Ladders, mirrors, umbrellas and pennies: America has some interesting (and sometimes confounding) superstitions. However, in recent discussions with my third year students it's become clear that Japan is host to equally, if not more, strange beliefs. Here are several that I thought worth sharing:
- Don't kill spiders in the morning. Morning spiders are considered good luck, and if you kill them, you are essentially squashing your luck for the day.
- Don't sleep with your head facing north. Only the dead are positioned northward. I have had teachers check to make sure that my bed in the apartment is facing the right way.
- Whistling at night attracts snakes.
- Sticking your chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice signifies death.
- If you find shed snake skin and put it in your wallet, money will come to you.
- The numbers 4 and 9 are unlucky; 4 can be pronounced the same way as the word "death" in Japanese, and 9 means "pain."
- On a related note, there are also particular ages that are considered terribly unlucky, called yakudoshi.
- If you lose your teeth, there are a couple of rituals to follow: top teeth should be thrown up in the air; bottom teeth should be buried.
- When making a donation at the local shrine, you should give 25 yen. The 2 means "double," and the 5 (go yen, or goen) means "relationship" [with god]. Never give 10 yen, or toen, as toen means "far" [from god].
- Black cats are good luck.
- If you cut your nails at night, you won't be with your parents when they die.
- When you hear thunder, cover your navel, or you'll have bad luck.
- If you play with fire, you'll wet the bed at night.
My favorite is: if you lie down right after eating, you will turn into a cow. Moooo.
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