 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
Taian is a day of great peace, considered the finest day for wedding ceremonies, starting new business ventures, having success in love, exams, etc.
It is also a good day for surgery, starting building projects, moving house, travelling, and other important endeavours. A notably apparent endorsement is that the Japanese Prime Minister invariably chooses Taian as the day for selecting ministers for the Cabinet.
As a pictograph, the first kanji 大 represents a person standing with arms and legs outstretched, appearing as large as possible.
The second kanji 安 is in two parts; the upper representing a roof, and by extension, a building or home, and the lower part represents a kneeling woman. She's at rest in her home. An earlier pictograph for woman referred to a woman sitting on a thin item; a cloth during menstruation, resting quietly.
An associated kun-reading for 安 (yasu) is 'inexpensive'. This doesn't mean something that looks or feels cheap, shoddy or low quality, rather it has a positive meaning of something of value at a low price.
As mentioned, the first kanji also symbolises a person, attaching Taian to good fortune in a personal sense rather than just in events. A cynical naysayer might argue that personal fortune shouldn't be sought on Taian, and compare the day to the Sabbath in Christianity or Judaism. (See Is Rokuyō a Religion?)
While Rokuyō is often associated with Buddhist traditions, some Shinto shrines also consider Taian a particularly auspicious day for rituals and blessings.
There's an obscure link between taian and old court culture. In the Heian period (794–1185), aristocrats relied heavily on onmyōdō (Japanese esoteric cosmology) and the yin-yang calendar, which influenced Rokuyō’s development. While Taian wasn't explicitly mentioned in early records, lucky and unlucky days were carefully observed for court ceremonies, marriages and imperial decrees. The modern association of Taian with weddings echoes this ancient belief system.
More obscure is Taian's connection to lucky and unlucky colours. In some esoteric Japanese traditions, Taian is associated with specific lucky colours that vary by season. For example, wearing gold or yellow on a Taian day in autumn is thought to amplify its auspiciousness, while white or silver is favoured in winter. This concept is rarely discussed today but has roots in ancient colour-based superstitions.
Shugendō, a mystical blend of Shinto, esoteric Buddhism and mountain asceticism, sometimes associated ritual garments and talismans with lucky colours. Some mountain monks (yamabushi) believed wearing white or gold on Taian days strengthened spiritual power and protected against misfortune. This belief paralleled certain Tendai and Shingon Buddhist esoteric teachings on cosmic harmony and auspicious timing.
During the Edo period (1603–1868), some feudal lords (daimyō) deliberately ignored Taian when making military decisions, fearing that enemies would predict their movements based on "lucky day logic." An example was the 2nd Iga invasion in 1581 of the fiercely independent Iga warriors. Nobunaga, known for his disregard of superstition, deliberately launched attacks on inauspicious Butsumetsu days. By doing so, he capitalised on his enemies' reliance on auspicious dates for action, catching them off guard and overwhelming them with superior numbers and strategy.
Some Kyoto geisha houses (okiya) quietly observe Taian when selecting new maiko (apprentice geisha). The belief is that starting a maiko’s career on an auspicious day ensures grace, beauty and long-term success in the profession. This is an extremely niche and rarely documented practice.
In certain rural Japanese folklore, travelling at night on Taian is considered dangerous, not because of bad luck, but because it's believed that ghosts (yūrei) are also active on auspicious days. The reasoning is that spirits are drawn to human celebrations and major life events, making them more likely to wander on Taian nights.
Also known as
Daian