The 1st year students at my visit school had to write about Japanese superstitions for their final assignment. Here are some of the most interesting papers, and some of the not-very-good papers. Grammar and spelling errors have been retained except where the automatic spell-check corrected me.
A fool doesn’t catch a cold
It means both good and bad luck from a diffrent point of view. Good luck is “doesn’t catch a cold.” Bad luck is “A FOOL.” So A FOOL is lucky, who doesn’t catch a cold. And DOESN’T CATCH A COLD is unlucky, who is A FOOL. “ I’m in panic!! But the superstition is never true. Because everyone have been caught a cold. So it is used when everyone makes fun of each other. I think it is used all over Japan and its funny superstition!
Cats draw rain
I think that many Japanese know this superstition. “If cats wash their faces, there will be rain.” For what reason? The persistence of dry weather causes a low humidity. And it dries cats’ eyes and nose. So they wash their faces to moisten those. In brief, a rainy day will come when fine weather go on for days on end.
I don’t believe this superstition. Because we can know the weather outlook for tomorrow and next week by weather forecast. I think that many old people believe this superstition. They had the way to know the weather report for tomorrow by signs of nature. It is awesome! We should imitate their lives. Then we can live a flexible life.
hiccup
Getting hiccups 100 times, it means death. It is believed by many Japanese. Probably, anyone couldn’t get rid of one’s hiccups and was fear of it. So, this superstition maybe made up. When I was young, I believed it. But I don’t believe now. Because I understand that hiccups don’t damage for us!
Before going out, you must NOT cut your NAILS
To be honest,.. I’ve heard this from my mother TODAY and it was my FIRST TIME to hear this superstition. I’m worried about this thing. Since I know this one, ‘Don’t Cut your Nails at Night’; It’s because in the old times, there was no bright light at night and people cut their finger in accident. For another reason, there wasn’t high-developed medical technologies. I heard some of them were killed just because they got by failing cutting their nails!! — So many confused with this, or maybe not…
Anyway, there ARE reasons for this. When you going out, you’re really hurring and maybe excited. So, it will be dangerous to do so much a tiny delicate thing at time like that, it’s said.
Now, ending this report, I have another worry. Can you say this’s superstition?
Nails and socks
When I cut my nails, my parents often say, “You had better not cut your nails at night.” I wonder why I had better not do so, then I asked them. Tney answered, “It is said that cutting nails at night prevents us from seeing our parents on their deathbed.” Later I searched about this story. I found another story like this. It says, “If you sleep with your socks on, you cannot see your parents on their deathbed.” I had known the former, but I didn’t know the latter. Though I searched more, I couldn’t find clear ground of them.
A tea stem float upright
In Japan, they have said what a tea stem float upright means auspicious for long time. I research why such superstition exist.
First, because it doesn’t happen very often, it’s rare and happy. NExt, old people thought pillars are auspicious because they are important to support house and their figures towering into the sky are felt rigor. For that reason, tea stems are felt lucky too.
By the way, they say the thing originates from Suruga. Suruga is Shizuoka in our time. Suruga’s merchants selling tea leaves trouble not to sell a lot of tea leaves gathered second. That tea leaves have not only leaf but also stem. So they spread the superstition. That is why they are sold well.
Then, how should we do, if we find it in our tea? There are various opinions. For example, drinking it before others notice it, talking others the thing to share the good luck and so on.
It doesn’t have grounds, but I’m believeing because I become happy when find it.
colors
In Japan, it is said that yellow things catch money more. Because yellow collor is near the color of golds. For example, a yellow wallet is very good. But I don’t believe this superstition. Because I don’t think that yellow is gold.
The thunder
If it is thundering, you must hide your navel. If you don’t do it, you will have horrible experience. It is that an ogre steal your navel. I think many people were worried about children’s health. So many children have a stomachache in bad weather day.
Animism
Although foreign people believe tha God is one. Example Yahweh, Allah. But Japanese people believe that many things around us is god.
This difference is taken place by religion. Today, I will write Japanese god. Japanese people beliebe that there is a god in sushi called inari. That god is fox. The reason lies in color. Inari’s color is the same fox.
If we eat inari, fox keep us being helthy. Therefore we have believed it for a long time. It is called “Animism” in Japan. Thankyou.
Black number
Black number is a black number plate. If we see it there, it happen good thing. bUt a green plate, such as a taxi mustn’t see it between that. If you see green plate, you should do gain from the beginning. This is very difficult.