Time and the Chinese Zodiac

Like much of Japanese culture, the standard system for measuring time was derived from Chinese tradition. Days were divided into twelve rather than twenty-four hours that Western audiences are familiar with, to reflect the twelve signs of the zodiac. There were six hours for the day, and six for night, and each were named for an animal, as shown below:

Rat 2300-0100

Ox 0100-0300

Tiger 0300-0500

Hare 0500-0700

Dragon 0700-0900

Serpent 0900-1100

Horse 1100-1300

Sheep 1300-1500

Monkey 1500-1700

Rooster 1700-1900

Dog 1900-2100

Boar 2100-2300

In practice, each of the twelve “hours” lasted about two modern hours during the equinox. For the common folk, they changed in length based on how long the days and nights were during the season, but this was not so in aristocratic circles. In the court, these units of time were carefully measured by time supervisors, reki hakase, using water-clock calculations. They ensured that rituals and changes of the guard would occur at accurate intervals.

As seen in the figure above, certain zodiac signs were also associated with directions; North was the Rat, East was the Hare, South was the Horse, and West was the Rooster. Keep in mind that each of the twelve months associated with the zodiac signs as well, so a reference to a zodiac animal could be referring to any number of phenomena.

ACTIVITY: Divide students into groups and them construct their daily schedule using the twelve hours.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

- Advantages/limitations of using this system?

- How does understanding the way time works within the tale help understand the events that occur?

Works Cited:

Tyler, Royall, translator. The Tale of the Heike. Viking, Penguin Group, 2012. (starts pg. 731)

Images Cited

Miller, Earl, Hiroko Oragiri, and Robert Morrel. Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature. Princeton University Press; Reprint edition, 1988.