Word of the Month - January 2015

January: 初夢 (Hatsuyume),

This month's word is Hatsuyume - a dream that happens on the night of New Year's Day to the morning of the 2nd. If your Hatsuyume is lucky, 2015 will be a good year for you. Good dreams are determined by the following signs (in this order!): "Mt. Fuji, hawks, and eggplants."

Although more of an older tradition, it was customary to place pictures under one's pillow to encourage good Hatsuyume. An example would be a picture of a baku-an - imaginary animal that ate bad dreams.