2027 is the year of 丁未, the Yin Fire Goat
丁 is a lamp flame and 未 is the goat (sheep). 2027 is a 丁未 year.
On this page
1.How to read 丁未, and what it means
丁未 is read “Hinoto-hitsuji” in Japanese. It is number 44 of the 60-year cycle, and its nacchin (sound element) is “Water of the Heavenly River”. A lamp or candle flame burning quietly in the dark. Like sheep living together in a flock, the Goat is gentle and cooperative, and stands for the safety of family and friends.
Read more on the 丁未 page and on the personality of people born in the Year of the Goat.
2.What kind of year will 2027 be?
丁 is Yin Fire and 未 is Yin Earth. The stem's Fire feeds the branch's Earth (generating cycle), so it is seen as a year of passing energy on and nurturing what comes next.
In Nine Star Ki, 九紫火星 occupies the center of the year chart. The lucky direction (ehō, where the year god Toshitokujin resides) is north-northwest. The unlucky directions are Gōsatsu (the Five Yellow) in the north, Ankensatsu in the south, and Saiha in the northeast. You can check good directions for moving or travel from your own date of birth with Nine Star Ki directions.
The previous 丁未 year was 1967 (Shōwa 42), and before that 1907 (Meiji 40). Because the eto year starts at Risshun, the 丁未 year of 2027 begins on Feb 4 (Risshun). The day before, Feb 3, is Setsubun.
The Southern Song scholar Chai Wang wrote a book listing the many rebellions that broke out in Hinoe-uma and Hinoto-hitsuji years (in China this was called the “calamity of 丙丁”). In Japan only Hinoe-uma became a superstition. Since birth statistics began in the Meiji era, there has never been a drop in births in a Hinoto-hitsuji year (1907, 1967). Good or bad fortune is never decided by your birth year alone.
Fortunes for each animal and each Nine Star Ki star are on the 2027 fortune page.
3.Phrases for New Year cards
Japanese New Year cards (nengajō) for a Year of the Goat often play on a peaceful home, gentle as a sheep.
- Formal: “Kinga shinnen” (謹賀新年), “Respectful wishes for the New Year”, followed by thanks for the past year's kindness.
- To friends: “Akemashite omedetō! 2027 is the Year of the Goat; let's make it a great one.”
- A closing line: “May the new year bring you every happiness.”
More examples and etiquette in New Year cards and the zodiac.
4.Who turns a “year of their own animal” in 2027?
Toshi-otoko and toshi-onna are people whose birth animal comes round again. In 2027 that means everyone born in a Year of the Goat. Their age on their birthday in 2027 is:
| Born | Eto | Age on 2027 birthday |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 (Heisei 27) | 乙未 | 12 |
| 2003 (Heisei 15) | 癸未 | 24 |
| 1991 (Heisei 3) | 辛未 | 36 |
| 1979 (Shōwa 54) | 己未 | 48 |
| 1967 (Shōwa 42) | 丁未 | 60 |
| 1955 (Shōwa 30) | 乙未 | 72 |
| 1943 (Shōwa 18) | 癸未 | 84 |
| 1931 (Shōwa 6) | 辛未 | 96 |
People born in 1967 see their own eto (丁未) return after 60 years: their kanreki.