The influence of the theories of Yin-Yang and the five elements on Japanese culture

Abstract

Perhaps no more than one percent of Japanese today have heard of Onmyodo or the Way of Yin and Yang. This in spite of the fact that it influenced Japanese culture and the people's way of thought as strongly as Buddhism, Shintoism, and Confucianism did. It is a system of belief based on the ancient Chinese theories of Yin and Yang and of the five elements and the magical practices that developed after it was introduced into Japan.

Its traces are still found in the life of- today's Japanese. A good illustration of these is Jikkan Junishi (the ten celestial stems and twelve branches), which comprise one of the most important aspects of Onmyödó.(1) In the last days of the year and at the beginning of the New Year, the Chinese zodiacal designs for the New Year flood the daily lives of Japanese in the form of New Year's cards, calendars and ornaments for good luck. Thereby, the Japanese become ready to greet the New Year and to bid farewell to the Old year. In the minds of modern Japanese, the New Year and the Chinese zodiacal symbols are closely associated.