Superstitions are interesting and intriguing and can give us a glimpse into the society and culture of a country.
Japan is no different and has some interesting/strange/weird superstitions. There are so many to choose from, I have included a selection which I hope you will find enthralling.
Whatever your views are on superstitions, maybe you think they are outdated and serve no useful purpose in this scientific and technological world we live in today. I still hope you can get something out of these superstitions.
I believe superstitions have an effect on peoples thinking and actions so should be looked into if we are interested in Japanese society and culture.
Don’t cut your nails at night
“If you trim your nails at night, you will not be able to see your parents before they die.”
This saying is believed to warn children, not to cut their nails at night or they may die before their parents.
How you might ask does cutting your nails at night lead to an early death. The practical answer is that in the olden days, it would be dangerous to use a knife or other sharp object to cut your nails I a poor lit room, it would be easy to cut a toe or finger with a rusty blade, and there would be limited medicine or medical services to help you.
The superstition goes that evil spirits roam the night, the cutting instrument creates a gap in whatever it cuts, which allows the evil spirits to enter through the gap. So leading to illness and possibly early death.
So don’t take the risk, please cut your nails in daylight.
Hide your thumbs from a Hearse
It’s believed that spirits of the dead, gather around the hearse (funeral car). If you don’t hide your thumbs as the funeral car passes, then the spirit will enter your body from underneath your thumbnail.
The Japanese word for thumb is Oyayubi, which translates to “Parent finger”.
So hiding your thumbs will protect your parent’s health.
I have even heard of people hiding their thumbs as they pass a graveyard, or even when an ambulance is passing by.
You shouldn’t whistle at night
It is definitely not a good idea to whistle at night according to this superstition.
If you whistle at night you can attract the attention of spirits which are far more numerous at night, I haven’t been able to find out why, but if you whistle at night snakes will enter your room and even your bed.
I think the main reason why this superstition came about was that in the old days, whistling was a sign used by burglars and other criminals to communicate with each other.
So whistling was associated with intruders, thieves, and other villains, and if you whistled you would attract their unwanted attention.
The most obvious explanation is that whistling at night disturbs others in the house and maybe even the neighbors, so it was a story to teach good manners to children.
Don’t sleep facing North
At Japanese funerals the bodies are positioned so their head is facing North.
As a result of this Japanese people pay great attention when setting up their beds or placing their futons, making sure their head isn’t facing North.
It’s believed if you sleep with your head facing North bad luck will come your way, your health might suffer and even early death.
If you are worried get your compass out and check which direction your head is facing and make the appropriate changes. Your head facing East or South is believed to bring you good luck.
I will now wait for you to go away and check before I start the next superstition.
The first dream of the New Year tells your future
Tradition says your first dream of the New Year will foretell your year ahead.
The luckiest things to see in your dream are Mt. Fuji, a falcon, and eggplant, I would agree they seem an odd bunch, and it is even suggested that these three are lucky just because they were favorites of The Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu.
They are very symbolic, Mt. Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan, represents stability.
The falcon represents reaching great heights and achievement.
The eggplant is the first produce of the year, which makes it lucky and the Japanese word for eggplant “Nasu” sounds the same as the word for “becoming” or “accomplished”.
If you dream of any of these in the coming New Year, you will have an auspicious year.
Find out more about a Traditional Japanese New Year – https://japanesetales.com/experience-a-fascinating-traditional-japanese-new-year/
A Spider in the morning/night lucky?
If you encounter a spider in the morning in your house, it is regarded as lucky, it is said that a visitor will call on you, or someone you have been thinking about/missing will visit you that day.
Unfortunately for you and the spider, if you see a spider at night this is considered as bad luck, an unwanted visitor will come such as a thief/burglar.
The spider should be killed to stop the bad luck.
Haunted Laundry
This does sound intriguing, how can clothes be haunted?
You should never dry your laundry outside at night, this is because it is believed that spirits are active and roam around at night, these spirits can attach to, and even said can possess the clothes.
This is a very unique superstition, it came about because clothes were expensive, so well looked after and cared for.
Traditional clothes such as kimono, Yukata, Obi (belt), Jinbei would have been passed down in families from mother to daughter, father to son.
It was believed that the spirits of the dead could remain in the clothes they wore, so before wearing them, the family would air the inherited clothes for a good length of time to cleanse them of any spirits.
So if you left clothes out to dry at night, they would be like a candle to a flame and attract roaming spirits.
A more practical reason why you shouldn’t dry your clothes at night, is that the clothes dry more slowly, so could cause mildew, and the clothes could be damaged by insects such as moths. I think the haunted laundry explanation is definitely more interesting
Superstitions from Japanese Funerals
- When you are in a restaurant or at home using chopsticks, you should never pass food from one pair of chopsticks to another.
