2026 – Calligraphy by Vicky

午 = “Horse”???? 🐎

A 1-character Japanese calligraphy work of the kanji for the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Horse.

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), aContinueContinue reading “午 = “Horse”???? 🐎”

あけおめ (a-ké-o-mé) “Happy New Year”

"Happy New Year" written in Japanese hiragana characters.

To wish someone “Happy New Year” in Japanese, say: あけましておめでとうございます！ (a-ké-ma-shi-té o-mé-dé-tō go-zai-masu) Or, more casually, take the first 2 syllables from each word and say: あけおめ！ (a-ké o-mé)