Yakudoshi (??) is a set of believed "unlucky" ages in Japan, first proposed in the Heian period.
While its scientific validity is questionable, it remains a commonly held belief in Japanese society.
Video Yakudoshi
History
The idea is believed to originate from Onmy?d? however there are no definite sources. The exactly ages of which years are yakudoshi is also varied. For example, in Irohajiruishou (?????) from the Heian period it states that the years 13, 25, 37, 49, 61, 73, 85, 97 are unlucky. On the other hand, a later document, Shuugaishou (???) from the Kamakura period states that 13, 25, 37, 49, 61, 73, 99 are yakudoshi years. The source 16th century Kanei (??) states that 13, 25, 37, 49, 61, 85, 99 are the yakudoshi numbers. Finally, in Buddhist teachings 7, 13, 33, 37, 42, 49, 52, 61, 73, 85, 97, 105 are considered to be unlucky. This disagreement within the source materials shows a progression of the theory over a number of years. However, it also shows the greatest flaw with this theory in that few of the numbers in the different source materials match up, which doesn't give a great deal of credit to the idea.
The ideas of 'Yin and Yang' play heavily into this theory as for good years there is a belief that the opposite must exist. Some other theories propose that the origin of these years come from the homophones of the words for example 42 -> 4 2 -> Shi Ni -> Death.
Maps Yakudoshi
Summary
Unlucky years are different for men and women, in the old way of thinking, for men 25, 42, 61 are unlucky and 19, 33, 37 for women. In particular 42 is said to be the most unlucky for men and 33 for women. It is believed that in these years the person may meet with great misfortune. Therefore, many believe it is necessary to make preparations for these years.
An additional unlucky period from new years till the 12pm the day before the birthday of the unlucky year and also the year before and after the unlucky are supposed to be unlucky also. The year before one's unlucky year is called maeyaku (??) in which an omen is said to appear.
A festival is held annually at Hachiman shrines on 18-19 January. During the two-day period, people who are entering a maeyaku or yakudoshi year attend the shrine to undergo a harae ritual called yakubarai (???). The ceremony involves a priest reciting a prayer whilst waving a haraegushi above the person in order to ward off the unlucky spirits. People also purchase items to display in their home or carry on their person to protect them during the year.
Foundation
During a Yakudoshi many people will seek divine grace from their local shrine, asking for protection as they traverse their difficult year. While there are no popular western mainstream media stories or English language academic papers exploring the statistical correlation between Yakudoshi and traumatic life experience, based on hubris alone, westerners are quite willing to dismiss something they do not understand. And yet Yakudoshi has a 2,000-year history as a fact of life in Japanese society. When one considers the degree of cultural success the Japanese have evolved, it seems strange that relatively young western "scientists" are so dismissive of something they have not actually studied. An example of western misunderstanding about Yakudoshi lies in the notion that men experience Yakudoshi beginning with their 60th birthday. In Japan, a man's 61st year begins on what westerners would say is their 60th birthday. In other words, Japanese are one year older than westerners imagine they are. In the western counting system, a man's yakudoshi is not his 61st year, but rather his 60th year.
External links
- Yakudoshi calculator
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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