We take it for granted nowadays that so much in our lives is standardized. Most places in the world recognize the Gregorian calendar, the metric system, etc., which makes it a lot easier to live our lives. But it wasn’t always that way; back in the days before the internet, TV, or even radio, things were very different all over the world.
We wrote a bit about this a few months ago with Japan’s traditional six day rokuyou calendar, but it turns out that isn’t all there is. The Japanese also had a twelve hour time system based on the Chinese zodiac.
The Basics of the Zodiac Clock
The fact that the traditional Japanese clock They’re known as wadokei (和時計) was based on the Chinese zodiac is probably the least surprising thing about it. We’ve written before about how the Chinese zodiac is so influential in Japan that it caused people to stop makin’ babies (at least for a year).
The clock is divided into two parts: one for daytime and one for nighttime. Each “hour” is associated with an animal from the zodiac. The daytime hours start at sunrise, with noon at the hour of the horse.
| Zodiac Sign | Zodiac Symbol | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Rabbit | 卯 | 6 |
| Dragon | 辰 | 5 |
| Snake | 巳 | 4 |
| Horse | 午 | 9 |
| Ram | 未 | 8 |
| Monkey | 申 | 7 |
Notice anything weird? Instead of just counting down from six to one, the clock only goes from six to nine. What’s the big deal? One through three weren’t used in wadokei because they had special religious significance to Buddhists.
The night clock goes pretty much the same way as the day clock, but with different zodiac animals. It begins at sundown, with midnight at the hour of the rat.
| Zodiac Sign | Zodiac Symbol | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Rooster | 酉 | 6 |
| Dog | 戌 | 5 |
| Boar | 亥 | 4 |
| Rat | 子 | 9 |
| Ox | 丑 | 8 |
| Tiger | 寅 | 7 |
Problems started cropping up when wester-style mechanical clocks were introduced in Japan. Since the hours of the zodiac clock are based on daylight, the hours aren’t the same length and change throughout the year.
The Japanese had some ways to compensate for this, but none were especially elegant. Most of the time, they just adjusted or replaced the face of the clock every couple of weeks. It was clunky, to say the least.
Over time, the zodiac clock fell out of favor for the now-standard 24-hour clock in 1873, when the Japanese government adopted the western style of timekeeping.
Do the Japanese miss this clock today? Do they yearn for the hour of the tiger? Doubtful, seeing as it’s just one of many measurement systems abandoned and forgotten by the Japanese. It still is cool to think about though, because it just goes to show how far we have come.
Read more: Telling the Time in 17th-19th Century Japan, Wikipedia
Thanks to Aaron for emailing this in!
Header photo by Arjan Richter