Hatsuyume (The First Dream of the New Year)

What Is Hatsuyume Day?

January 2 is "Hatsuyume" Day -- named after the custom of treating the dream you have on the night of January 2 into the morning of January 3 as the year's "first dream" (some people count the night of January 1 instead). The custom of reading one's fortune for the year from this dream is an old one, and many people once slept with a picture of a "takarabune" -- a treasure ship carrying the Seven Lucky Gods -- under their pillow in hopes of a good dream. It is a charming traditional day for wishing for a bright year ahead.

Lucky Symbols and the Meaning of Dreams

Since long ago, people in Japan have seen the first dream of the year as a way to foretell the year ahead, and various charms grew up around it.

• "Ichi-Fuji, Ni-Taka, San-Nasu" (Mt. Fuji, hawk, eggplant): One theory says these were the "highest" things in Suruga Province, a region tied to the Tokugawa family: Mt. Fuji, Mt. Ashitaka, and the price of the season's first eggplants. Another says they were favorites of Tokugawa Ieyasu. There is also a wordplay reading: Fuji suggests "buji" (safety), taka suggests "high," and nasu suggests "to accomplish."
• If you have a bad dream: If a bad dream came despite the treasure-ship picture, the custom was to set the picture adrift on a river the next morning to undo the bad luck.

How the "First Dream" Night Has Changed

Which night's dream counts as the "first dream" has changed over the centuries.

• Originally a spring dream: The earliest known literary reference, in "Sankashū," a poetry collection by the late-Heian poet-monk Saigyō, treats the dream on the night from Setsubun to Risshun (the start of spring) as the first dream.
• Three theories in the Edo period: By the Edo period, three nights were proposed -- New Year's Eve, the night of January 1, and the night of January 2 -- and in the late Edo period the night of January 2 became the most common, possibly because many New Year "firsts," such as the first calligraphy and the first business day, took place on the 2nd.
• After the Meiji era: After Japan adopted the solar calendar, more people began counting the night of January 1, and both views still coexist today.

Fascinating Facts About Hatsuyume

• The list goes on: "Fuji, hawk, eggplant" is said to continue with "shi-ōgi, go-tabako, roku-zatō" (a folding fan, tobacco, and a blind masseur). One reading links the fan to prosperity spreading outward, rising smoke to rising fortune, and the shaven-headed masseur to "no hair" -- a pun on "no injury."
• A palindrome charm: People wrote a palindromic poem -- "nakakiyo no tō no nefuri no mina mezame naminori fune no oto no yoki kana" -- on the treasure-ship picture and slept with it under their pillow to invite a good dream.
• Treasure-ship sellers: In the past, vendors walked the streets selling treasure-ship pictures for the first dream of the year.
• A Komagome haiku: Komagome in Edo had a Fuji-worship shrine, a falconers' estate, and a famous local eggplant, inspiring the comic verse "Komagome is ichi-Fuji, ni-taka, san-nasu."
• To share or not to share: Folk sayings hold that you shouldn't tell anyone about a good dream, while telling others about a bad dream helps drive the bad luck away.

Receiving Messages from the Subconscious, Planting Seeds of Hope

Hatsuyume Day is a day to connect with the deepest, truest wishes within your own heart. Whatever you dream about, it can offer valuable insight for making the year ahead richer and more fulfilling. On the night of January 2, why not settle into your favorite pillow with a calm mind and drift off to sleep? The scenes and feelings you experience in your dreams might reveal possibilities within yourself that you haven't yet discovered. In the quiet stillness of sleep, begin weaving the wonderful story of your new year.

Tips for Enjoying Hatsuyume Day

• Before bed, picture what you want to achieve this year or places you'd like to visit, and drift off to sleep in a calm mood.
• Place a picture of a treasure ship, or a personal lucky item, under or near your pillow, and enjoy the old-fashioned charm of the custom.
• Keep a "dream journal" -- write down what you dreamed about when you wake up, and share it as a conversation starter with family or friends.
• If you have a bad dream, don't worry -- remember the old Japanese idea of "sakayume" (a "reverse dream"), in which the opposite of the dream comes true, and let it go lightly.

Boundless Imagination Can Vividly Reshape Reality

January 2 is a day when your hidden talents and inspiration awaken through dreams. The hopeful images you see while sleeping can guide and energize you in the waking world too. A rich imagination becomes the wisdom that helps you overcome challenges, turning each day into an adventure. May today bring you a peaceful night's sleep and the most wonderfully dramatic dreams and awakenings!