamped into tanned deerskin and worn into battle.