Fire Horse

Sexagenary cycle
1 Wood Rat	2 Wood Ox [ja]	3 Fire Tiger [ja]	4 Fire Rabbit [ja]	5 Earth Dragon	6 Earth Snake [ja]
7 Metal Horse [ja]	8 Metal Goat [ja]	9 Water Monkey [ja]	10 Water Rooster [ja]	11 Wood Dog [ja]	12 Wood Pig [ja]
13 Fire Rat [ja]	14 Fire Ox [ja]	15 Earth Tiger [ja]	16 Earth Rabbit [ja]	17 Metal Dragon [ja]	18 Metal Snake [ja]
19 Water Horse [ja]	20 Water Goat [ja]	21 Wood Monkey [ja]	22 Wood Rooster [ja]	23 Fire Dog [ja]	24 Fire Pig [ja]
25 Earth Rat [ja]	26 Earth Ox [ja]	27 Metal Tiger [ja]	28 Metal Rabbit [ja]	29 Water Dragon [ja]	30 Water Snake [ja]
31 Wood Horse [ja]	32 Wood Goat [ja]	33 Fire Monkey [ja]	34 Fire Rooster [ja]	35 Earth Dog [ja]	36 Earth Pig [ja]
37 Metal Rat [ja]	38 Metal Ox [ja]	39 Water Tiger [ja]	40 Water Rabbit [ja]	41 Wood Dragon [ja]	42 Wood Snake [ja]
43 Fire Horse	44 Fire Goat [ja]	45 Earth Monkey [ja]	46 Earth Rooster [ja]	47 Metal Dog [ja]	48 Metal Pig [ja]
49 Water Rat [ja]	50 Water Ox [ja]	51 Wood Tiger [ja]	52 Wood Rabbit [ja]	53 Fire Dragon [ja]	54 Fire Snake [ja]
55 Earth Horse [ja]	56 Earth Goat [ja]	57 Metal Monkey	58 Metal Rooster	59 Water Dog [ja]	60 Water Pig [ja]
Heavenly Stems ・ Earthly Branches

The fire horse (Japanese: 丙午ひのえうま (ひのえうま), hinoe-uma, or へいご, heigo) or bing wu (Chinese: 丙午ひのえうま; pinyin: bǐngwǔ) is the 43rd combination of the sexagenary cycle. According to a superstition, girls born in such a year will grow up to kill their husbands. Therefore,^[1] birthrates in Japan tend to see a sharp decline.^[2]

Years

Associated years
1st millennium	2nd millennium	3rd millennium
46 106 166 226 286 346 406 466 526 586 646 706 766 826 886 946	1006 1066 1126 1186 1246 1306 1366 1426 1486 1546 1606 1666 1726 1786 1846 1906 1966	2026 2086 2146 2206 2266 2326 2386 2446 2506 2566 2626 2686 2746 2806 2866 2926 2986

Superstition

Origin

There is a superstition that "a woman born in the year of the fire horse has a strong temperament and shortens her husband's life". It is said that the superstition in the early Edo period that "there are many fires in the year of the fire horse", changed to a superstition about women's marriage because Yaoya Oshichi was believed to have been born during the fire horse.^[3]^[4]

In the Edo period, all human ages were counted using East Asian age reckoning,^[5] and if Yaoya Oshichi was born during the fire horse in 1666, then she would have been 18 years old in 1683 when she was burned at the stake. However in various biographies, such as that of Ihara Saikaku, she is 16 years old.^[6]^[7] Ki no Kaion [ja], in his jōruri Yaoya Oshichi, placed Oshichi's birth as during the fire horse, which influenced the jōruri Junshoku Edo Murasaki (Japanese: 潤色じゅんしょく江戸紫えどむらさき) by Tamenaga Tarobei (Japanese: 為ため長太郎ちょうたろう兵衛ひょうえ) et al. to say the same. Baba Bunkō [ja] in his work Kinsei Kōto Chobunshū (Japanese: 近世きんせい江え都と著聞ちょぶん集しゅう) states that Yaoya Oshichi being 11 years old when she hung a plaque at Tennō-ji in 1676 was the basis for assigning her birth year to 1666.

Ki no Kaion had a strong influence on the theatrical world, and the story in Bunkō's Kinsei Kōto Chobunshū has long been considered a true story, although it has been denied in modern times.^[8]

Births in 1906

This superstition continued even into the Meiji era, and in 1906 the number of births decreased by about 4% from the previous year. In some cases, the births of boys were reported to have been shifted to the year before or after they were actually born.^[9]

Around 1924, when women born in 1906 were of marriageable age, there was a series of stories denying the superstition and reports of suicides of women whose marriage proposals were broken off, suggesting that the superstition of fire horse births affected women's marriages.^[a] In his novel Gubijinzō [ja] published in 1907, Natsume Soseki describes Fujio, an evil woman who deceives the main character, as being "a fire horse".^[10]

The novelist Ango Sakaguchi, who was born in this year, was given the name Heigo (炳五), which means fire horse (丙午ひのえうま (へいご), heigo), and left a story in his writings about how he was told by relatives that it was "lucky he was born a man". Sakaguchi predicted that this superstition would not go away, which would turn out to be the case in 1966.^[11]

Births in 1966

This superstition remained strong in the Shōwa era, and the birth rate in 1966 dropped 25% from the previous year.^[12] Many couples avoided having children or had abortions, especially in rural and regional areas^[b] and the number of births was extremely low compared to other years, with only 1,360,974 births.^[13] On the other hand, the number of births between the previous year and the following year increased.

