What's so scary about the hour of the ox? (About Ushi no Koku Mairi) | Japan Station 175/Ichimon Japan 21

This was originally broadcast as episode 21 of Ichimon Japan.

On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What's so scary about the hour of the ox?

Topics Discussed

• All about Japan's old way of telling time that was based on the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac (eto)
• Which "animals" in the old Chinese Zodiac based way of telling time correspond to which hours in the modern way of telling time
• Why the "hour of the ox" (ushi no koku) was thought to have associations with demons and inauspicious things
• What a "demon gate" (kimon) is
• In which direction you would find a kimon (demon gate)
• What ushimitsudoki is and what time it corresponds to
• The punctual nature of demons
• What ushi no koku mairi is
• How people performing ushi no koku mairi are typically depicted today
• The historical origins of ushi no koku mairi
• The story of Uji no Hashihime
• The various tools involved when placing a curse on someone ushi no koku mairi style
• The potentially deadly consequences of catching someone in the act of performing ushi no koku mairi
• Websites/companies that offer to places curses on your behalf
• Whether performing ushi no koku mairi or cursing someone is illegal in Japan
• Two actual cases of people threatening others using straw dolls (wara ningō)
• Why you could get arrested if you were to perform a full ushi no koku mairi ceremony
• How you can purchase ushi no koku mairi kits from online retailers like Amazon Japan
• One man's attempt to curse the coronavirus ushi no koku mairi style
• And more!

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Sources, Links, Videos, Etc.

There are various ways of referring to the old way of telling time used in Japan that was based on the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. The two most common terms are kojikoku (古時刻) and jūnijishin (十二時辰). Much of the information this episode was based on was gathered from the Japanese-language sources below.

• Jūnijishin (十二時辰)
  • This is the Japanese-language Wikipedia entry.
• 昔の時間の古時刻・十二時辰とは？初刻や正刻の鐘の意味は
  • This is an in-depth article focusing on the old system used in Japan for telling time.

Although it is not as thorough as the Japanese language articles above, the Japan Times article below does give some general information on the old Chinese Zodiac based system