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Year of the Rat 2008 - Page 1 The Chinese Zodiac contains twelve animals that sequentially represent an individual calendar year. The rat (鼡) is the first sign of the Chinese Zodiac and takes its turn for 2008. Japan has strong connections with the Chinese Zodiac, and before the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese New Year was celebrated in accordance with the Chinese New Year (The 7th of February 2008 for this year). These days, the New Year is officially celebrated using the Gregorian calendar (The 1st of January). Being in Japan for the end of 2007, I've milked every opportunity I could get to visit regional sites of interest that would be displaying rat themes. Here are a sample of the wonderful treats I spotted.
On the 29th and 30th of December 2007, I visited Nara City and Namba in the heart of Osaka. The above plate is big enough for a slice of toast but I'll be keeping it as an ornament. It was the only rat plate I saw during my search and I'm lucky it was very reasonably priced as well. The wooden sheet below is from a temple. The side we see is beautifully decorated with an adult and kitten surrounded by new year and temple print. The adult rat is holding a twig with a piece of paper wrapped around it like a ribbon. The paper ribbon typically has a bad luck message written on it and is wrapped around a twig. The other side of this wooden sheet is blank and people write their own thoughts on it. The sheet will be displayed in a temple for the duration of 2008 and ceremoniously burned at the end of the year. This image also shows a postcard, rat stickers, and rat paperweights.
The pictures below are rat themed cakes. They are filled with a sweet potato or sweet bean paste and go well with a nice cup of tea. I bought the golden brown cake as I prefer sweet potato.
Here are a few more tea treats that were sold specifically for the Year of the Rat 2008.
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On Christmas Eve 2007, I spent the
day in Kyoto City with a buddy visiting from the UK. The trip doubled as a great
opportunity to lookout for Year of the Rat - 2008 novelty goods.
The following were a range of low cost hand made items. The largest rat is
a standard looking creation that is ubiquitous with Japanese New Year designs.
The remainder all display more unique elements from the crafters that made
them. This was a once every 12 years opportunity so I made sure I had a
thorough search. Kyoto has a flourishing craft industry and I could have
brought home armfuls of wonderful rattery. The image on the left shows a
miniature chinaware rat sitting on the tip of my forefinger. It's
absolutely tiny but care was taken to ensure the paint strokes remained
well detailed and proportional.
