辰年 – 2024: The Year of the Dragon
It’s 2024 and the Year of the Dragon! The time has come for the Rabbit of 2023 to pass the baton on to our serpent, mystical friend. That’s right, twelve years have passed since the last Year of the Dragon, and the impending apocalypse of 2012 is now a distant memory. Fast forward to the present, the Dragon has returned to guide us through the year.
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The Dragon and the Chinese Zodiac
The Chinese Zodiac features 12 animals which take center stage every year in China, Japan and other countries around the world. This 12-year cycle includes the Mouse, Cow, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Chicken, Dog, and Boar. In Japanese, people refer to it as 十二支 (Jūnishi) or 干支 (Eto).
辰年 – The Year of the Dragon in Japanese
The Chinese Zodiac represents the dragon with the character 辰, pronounced as たつ (tatsu). In Japanese, this symbol and it’s pronunciation doubles as one way to describe a dragon, though the more common term is ryuu. Typically, the character for dragon is 龍 or 竜. However, in Japanese, you specifically write the year of the dragon as 辰年 (tatsu-doshi).
年 – Year in Compound Words like 辰年
When you say it independently, the Japanese word for year is toshi. However, in compound words, the ‘t’ sound transforms into ‘d’ due to a phenomenon known as 連濁 (rendaku). Rendaku is the process where unvoiced consonants transition into their voiced counterparts. In this instance, ‘d’ serves as the voiced version of ‘t’. So, if you encounter a word in a compound where ‘s’ becomes ‘z,’ ‘k’ becomes ‘g,’ and so forth while learning Japanese, understand that rendaku is at play.
The Origins of the Character 辰 and Year of the Dragon
You maybe wondering why there are so many Kanji characters for Dragon. Well, specifically the character 辰, also pronounced shin in Onyomi did not originally mean dragon. The Chinese lunar calendar employed this character, representing a particular time of day, year, and direction within the given context. For mnemonic purposes, they added animals or mythical creatures to this system, enhancing their memorability. If you are curious the corresponding times and directions are below:
- Direction: Eastern Southeast, or 30 degrees from east to south.
- Time of Day: The two hour time period starting around 8:00 a.m.
- Time of Year: The third month of the Lunar Calendar
Different Ways to say Dragon in Japanese
Japanese has three distinct words for dragon. These terms essentially convey the same meaning but find application in varying contexts.
竜・龍 – Ryu The first and most prevalent term is ryu, and you can depict it in Kanji as 竜 or 龍. The pronunciation here is the Onyomi reading of the character 龍. Onyomi being the sound for the character itself, originating from some form of some old Chinese dialect pronounced with a Japanese accent.
竜・龍 – Tatsu Next in line is tatsu, using the same Kanji characters as ryu. However, this word follows the kunyomi reading of the Kanji and stands as the original Japanese term for dragon. The Kunyomi is the original Japanese word in ancient Japan.
ドラゴン – Doragon Last but not least, we have doragon, a term directly borrowed from the English dragon. While not commonly used in everyday conversation, this term takes the spotlight in titles, brand names, team names, and more. Case in point: the Japanese game Dragon Quest is ドラゴン・クエスト in Japanese.
Beyond the Year of the Dragon
The Chinese Zodiac, Year of the Dragon and the dragon itself, which long ago entered Japan from China holds significance in Japanese culture. You can find them in Japan in prominent places in mythology, folklore, and contemporary society. Dragons are revered as mythical deities, and found in shrines across Japan. Dragons also make their presence felt in popular culture, with appearances in anime, games, and as symbols in various names.
The multifaceted cultural legacy of dragons in Japan are an interesting topic. If you would like to know more about them check it out in the next article below.
竜・龍 Dragon in Japan
