Senjitsu and the lower almanac notes (rekichū-gedan)
Besides the familiar rokuyō (Taian, Butsumetsu and so on), old almanacs listed a great many other lucky and unlucky days. These are the almanac notes, rekichū.
On this page
Notes printed in the lower band of the almanac are called the lower notes (rekichū-gedan), and other days picked out by their eto are called selected days (senjitsu). Tenshabi is a lower note, and Ichiryū-manbai-bi, Fujōju-bi and Sanrinbō are senjitsu.
1.The list
| Name | Type | Luck | How it is set | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ten’on-nichi (天恩日) | Lower note | Lucky | 甲子–戊辰, 己卯–癸未 and 己酉–癸丑 (15 days in every 60) | A day of heaven’s blessing; good for celebrations |
| Ten’ichi-tenjō (天一天上) | Senjitsu | Mostly lucky | The 16 days from 癸巳 to 戊申 | Ten’ichijin, the god of directions, is up in heaven, so you may travel in any direction. Meanwhile the god Nichiyūjin stays in the house, so avoid making it dirty |
| Hassen (八専) | Senjitsu | Unlucky | 8 of the 12 days from 壬子 to 癸亥 (excluding 癸丑, 丙辰, 戊午 and 壬戌) | A run of days where stem and branch share an element, so things are lopsided. Avoid memorial services, weddings and building |
| Jippōgure (十方暮) | Senjitsu | Unlucky | The 10 days from 甲申 to 癸巳 | Stem and branch clash on 8 of the 10 days. Talks and negotiations are hard to settle |
| Ōtsuchi (大犯土) | Senjitsu | Unlucky | The 7 days from 庚午 to 丙子 | The earth god is in the soil. Avoid groundbreaking, digging, sowing and anything that moves earth |
| Kotsuchi (小犯土) | Senjitsu | Unlucky | The 7 days from 戊寅 to 甲申 | Follows Ōtsuchi. The 丁丑 day in between is a rest day and not counted |
| Kiko-nichi (帰忌日) | Lower note | Unlucky | Set by solar month (Ox days in the Tiger, Snake, Monkey and Pig months; Tiger days in the Rabbit, Horse, Rooster and Rat months; Rat days in the Dragon, Goat, Dog and Ox months) | Avoid returning home, moving or marrying into a family |
| Ōmō-nichi (往亡日) | Lower note | Unlucky | A fixed number of days after each solar term (7th day from Risshun, 14th from Keichitsu, etc.) | Avoid setting out on a journey or moving house |
| Jūnichi (重日) | Lower note | Both | Snake and Pig days | Good and bad both double up. Fine for adding to celebrations, though some avoid weddings (“a second marriage”); avoid funerals |
Days written as eto (甲子 and so on) count by the sixty-day cycle. Since it takes 60 days to come round, each of these returns about every two months.
2.Counting Ōmō-nichi
Ōmō-nichi is counted with the day of the solar term as day 1.
| Term | Day | Term | Day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Risshun | 7th | Risshū | 9th |
| Keichitsu | 14th | Hakuro | 18th |
| Seimei | 21st | Kanro | 27th |
| Rikka | 8th | Rittō | 10th |
| Bōshu | 16th | Taisetsu | 20th |
| Shōsho | 24th | Shōkan | 30th |
In a year when the 30th day from Shōkan falls on Risshun, that day already belongs to the Tiger month, so the Ox month has no Ōmō-nichi (this site follows that rule too).
3.How much should you mind them?
The senjitsu and lower notes were dropped from the official calendar as superstition in the reform of 1873, and today they matter to people who choose to mind them, mostly for celebrations and building. Try to avoid them all and you will have hardly any days left, so it is more practical to look only at the ones that fit your purpose:
- Celebrations: choose lucky days such as Taian, Tenshabi, Ichiryū-manbai-bi or Ten’on-nichi
- Moving house or setting out on a journey: avoid Ōmō-nichi and Kiko-nichi
- Groundbreaking ceremonies and gardening: avoid the tsuchi periods and Doyō
4.See the notes for every day
The monthly calendars show each day’s senjitsu and lower notes along with its rokuyō and lucky and unlucky days.
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