Hinoe Uma - The Year of the Fire Horse
“Fires and quarrels are the flowers of Edo”
In Japanese astrology, 2026 is designated as the Year of the Fire Horse. Rooted in ancient the Chinese system, Japanese astrology known as Eto, involves a 12-year animal cycle, where each year is linked to an animal; Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. The characteristics and fate of these animals are read with ten calendar signs or Jikkan and five elements; Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water, to form a 60-year or sexagenary cycle for deeper insights and predictions.
Folklore has it that “a woman born in the year of the fire horse has a strong temperament and shortens her husband’s life“ originating from a superstition regarding an arson-related tragedy involving a 16-year-old girl, that played out against the backdrop of 17th century Edo.
During the Edo Period (1603 – 1868) Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional feudal lords called daimyo. The capital was Edo, today Tokyo.
The city gradually formed around the Edo Castle, originally a 11th-century fortified residence, which was expanded over centuries. From1603 Daimyo Tokugawa Ieyasu and his successors applied urban planning and expanded Edo into a metropolis. The samurai and daimyo classes lived in the vicinity of the castle while the chonin or commoners occupied the Shitamachi or lower town, closer to the bay. Chonin lived in modest wooden housing called nagaya, with a high population density, while affluent shopkeepers or ooya resided in larger, two-story buildings, where the first floor was used for business and the second floor for their living quarters. Buildings were constructed from flammable materials, such as wood, with wood latticed walls covered with paper and material and thatched roofs. It was said that during the Edo Period, “Fires and quarrels are the flowers of Edo” as no less than 49 major fires broke out in the city.
A great catastrophe burnt into the history of Edo was the Great Fire of Meireki, which broke out on 2 March 1657. Legend has it that the fire was accidently started by a priest who was cremating an allegedly cursed furisode kimono that had been owned in succession by three teenage girls who all died before having the chance to wear it. While he was burning the garment, a sudden gust of wind changed direction and flamed a fire towards the Edo Castle, engulfing the homes of the shogun’s closest retainers in Kōjimachi. Edo Castle’s main keep, most of the outer buildings and all of the retainers’ and servants’ homes were destroyed. The wrath of Kagutsuchi, the Japanese fire god, raged for three days and destroyed about 60 – 70 percent of Edo and more than 100 000 people lost their lives.
Although this great fire was accidental, or an act of a god, arson was rife in Edo. Vengeance by servants on masters was one reason for arson, as well as competitors set on destroying rivals’ businesses. Carpenters and related artisans of course benefitted from urban fires, but the most common motivation for arson was looting. This led to the shogunate establishing a special arson/ looting investigation division, called hitsuke tōzoku aratame-kata. Rewards for turning in arsonists were offered. Even arsonists themselves who turned on accomplishes could get amnesty. The hitsuke tōzoku aratame-kata were known for torturing suspected perpetrators to secure convictions. Kujikata Osadamegaki, the penal code of the Edo Period, stipulated the penalty for arson was to be burnt alive. And this was the tragic fate of 16-year-old Oshichi, born in 1666, the Year of the Fire Horse, who fell in love with a temple page.