You may have seen it on Japanese calendars: some characters under the dates, usually in black and red. These are the rokuyou/rokuyō (六曜), “six days”, a way used in Japan to learn whether a day is lucky or unlucky.
They are becoming less and less well known, but they can still be seen in some places, and they are still used sometimes. So, let’s take a closer look at them!
Coming from China and said to have become famous in Japan in the Edo Era (江戸時代, Edo Jidai – 1603-1868), this superstition doesn’t actually come from any religion.
In order, starting from January 1st and resetting with each lunar cycle, the days are:
先勝 – Sensho “early victory”: Lucky in the morning, unlucky in the afternoon.
友引 – Tomobiki “pulling friends”: Lucky all day except noon.
先負 – Sakimake/Senpu “early failure”: Unlucky in the morning, lucky in the afternoon.
仏滅 – Butsumetsu “death of Buddha”: Unlucky all day.
大安 – Taian “great ease”: Lucky all day.
赤口 – Shakku “red mouth”: Unlucky all day, except at noon.
While most of them are good to be ignored (and most people do so!), Tomobiki, Butsumetsu and Taian can still have some influence, especially around life events.
Tomobiki is usually avoided for funerals as it could suggest that friends would be “pulled” into passing. It is, however, the second most famous day for weddings after Taian, as one would like to draw friends into their happiness.
Taian, sign of luck and a good place to get things started, is famous for people planning weddings. Famous places will have those days fully booked months ahead!
Butsumetsu is generally avoided for everything except funerals. As such, it is actually common to see a discount on wedding venues on this day – a good tip if you’d like to save up and don’t buy into the superstition.
“From 2M yen to 1.6M yen. If you’re on a budget, this plan is recommended! If both of you are thinking “It’s OK even on Butsumetsu!”, this is the best option for your dream wedding”
It’s up to you whether you want to give importance to this superstition, and most people will not take it too seriously. But when I was planning my wedding, a Japanese friend realized immediately that I had picked Taian, so it may still be worth knowing about! A good way to quickly check today’s luck is this website.
Did you already know about this Japanese lucky calendar?
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