初夢：Hatsu-yume (The first dream of the year)

Fortunetelling through dreams has been widely practiced around the world for more than 5,000 years. In Japan, the New Year season is regarded as having special importance, as reflected in the belief that “a good year begins with a good New Year day.” It has long been held that the first dream (hatsu-yume) in January reveals one’s fortune for the coming year. In the past, it was customary to sleep with a paper charm beneath one’s pillow on hatsu-yume night. This charm was believed to bring good dreams, and was decorated with the Seven Lucky Deities and a boat full of treasures. According to a famous saying about hatsu-yume,“Mt. Fuji first, a hawk second, an eggplant third.” There are some explanations to this. The tall mountain and high-flying bird are images of good luck, while the word “Fuji” also sounds like buji, meaning “no problems” in Japanese. There three images were cherished by Ieyasu Tokugawa, the warrior who united the Japanese archipelago and founded the Edo Shogunate.