Year of the Golden Boar

~Happy New Year, everyone! In the Chinese calender, 2007 is the Year of the Boar (inushishi in Japanese). You may have heard that 2007 is the Year of the Pig, but this is an oversimplification. A boar is a wild pig, not domesticated or restrained. He's covered with hair, has powerful legs and jaws, and a set of killer tusks that have sent many would-be hunters to a quick and grisly demise.

The boar is considered a very noble animal, both in the Orient and in Europe, where hunting boars was considered a sport worthy of kings. Boar hunting, however, is a dangerous sport which occasionally proved fatal. In a more modern sense, boars are an excellent food source should you find yourself stranded on a jungle island in the Pacific.

Anyway, 2007 isn't just the Year of the Boar, it's a Year of the Golden Boar, which happens only once every sixty years. Children born in this year are said to be particularly lucky. I was born on a regular old Year of the Boar (1983). Oh well, you can't have everything.

The celebration of the Lunar New Year is big news in China, where millions of people are returning home to celebrate with their families. It's not as big a deal here in Japan, because the standard New Year's Day (January 1st) is the most important Japanese holiday. Still, I've seen a few news reports on television about the Year of the Boar, and the occasional boar decoration in Nagaoka.


For those of you that are into astrology, those born in the Year of the Boar (such as myself) are supposed to be very honest and pure of intention. We are also said to be intellectuals who set difficult goals, but sometimes find it hard to get along with others. For an ideal partner, we're supposed to choose someone born in the Year of the Rabbit, Tiger, Ram, or Rat, and avoid those born under the sign of the Snake, Monkey, or Rooster. The boar is a sign of abundance, but also of turbulence and disturbance. As the last of the animals in the Chinese Zodiac, the boar's month is December.

Abundance and turbulence...is that supposed to describe my plane flight back to America? Regardless, I hope that the upcoming Lunar Year isn't a complete "boar". ~Oyasumi!