Seven in Japan

Seven Samurai


Shichifukujin

The number seven has as strong an influence in Japanese society as in any other country.

There are lots of sevens in Japan and perhaps the most well-known examples are the Seven Gods of Fortune (Shichifukujin) and Akira Kurosawa's world-famous medieval story Seven Samurai (Shichi-nin no Samurai), later Westernised as The Magnificent Seven movie and several sequels. 

Whilst there's an interesting Japanese calendar based on a six-day cycle (see the ancient and somewhat-current Rokuyo calendar), the seven planets visible to the ancient Japanese astrologers means that seven was, and still is, an auspicious number for Japanese people:

• On 7 January people eat nanakusagayu (rice porridge with seven herbs) to ward off evil for the coming year, in addition to inviting good luck and longevity
• The Japanese Star Festival tanabata is on the 7th day of the 7th month when the two mythically lonesome star clusters, Vega and Altair (Orihime and Hikoboshi), are able to meet. 
  
  It's a time for wishing on a star, and the best way to ensure your wish comes true is to write it on a piece of paper and tie it to a bamboo pole. The wind will then float your wish to the gods. The 7 July is when festivals (matsuri) start in earnest all over Japan, and continue through the muggy summer.
• There are seven basic principles of the bushido, the philosophy and ethical code of conduct formulated for Samurai warriors in the 11-14^th centuries.
  
  No one can be too sure what these seven ideas were, since they were not written down. They were handed down, sometimes by word of mouth, but usually by veritable deed. Today the seven virtues are generally understood to be:
  • gi
    righteousness, justice, morality
  • yu
    courage, bravery
  • jin
    benevolence
  • rei
    respect, politeness
  • makoto
    honesty, veracity
  • meiyo
    honour
  • chuugi
    loyalty
• A baby's birth is celebrated on the 7th day (oshichiya)
• A death is mourned for seven days...
• ...and again after seven weeks
• In Buddhism, the main religion of Japan, people believe in seven reincarnations
• Temples and shrines often depict one or more of the Seven Gods of Fortune. You can also see them in commercial logos, shops and restaurants all over the country.
• There's a saying: nana-korobi, ya-oki, which means fall down seven times, get up eight times. Life has its ups and downs; more ups than downs, so persevere when things are tough and you'll surely get through them.
• The 7 July 2007 (7/7/7) was a Saturday and without doubt, one of the busiest wedding days for many years.
• In junk shops (euphemistically called 'recycle' shops) it's common in Japan to see prices discounted from 1,000 yen to 777 yen. And that's not only because 777 is a lucky number.
  
  We all know that 7 is closer to 5 than it is to 10, so if something is reduced in price from 10 yen to 7 yen, we instinctively think it's almost half price. What we don't immediately notice is that 777 is closer to 1,000 than 500.
• Lucky 777 is even etched in some Japanese toilets!

Not only Japan of course, but around the world, seven was the number of heavenly powers that man depended upon, and seven itself has become an auspicious number.

😄 Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson go on a camping trip.

As they lay down for the night, Holmes says: "Watson, look up into the sky and tell me what you see".

Watson:

"I see millions and millions of stars."

Holmes:

"And Watson, as London's finest doctor, what does that tell you?"

Watson:

"Astronomically, it tells me that space is infinite, that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets.
Theologically, it tells me that God is great and that we are small and insignificant.
Meteorologically, it tells me that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.

Holmes, as England's finest detective, what does it tell you?"

Holmes:

"Somebody's stolen our tent!"