Since there were fewer children born in 1966, it was often discussed at the time whether it was easier to take high school and college entrance examinations in this school year (the population including early-borns in 1967 was about 1.6 million^[14]) than in other years, but there was no significant difference in the general college entrance rate. While no such increase was seen, the rate of entry into public universities increased in 1985.^[12] Additionally, in 1985 the first child rate was 50.9%, the highest ever in statistical history. ^{[citation needed]}

On the other hand, Japanese local governments took the following actions against fire horse superstitions: In November 1965, the Yamagata District Legal Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Justice sponsored the "Fire Horse Banishment Campaign" in Yamagata City, and on the 21st of the same month, a parade was held in the city to raise awareness of the issue. According to the Legal Affairs Bureau, this was due to a number of consultations regarding the issue of childbearing, which led to divorce settlements and harassment from neighbors.^[15] A similar movement was also underway in Kasukawa-mura in Gunma Prefecture (now Kasukawa-cho, Maebashi), led by the village mayor, who declared it a "village of banishment of superstition". The village office conducted a survey of 1,400 women born in 1906 and the years before and after, and worked to publicize the fact that fire horse superstitions have no basis.^[16] The city of Kurume in Fukuoka Prefecture strongly rejected fire horse beliefs in its public relations paper, calling it "a fairy tale from once upon a time", "a truly strange custom most unbecoming of a scientific Japan, which last year produced its second Nobel Prize winner", and "of the world of fairy tales".^[17]

Births in 2026

The next year of the fire horse will be 2026. The World Bank has speculated that the trend will not continue in 2026.^[18]

Footnotes

References

^ ^a ^b Haberman, Clyde (1987-01-15). "Japan's Zodiac: '66 was a very odd year". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-10-21.
^ Kaku, Kanae (April 1975). "Increased induced abortion rate in 1966, an aspect of a Japanese folk superstition". Annals of Human Biology. 2 (2): 111–115. doi:10.1080/03014467500000651. PMID 1052742.
^ "［どらく］ - 朝日新聞あさひしんぶんがビートルズ世代せだいに贈おくる、こだわりエンターテインメントサイト". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
^ "東京とうきょう消防庁しょうぼうちょう＜消防しょうぼうマメ知識ちしき＞＜消防しょうぼう雑学ざつがく事典じてん＞". www.tfd.metro.tokyo.lg.jp. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
^ "2007年ねん│過去かこの展示てんじ一覧いちらん│江戸えど東京とうきょうたてもの園えん". 2012-08-19. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
^ 井原いはら西鶴さいかく原著げんちょ、吉行よしゆき淳之介じゅんのすけ現代げんだい語ご訳やく『好色こうしょく五ご人にん女おんな』河出書房新社かわでしょぼうしんしゃ、1979年ねん、pp.66-86
^ サライ責任せきにん編集へんしゅう『十じゅう代目だいめ桂かつら文治ぶんじ』昭和しょうわの名人めいじん完結かんけつ編へん、小学館しょうがくかん、2011年ねん、pp.11-12および付属ふぞくCD「八百屋やおやお七しち」
^ 竹野たけの静男しずお「西鶴さいかく-海うみ音おんの遺産いさん　八百屋やおやお七しち物ぶつの展開てんかい」『日本にっぽん文学ぶんがく』vol.32、日本にっぽん文学ぶんがく協会きょうかい編集へんしゅう刊行かんこう、1983年ねん、p.11
^ 高橋たかはし眞一しんいち「明治めいじ大正たいしょう期きにおける地域ちいき人口じんこうの自然しぜん増加ぞうかと移動いどうの関連かんれん性せい」『國民こくみん經濟けいざい雜誌ざっし』187巻かん4号ごう、神戸大学こうべだいがく、2003年ねん。
^ 虞美人草ぐびじんそう (夏目なつめ漱石そうせき) (in Japanese).
^ 坂口さかぐち安吾あんご. "坂口さかぐち安吾あんごヒノエウマの話はなし". www.aozora.gr.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-03-11.
^ ^a ^b http://www.jil.go.jp/institute/zassi/backnumber/2007/12/pdf/017-028.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ 内閣ないかく府ふ『青少年せいしょうねん白書はくしょ』平成へいせい18年版ねんばん
^ https://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/tyousakai/kihon5/1kai/siryo6-2-7.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ Kahoku Shimpō November 1965
^ "Vol.78 ひのえうま「迷信めいしんの追放ついほう」に挑いどんだ村むら昭和しょうわ41年ねん（1/2）- 昭和しょうわ史し再訪さいほうセレクション - 地球ちきゅう発はつ - [どらく]". 2012-01-23. Archived from the original on 23 January 2012. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
^ 「暮くらしのしおり」久留くる米べい市役所しやくしょ『市政しせいくるめ』第だい188号ごう 1966年ねん1月がつ5日にち
^ "The curse of the Fire-Horse: How superstition impacted fertility rates in Japan". blogs.worldbank.org. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 2022-03-26.

