The twelve animals around the world
The twelve animals spread from China across East, Southeast and Central Asia, and some of the animals were swapped to suit local culture.
| Branch | Japan | China | Vietnam | Other examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 丑 | Ox | Ox | Water buffalo | Thailand: ox |
| 寅 | Tiger | Tiger | Tiger | |
| 卯 | Rabbit | Rabbit | Cat | Perhaps because 卯 (mão) sounds like mèo, “cat” |
| 未 | Sheep | Sheep/goat | Goat | The Chinese word 羊 covers both sheep and goats |
| 亥 | Wild boar | Pig | Pig | Pig in China and Korea too |
In Japan the twelfth animal is the wild boar, not the pig, probably because pig farming had not spread there when the zodiac arrived. (In English the Japanese sign is often still called the Pig.)
The eto in Korea
The eto are widely used in Korea too, and many historical events are named after them. Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s invasions of Korea are known there as the Imjin War (壬辰, 1592) and the Jeongyu War (丁酉, 1597), and the coup of 1884 is the Gapsin Coup (甲申).
Lunar New Year and the eto
In China, Korea and Vietnam, the animal usually changes at Lunar New Year (Spring Festival, Seollal, Tết). That is different both from Japan’s 1 January and from Risshun, the start of the year in fortune-telling.
Now try a reading for yourself
Free readings related to this article.
Read next
