Photo/Illutration An “ema” wooden votive tablet for the upcoming Year of the Horse is displayed at Shoinjinja shrine in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward on Dec. 26. (Kantaro Katashima)

Under the Chinese zodiac, 2026 will be the year of “Hinoe-uma” (Fire Horse), which, according to a scientifically baseless superstition, is bad news for newborn females.

Hinoe-uma years come around every 60 years based on the combinations of the 12 animal signs and 10 heavenly stems.

The low birthrate in the previous Hinoe-uma year, 1966, showed that the discriminatory superstition has persisted over centuries.

According to “A scientific study of the Hinoe-uma superstition,” a publication based on a 1935 lecture by scholar Hansei Kobayashi, women born in Fire Horse years are “strong-willed, surpassing men, devour seven husbands, bring ruin to their families, and cannot peacefully fulfill their duties as women.”

Other unscientific and misogynistic beliefs about Hinoe-uma women included having “a strong libido, like a vigorous horse.”

It is believed that these ideas culminated into the notion that women born in a Hinoe-uma year have fiery tempers and shorten their husbands’ lives.

The origin of the superstition dates back to the Edo Period (1603-1867), with a description appearing in a 1662 poetry collection.

Later, the superstition was featured in “senryu” poems and “joruri” puppet theater, spreading the belief among the common people.

Despite criticism that the Hinoe-uma superstition was “baseless and irrational,” it remained deeply rooted.

The superstition’s impact was most evident during the Hinoe-uma year of the Showa Period (1926-1989).

In 1966, the number of births in Japan was about 1.36 million, a decrease of 460,000, or more than 25 percent, from the previous year’s 1.82 million.

In 1967, the number recovered to about 1.93 million.

Related News