Annotations

^ An example from the press "Girls turning 19 this year, troubled by superstitions; caught up in the distantly related 'fire horse' superstition", Asahi Shimbun, February 10, 1924 Morning Edition (in Japanese).
^ Statistics also reported a high number of abortions. "Abortion in Japan is Unusually High," Asahi Shimbun, August 22, 1966, Evening Edition (in Japanese).

[haberman-1] Haberman, Clyde (1987-01-15). "Japan's Zodiac: '66 was a very odd year". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-10-21.

[2] Kaku, Kanae (April 1975). "Increased induced abortion rate in 1966, an aspect of a Japanese folk superstition". Annals of Human Biology. 2 (2): 111–115. doi:10.1080/03014467500000651. PMID 1052742.

[3] "［どらく］ - 朝日新聞あさひしんぶんがビートルズ世代せだいに贈おくる、こだわりエンターテインメントサイト". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2022-03-11.

[4] "東京とうきょう消防庁しょうぼうちょう＜消防しょうぼうマメ知識ちしき＞＜消防しょうぼう雑学ざつがく事典じてん＞". www.tfd.metro.tokyo.lg.jp. Retrieved 2022-03-11.

[5] "2007年ねん│過去かこの展示てんじ一覧いちらん│江戸えど東京とうきょうたてもの園えん". 2012-08-19. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 2022-03-11.

[6] 井原いはら西鶴さいかく原著げんちょ、吉行よしゆき淳之介じゅんのすけ現代げんだい語ご訳やく『好色こうしょく五ご人にん女おんな』河出書房新社かわでしょぼうしんしゃ、1979年ねん、pp.66-86

[7] サライ責任せきにん編集へんしゅう『十じゅう代目だいめ桂かつら文治ぶんじ』昭和しょうわの名人めいじん完結かんけつ編へん、小学館しょうがくかん、2011年ねん、pp.11-12および付属ふぞくCD「八百屋やおやお七しち」

[8] 竹野たけの静男しずお「西鶴さいかく-海うみ音おんの遺産いさん　八百屋やおやお七しち物ぶつの展開てんかい」『日本にっぽん文学ぶんがく』vol.32、日本にっぽん文学ぶんがく協会きょうかい編集へんしゅう刊行かんこう、1983年ねん、p.11

[9] 高橋たかはし眞一しんいち「明治めいじ大正たいしょう期きにおける地域ちいき人口じんこうの自然しぜん増加ぞうかと移動いどうの関連かんれん性せい」『國民こくみん經濟けいざい雜誌ざっし』187巻かん4号ごう、神戸大学こうべだいがく、2003年ねん。

[11] 虞美人草ぐびじんそう (夏目なつめ漱石そうせき) (in Japanese).

[12] 坂口さかぐち安吾あんご. "坂口さかぐち安吾あんごヒノエウマの話はなし". www.aozora.gr.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-03-11.

[jil.go.jp-13] ttp://www.jil.go.jp/institute/zassi/backnumber/2007/12/pdf/017-028.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[15] 内閣ないかく府ふ『青少年せいしょうねん白書はくしょ』平成へいせい18年版ねんばん

[16] ttps://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/tyousakai/kihon5/1kai/siryo6-2-7.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[17] Kahoku Shimpō November 1965

[18] "Vol.78 ひのえうま「迷信めいしんの追放ついほう」に挑いどんだ村むら昭和しょうわ41年ねん（1/2）- 昭和しょうわ史し再訪さいほうセレクション - 地球ちきゅう発はつ - [どらく]". 2012-01-23. Archived from the original on 23 January 2012. Retrieved 2022-03-11.

[19] 「暮くらしのしおり」久留くる米べい市役所しやくしょ『市政しせいくるめ』第だい188号ごう 1966年ねん1月がつ5日にち

[20] "The curse of the Fire-Horse: How superstition impacted fertility rates in Japan". blogs.worldbank.org. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 2022-03-26.

[10] An example from the press "Girls turning 19 this year, troubled by superstitions; caught up in the distantly related 'fire horse' superstition", Asahi Shimbun, February 10, 1924 Morning Edition (in Japanese).

[b-14] Statistics also reported a high number of abortions. "Abortion in Japan is Unusually High," Asahi Shimbun, August 22, 1966, Evening Edition (in Japanese).

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