How to Enjoy the Starry Heavens 　 A New Aspect of the Four Symbols, Twelve Zodiacal Constellations, and Twenty-eight Mansions ・ Matsudo Jinja 　( Japanese only )・・・・・・・ Four Symbols (4jin)　 Calendar

The observation of stars originated in Mesopotamia and later spread to the Greek and Roman civilizations. In the meantime, the familiar present-day constellations were developed.

The apparent path which the sun traces across the heavens through the fixed stars on a yearly cycle is called the ecliptic or the zodiac. 　　　Among the fixed stars, most planets move mostly along the ecliptic. Hence, the constellations of stars that lie along the ecliptic have been considered to be important. 　　　They are the twelve constellations utilized in Western astrology, Virgo, Libra, Scorpion, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces (near Pegasus), Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Crab (near Hydra, Crater, and Corvus), and Leo (near Hydra, Crater, and Corvus). Israeli Postage Stamps　1961 Twelve Zodiacal Constellations Japanese Click here for Postages Stamps of the Republic of Malidives 1974 const

On the other hand, the constellation system developed independently in China has a long history dating back to three thousands years ago. 　　　It is well known that, in the Western system, the polar star (Polaris) is the tail-end of the Little Bear and is found using the Great Bear (the Big Dipper) as a guide; if one draws a line through the two stars located at the out side of the Dipper’ bowl and extend that line about five times, you will find Polaris. 　　　The ancient Chinese regarded Polaris as the Lord of Heaven, the neighboring stars as the castle wall of the palace and named it the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, or “Shibien”. 　　　The four groups of constellations surrounding Shibien were assigned Four Symbols (Shijin, “Four Gods “) that guard the Lord of Heaven, the Azure Dragon (Seiryu) on the east, the White Tiger (Byakko) on the west, the Black Tortoise (Genbu) on the north, and the Vermilion Bird (Suzaku) on the south.

The astronomical observatory in South Korean, 1200 years ago South Korean postage stamp　1948 The Four Symbols designed on the basis of the "Shijin of the Matsudo Shrine."

Each of the four cardinal points occupied by the Four Symbols contains seven constellations.This makes the groups of stars called the Twenty-eight Mansions 　　　To estimate the position of the young moon, these stars were originally used as the regional marks to divide the celestial sphere into twenty eight regions, each of which is occupied by the moon as it moves each day. 　　　The Twenty-eight Mansions mostly lie along the ecliptic and thus overlap with the twelve western constellations. Both in the East and the West, people have used the movement of stars on the ecliptic to tell the cycles of the season and life (previous, this, and after lives).

4jin

The constellations changing seasonally have been used for fortune-telling in both the East and the West, especially in China, where people believed that the Lord of Heaven reigned over the universe and sent various astronomical phenomena as messages to the Emperor who reigned on the earth under the order of the Lord. 　　　Therefore, the Emperor was to read the messages from the Lord correctly and govern the country well based on them. 　　　Thus, the reading of messages was regarded as an important work in successive dynasties. Astronomical officers always monitored the sky, recorded every phenomenon to read fortunes, and reported them to the Emperor. 　　　Since the results of fortune-telling were immediately reflected in politics, the duty of astronomical officers was very important.

Ancient western people regarded the huge S-shaped constellation that twinkles in the south of the sky in summer the “Scorpion” which killed “Orion” in Greek myths. 　　　Ancient Chinese also took notice of a summer big constellation and a big bright star, called “Antares”. 　　　They named the four stars at the head of the Scorpion “the Room”, the three stars (Antares and its right and left stars) in the heart of the Scorpion “the Heart”, and the nine stars at its tail “the Tail”. They observed these constellations as follows. Postage stamp of the Republic of Mldives 1974 房　The Chamber 　　　 　　　When the four stars of the Chamber are bright, a ruler of virtue will appear and politics will be corrected. 　　　When the fleet stars are bright and big, people will be modest. The fleet stars are to the right and to the left of the Chamber. 心　The Heart 　　　The middle star in the Heart represents the son of heaven. When it is bright, the country will become prosperous. 　　　The star in front represents the dauphin. When this star is dark, the dauphin will not be able to succeed to the throne. 　　　The star at the back represents an illegitimate prince. When this star is bright, it is the sign that the prince will succeed. 尾　The Tail 　　　 　　　When the nine stars of the Tail are all bright, the country will become wealthy. 　　　When they move, worrisome matters and a disastrous flood will occur in the country. 　　　In 35-45° north latitude (to the North of the Kanto Region), the polar star and the Septentrions twinkle at the vertex throughout the year. On the other hand, the northern constellations do not appear at night during off-season, because they rotate in the daytime. 　　　This constellation map shows the view of the sky around 8 p.m. in mid-August. In the map, the polar star is located at the center. After sunset, Hydra (the Stretched Net, the Heart, and the Chamber) and Leo appear near the horizon. Constellations appear in the east of the sky, rise up to around the polar star, rotating clockwise, and disappear at dawn. 　　　They move counterclockwise through the year. The scorpion (the Tail, the Heart, and the Chamber) appears in the southern part of the sky in summer near the horizon. In winter, Orion twinkles as a typical constellation. The following maps show the views of the sky around 8 p.m. in four seasons. The stars shown lower in the figure are those seen in the southern part of the sky. 　　　　　　　　　　Constellations in spring, summer, autumn, and winter

Reference :TV Tokyo program,"Shijin(4 Gods or 4 Symbols) Tradition" (Matsudo Jinja), broadcasted on Nov.23, 1990

The idea of the Four Symbols later affected the foundation of the capital on earth. 　　　A stream on the east was regarded as the Azure Dragon, a highway on the west as the White Tiger, a sunken place on the south as the Vermilion Bird, and a hill on the north as the Black Tortoise. Changan, the capital of Tang, was the place suitable to that of the Four Symbols. 　　　Since the Emperor lived in the north, the entrance to the capital was built on the south and was named Suzaku-mon (the Gate of the Vermilion Bird). This system of design was introduced into Japan via Korea. The Fujiwara-kyou (Japan, capital of Fujiwara) was founded for the first time in Japan. The Heian-kyo (Japan, capital of Heian), designed in the Chinese style, was the first place thoroughly appropriate to the Four Symbols. 　　　Also, the colors of the tassels hanging down from the four corners of the canopy of the sumo ring represent the Four Symbols.

HP published in　Ｎｏｖｅｍｂｅｒ　2006 Ｍａｉｌ　28@4jinsha.com

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Jin Sugai　　Four Symbols