The usual kanji for horse is 馬, so does this mean there are two ways of writing “horse”?
Kind of! Japan uses the Chinese Zodiac system in which each year is assigned one of 12 animals. When referring to these animals in the context of the Chinese Zodiac (and not as just regular animals), a different kanji is used.
If you’re talking about a regular, ordinary, horse the kanji is 馬.
On the other hand, if you’re talking about the Year of the Horse, the kanji is ε.
Japanese language learners will recognise this ε as the kanji for “noon”, and there seems to be something of a connection between “noon” and the Horse in the Chinese zodiac. According to Chinese astrology the Horse sign is associated with the direction of “north” (12 is in this position on a clock face), and with the hours 11am – 1pm.
Calligraphy by Vicky 