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yakudoshi
What is a Yakudoshi Year?
posted by John Spacey, October 11, 2015
Yakudoshi is a Japanese superstition or religious belief that states that certain years in a life are unlucky. It is common for shrines in Japan to post the birth years that are unlucky each year. Belief in Yakudoshi is widespread in Japan. People who face an unlucky year buy extra lucky charms that year and are generally on their best behavior to hope to get through the period without a major tragedy. The Yakudoshi years for men are 25, 42 and 61 for women they are 19, 33 and 37. The bad luck year is counted by the year you were born and runs for a calendar year as opposed to starting on your birthday. It is also said that the years before and after your Yakudoshi are also somewhat unlucky. In the year before a Yakudoshi, it is believed that you will see an omen of some kind.The basis for Yakudoshi is Japanese cosmology. In the historical record, it's clear that the unlucky ages have changed a great deal with different numbers by region and period. Some of the older traditions have up to 10 bad luck years that go all the way up to the age 105.The reason for strong belief in Yakudoshi may be rooted in its choice of numbers. Particularly for men, the ages 25, 42 and 61 can represent the transition into adulthood, middle age and old age. These might be difficult years that feel like bad luck.The numbers for women make less sense. Considering that the year before and after a Yakudoshi are also cursed, all of the years from 32 to 38 are unlucky except age 35 for women.
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