0:00

Happy

0:03

New Year. You're listening to Ankeny

0:05

Japan, and I'm Theresa Matzara.

0:09

So did you make it through those first harrowing

0:11

days of twenty twenty three where

0:14

if you were following old traditions, you

0:16

couldn't clean anything or

0:18

use money or knives or

0:21

fire or water. You

0:24

couldn't even argue with your family about

0:26

who ate the last piece of mochi. You

0:29

just had to be good and happy and

0:31

not a care in the world. Couldn't

0:34

do it. That's okay.

0:37

But did you have a lucky New Year's dream

0:39

about Mount Fuji or a

0:41

hawk or an eggplant? Know

0:45

again. That's

0:47

okay too. I've got you

0:49

covered. Because remember

0:51

an episode 116 hundred and seven when I

0:53

talked about your own personal buddha,

0:56

a deity to watch over you and give you

0:58

strength and guidance when you need it?

1:01

Well, today, since it's the

1:03

beginning of the New Year, and

1:05

we could all use a little more luck on our

1:07

sides going forward. I'm

1:09

going to tell you who your own personal

1:12

Shichifukujin is. Yes.

1:15

We all have assigned to us at birth.

1:18

116 of the seven lucky gods.

1:20

So stick around to find out little bit more

1:23

about your own character. Who

1:25

your own assigned lucky god is

1:27

and their advice for you on how

1:30

to be happier, wiser, and

1:32

more successful. Instead

1:34

of being based on what animal year you were

1:36

born into, like your own personal

1:38

buddha, your faithful connection

1:41

to one of the seven lucky gods is

1:44

based on the day of the week you were born.

1:47

Seven lucky gods, seven days

1:49

of the week. So if you

1:51

don't already know, take a quick moment

1:53

to call your mom or to Google it.

1:56

This actually sent me into a tailspin.

2:00

My mother told me when I was quite young

2:02

that I was born on Wednesday. Having

2:04

loved the Adams family growing up,

2:06

I filled a certain connection to Wednesday. All

2:10

these years, somewhere in

2:12

my makeup. I held onto that

2:14

as a little bit of my identity. Well,

2:17

Google just informed me that my mother

2:19

was wrong. I was born on Sunday,

2:22

and I'm still reeling and trying to adapt

2:24

to this new reality. So

2:27

what day of the week were you born? Would

2:32

you like to explore this stranger,

2:34

more obscure corners of Japanese

2:36

culture, dig a little

2:38

deeper into superstitions, customs

2:42

and all those mysterious creatures

2:44

that inhabit the land. If

2:47

so, then this is the podcast for

2:49

you. And

2:51

Kenny, Japan is where I author,

2:53

Teresa Matsura, share all the

2:55

fascinating tidbits I on Earth while

2:57

doing research for my writing. From

3:00

the bizarre to the ghastly and

3:03

everything in between. I

3:07

hope you enjoy the show. Hey,

3:15

hey, how are you? Listen.

3:19

Do you hear that? That's

3:22

the sound of the Isa Beach. Predawn

3:26

on January first twenty twenty

3:28

three. People milling

3:30

around trying to stay warm. Children

3:33

running around trying to stay warm.

3:36

A few are starting bonfires, trying

3:39

to stay warm, But

3:42

we're all here for a reason. We

3:44

wanna catch the first sunrise of twenty

3:46

twenty three, an

3:48

auspicious and quite nice way

3:51

to start the New Year. So

3:53

I wanted to share it with you. I

3:56

hope twenty twenty three has started out

3:58

well for you and keeps on that way.

4:01

I mentioned last time that I had a lofty

4:03

plan for the New Year. So let

4:05

me share that too. Why I'm so

4:07

excited, nervous, and

4:09

a little hopeful. Sometime

4:12

late last year, I was blindsided

4:14

by the idea that I should procure

4:16

some kind of campy noble vehicle

4:19

and drive the thousand seven hundred

4:21

kilometers one thousand fifty

4:23

six miles, one way to

4:26

Hokkaido where Julian lives.