This is because as part of the Japanese funeral ceremony, parts of the cremated deceased individual are passed from one person to the other with a special set of chopsticks.
It would be a moment stopping the situation with gasps of horror from people around you if you did this. Only bad luck can come your way.
- When returning from a funeral, before entering your home, you should throw salt over your shoulders and back, this is to purify you and to make sure no spirits are hitchhiking on you and enter your house with you.
- You should never write a person’s name in red ink as it can invite death. Japanese tombstones are marked with names written in black or red ink. Deceased family members are written in black, those who are still alive are written in red. Since it is associated with the grave, it is considered inappropriate and unlucky to write someone’s name in red.
- Food and drink as offerings to the deceased person are placed on the house shrine/altar. A bowl of rice is a common offering with the chopsticks placed upright in the rice. Since this is only done with offerings to the dead, you should never stick your chopsticks upright in your rice, no good can come from it.
Japanese money superstitions
- When you are taking a stroll in the countryside and you find a snakeskin, the skin which has been cast off by a snake. You should put it in your wallet. It is symbolic, that the snake sheds its skin because it is growing, so the skin in your wallet will make your money/fortune grow.
- Putting banknotes in your wallet upside down, so the superstition goes means your money will stay in your wallet.
- A yellow wallet is the luckiest kind; yellow is supposed to be the color of happiness. So a yellow wallet will attract money.
- If you are thinking about buying a new wallet, you should buy it in the Spring. In Japanese Spring is “Haru”, but Haru also means ‘to fill” or “to swell”. If you buy your wallet in the Spring your wallet will be full of money and continue to grow.
Don’t step on the border of a tatami mat
Tatami mats are traditional mats made of woven straw used in traditional Japanese homes, also modern homes might have tatami mats in some rooms,
You shouldn’t step on the cloth borders of the tatami mat, as it brings bad luck. Some tatami mats have family emblems engraved on them, so stepping on the border is said to be “stepping on your parent’s head” so you are disrespecting your parents/ancestors.
It is also considered unlucky since the border area isn’t part of any defined place, so maybe spirits and other entities dwell there.
Hide your bellybutton
Japanese parents tell their children to cover their stomachs during a storm.
It’s believed that Raijin, the god of thunder, lightning, and storms, would eat the bellybuttons (even entire abdomens) of children.
The god Raijin is often seen with his companion Raijuu. Raijuu is said to curl up inside human bellybuttons while he sleeps.
When Raijin wants to wake Raijuu, he strikes him with lightning, covering your stomach is a way to prevent Raijuu from sleeping in your bellybutton, so avoiding being struck by lightning.
It’s thought parents tell their children this, so they won’t expose their stomachs and catch a cold.
A stem in your tea is lucky
Tea is such an important part of so many cultures, so it’s no surprise that there are superstitions regarding tea.
Japan is no exception, in Japan it is especially lucky for a tea stalk floating upright in a cup of tea, this is called “Chabashira” which translates to “tea pillar”.
This is symbolic, a pillar supports a building, the tea pillar represents your house and family, so your family will be strong and stable.
If you find a floating stem in your tea, it’s said it’s better not to bring it to the attention of the people with you, to ensure the good fortune to your family.
This Superstition is supposed to come from tea merchants, who were having trouble selling their lower grade tea, which had stalks mixed in with the leaves. The tea merchants came up with an idea to turn the weak point of their lower grade tea to a strength, they came up with the saying “a standing stem in your tea is good luck”
This marketing campaign was a great success, as this superstition still survives today.
Unlucky dates and numbers
A well-known superstition is that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day, but in Japan, people have unlucky years. It’s believed at certain ages in their life, people will experience their unluckiest years.
The unlucky years are called “Yakudoshi”
For women the unlucky years are: 19, 33 and 37.
For men 25,42 and 61
You might think this is bad, but things get worse.
The year before (maeyaku) and after (atoyaku) the main unlucky years are also considered unlucky.
To prevent these three years of misfortune, those entering their unlucky years will get purified at a temple or shrine.
There are also some unlucky numbers in Japan. The number four is considered to be unlucky because the word for four is “shi” this closely resembles the word for death.
The number four is considered so unlucky that some buildings won’t recognize their 4th floor and skip it – 1st 2nd 3rd 5th. I have also heard that a business on the 4th floor might get a discount on their rent because companies are reluctant to be based on the 4th floor.
Also, the number nine “Ku” sounds similar to the word for pain and suffering.
I have enjoyed looking into the superstitions of Japan. Japan is a modern, forward-looking country, but superstitions still play a part in people’s lives and is a connection with the past.
If you have found this article interesting, check out our article on Japanese Urban Legends – https://japanesetales.com/the-scariest-japanese-urban-legends/
