- Hatsuyume
Hatsuyume (初夢) is the Japanese word for the first dream had in the new year. Traditionally, the contents of the dream would foretell the luck of the dreamer in the ensuing year. In Japan, the night of
December 31 was often passed without sleeping, thus the "hatsuyume" was often the dream seen the night ofJanuary 1 . This explains whyJanuary 2 (the day after the night of the "first dream") is known as "Hatsuyume" in the traditionalJapanese calendar .It is considered to be particularly good luck to dream of
Mount Fuji , ahawk , and aneggplant . This belief has been in place since the earlyEdo period but there are various theories regarding the origins as to why this particular combination was considered to be auspicious. One theory suggests that this combination is lucky because Mount Fuji is Japan's highest mountain, the hawk is a clever and strong bird, and the word for eggplant ("nasu" or "nasubi" 茄子) suggests achieving something great ("nasu" 成す). Another theory suggests that this combination arose because Mount Fuji,falconry , and early eggplants were favorites of the shōgunTokugawa Ieyasu .Although this superstition is well known in Japan, often memorized in the form "Ichi-Fuji, Ni-Taka, San-Nasubi" (一富士、二鷹、三茄子 - 1. Fuji, 2. Hawk, 3. Eggplant), the continuation of the list is not as well known. The continuation is as follows: "Yon-Sen, Go-Tabako, Roku-Zatō" (四扇、五煙草、六座頭 - 4. Fan, 5. Tobacco, 6. Blind
acupressure r). The origins of this trio are less well known and it is unclear whether they were added after the original three or whether the list of six originated at the same time.ee also
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Japanese New Year
*New Year
*Ōmisoka : Japanese New Year's Eve
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