What is Happō-fusagari?
Happō-fusagari, literally “blocked in all eight directions”, is the year in Nine Star Ki when your main star (honmeisei, the star of your birth year) moves into the center of that year’s chart. The nine stars shift one place every year, so it comes round once every nine years.
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1.Why “blocked on all sides”?
A Nine Star Ki chart is a grid of nine squares: the center and the eight directions. When your main star is in the center, it is surrounded on all eight sides. Whichever way you move, things are hard to push forward, hence the name.
Yet the center is also the heart of the chart, the place where energy from all eight directions gathers. Some schools read it as a year when the results of what you have done so far come to the surface. Rather than writing it off as a bad year, it is better to treat it as a year to pause and take stock.
2.Years of Happō-fusagari
| Year (from Risshun) | Star in Happō-fusagari | Birth years of that star |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Two Black Earth Star (Jikoku Dosei) | 1980, 1989, 1998, 2007, 2016, 2025 and so on |
| 2026 | One White Water Star (Ippaku Suisei) | 1981, 1990, 1999, 2008, 2017, 2026 and so on |
| 2027 | Nine Purple Fire Star (Kyūshi Kasei) | 1973, 1982, 1991, 2000, 2009, 2018 and so on |
| 2028 | Eight White Earth Star (Happaku Dosei) | 1974, 1983, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2019 and so on |
| 2029 | Seven Red Metal Star (Shichiseki Kinsei) | 1975, 1984, 1993, 2002, 2011, 2020 and so on |
| 2030 | Six White Metal Star (Roppaku Kinsei) | 1976, 1985, 1994, 2003, 2012, 2021 and so on |
| 2031 | Five Yellow Earth Star (Goō Dosei) | 1977, 1986, 1995, 2004, 2013, 2022 and so on |
| 2032 | Four Green Wood Star (Shiroku Mokusei) | 1978, 1987, 1996, 2005, 2014, 2023 and so on |
| 2033 | Three Jade Wood Star (Sanpeki Mokusei) | 1979, 1988, 1997, 2006, 2015, 2024 and so on |
| 2034 | Two Black Earth Star (Jikoku Dosei) | 1980, 1989, 1998, 2007, 2016, 2025 and so on |
If you were born between January 1 and the moment of Risshun (February 3–5, depending on the year), your star is the previous year’s.
This year and next are in bold. The year changes not on January 1 but at Risshun (around February 4). How the year is counted and when to receive a blessing can differ between schools and between shrines and temples.
3.How to spend the year
- Don’t rush big new gambles: for a job change, starting a business or buying a home, keep preparing but choose the timing with care.
- Use it to review: it is a good year to put your habits, the way you work and your relationships in order.
- Look after your health: don’t overdo things, and keep up with check-ups.
- A blessing against bad directions: if it is on your mind, you could have a happō-yoke blessing at a shrine known for protection from all directions.
4.How it differs from yakudoshi
Yakudoshi, the “unlucky ages”, is a Japanese custom set by your age in the kazoe count: 25, 42 and 61 for men, and 19, 33, 37 and 61 for women, among others. Happō-fusagari belongs to Nine Star Ki and is set by your main star, not your age. Sometimes the two fall in the same year, and many people take extra care then.
If you don’t know your main star, enter your date of birth in the Nine Star Ki reading.
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