A calendar with Chinese roots, closer to daily life than you might think

• The twelve Earthly Branches

  The twelve Branches behind phrases such as the Year of the Horse originated in ancient China as a way to count years, times and directions. Their full cycle combines them with the Ten Heavenly Stems to form sixty stem-and-branch pairs.

• Setsubun and the Beginning of Spring

  The 24 solar terms, which divide the seasons into 24 parts, also come from Chinese calendars. The Beginning of Spring was traditionally treated as the start of a new year, with Setsubun observances the day before intended to clear away unwanted influences. This is why some Eastern reading traditions place the year boundary around February 4.

• Taian and Butsumetsu: the six-day calendar cycle

  The six-day Rokuyo cycle familiar from Japanese calendars also draws on calendar ideas transmitted from China. It developed its own following in Japan and is now used for occasions such as choosing a wedding date.

• Traditional milestone years and directions

  Customs concerning favorable or unfavorable years and directions also grew from Chinese yin-yang and Five Elements thought and spread through Japan's Onmyodo tradition.

Three traditions that came from China

星と暦 considers these three traditions together with Western astrology and numerology to explore your qualities.

1. 1Four Pillars / BaZiShichu SuimeiThis tradition reads character and life's symbolic cycles through the stem-and-branch pairs of the birth year, month, day and hour. Called Bazi in China, it took a form close to today's around a thousand years ago. It reached Japan in the Edo period and developed its own Japanese approaches.Explore further →
2. 2Nine Star KiKyusei KigakuRooted in the ancient Chinese Luo Shu number diagram, this reading tradition was organized into a system in Japan during the Taisho era. It considers the birth-year star and annual cycles: a tradition with Chinese roots that developed in Japan.Explore further →
3. 3Zi Wei Dou ShuZi Wei Dou ShuA Chinese symbolic astrology tradition that views the North Star as the celestial emperor. It is well known in Taiwan and Hong Kong, while less familiar in Japan. You can explore it as a special reading at 星と暦.Explore further →