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Meaning

year of the fire horse

The 43rd year of the sexagenary cycle, which comes around once every 60 years. There is a groundless superstition that fires are frequent in this year and that women born in it are fierce-tempered and will devour their husbands.

Example

前回の丙午にあたる1966年は、迷信の影響で出生数が大きく減った。

In 1966, the previous hinoeuma year, the number of births fell sharply because of the superstition.

Origin

In five-phase theory, both hinoe (丙) and uma (午) correspond to fire, so the year was considered one of many fires. The idea came from China and took hold among city dwellers in the Edo period. It is sometimes linked to the arson case of Yaoya Oshichi in the early Edo period. In 1906 and 1966, the number of births dropped sharply because of the superstition.

Sources