4:28

So that's what I'm going to

4:30

do. This is how far

4:32

along my plan is. I

4:34

want to spend something like a month and drive up

4:36

the west coast of Japan. Stopping

4:38

at any obscure interesting place,

4:41

taking photos, videos, recording

4:44

soundscapes, and learning what

4:46

I can learn. I

4:48

wanna go all the way up to Hokkaido where

4:50

I'll hang out with Julian and his girlfriend

4:52

for a while, explore that island

4:54

a bit. Then turn around

4:56

and drive back down the East Coast

4:58

doing the same thing. I

5:00

know I don't wanna go in the rainy season,

5:03

or summer or winter. So

5:05

spring or fall it is, and

5:07

that's it. That's all I've got at the moment.

5:10

Anyway, I'll be blogging.

5:12

Yes. Blogging. Don't laugh.

5:15

More personal things, the planning for

5:17

the trip, thoughts, writing stuff.

5:20

As I'm doing a lot more of that this year too.

5:23

That'll all be over on the Teresa Matsura

5:25

website in Patreon. I'm

5:27

looking forward to collecting a lot of cool

5:29

stuff to share with patrons and here,

5:31

of course. So

5:33

it'll be an adventure. We'll see

5:35

what happens. Alright.

5:37

Let's get to your lucky god. Which

5:40

of the seven are you? And what does

5:42

it mean? First, if

5:44

you haven't listened or you want to refresh

5:46

her, there's episode sixty eight

5:48

where I talk in more detail about the But

5:51

you don't have to have heard that one to make sense

5:53

of today. I'll give you a sentence

5:56

or two of description just to jog

5:58

your memory about the gods. So

6:00

let's jump in and start with Monday. Why

6:02

don't we? Are you born on

6:04

Monday? Well then, your

6:07

lucky god is Juroji. For

6:09

god who JudeoGen is? He's the

6:11

God of longevity, a very

6:13

tall sage with a staff, and he

6:15

likes to hang out with a deer. And

6:18

sometimes a 116 thousand five hundred year

6:20

old crane or equally

6:22

old tortoise. Oh,

6:24

and he sometimes has a peach. Have

6:27

you ever wondered what kind of person you

6:29

are? You, Monday

6:31

folk, are delicate, attentive, kind,

6:33

and considerate of all those

6:35

people around you. You

6:37

are also emotionally rich and

6:40

will like. Gets better.

6:42

You have a thing called a mysterious

6:45

memory and

6:49

are quite in touch with your sixth

6:51

sense. Like

6:53

the light of the sun reflecting off the

6:55

moon, you are easily influenced

6:57

by others. I didn't

6:59

quite get that logic either, but don't worry. It

7:01

just means that you're adaptable to many

7:03

different situations. One

7:05

reason you're this way is because you're very

7:07

quick with it. And you can read people.

7:11

However, you can be a little

7:13

emotional and childish at times

7:15

blaming others for things you should probably

7:17

take responsibility for yourself,

7:20

but mostly you are blessed

7:22

with fantastic intuition and

7:24

imagination and can become obsessed

7:26

with things you love to do, letting

7:29

your emotions guide you. Juno

7:31

Jeans' wise words to you are,

7:34

By serving others generously with

7:36

an attitude of love and compassion, you

7:39

will one day receive invaluable benefits

7:42

in return. Your willingness

7:44

to work for and care for others

7:46

will make you stronger. That's

7:49

nice. Moving on to

7:51

Tuesday, Your guardian

7:53

deity, my friends, is Bisha

7:55

Moncton. Bisha

7:57

Moncton is the badass of the bunch.

7:59

Decked out in armor and a helmet.

8:02

He wields a spear in his right hand

8:04

and a tiny little pagoda in his

8:06

left. Your personality is a

8:08

victorious and passionate person.

8:11

You're bold and determined and

8:13

will make every effort to achieve your

8:15

goals You stand tall in the face

8:17

of adversities. You're also a

8:19

pioneer and aren't afraid

8:21

to explore new frontiers, but

8:24

and there's always a butt because

8:27

you are so assertive and such a go

8:29

getter doing what you want

8:31

when you want You sometimes

8:34

act recklessly and have

8:36

been known on occasion to lose your

8:38

temper easily, which leads you to

8:40

be unintentionally aggressive toward those

8:42

who have opinions, values, or

8:44

ideas different than your own.

8:47

So if you listen to your mighty God,

8:49

Bisha Moncton would say, you

8:51

might want to shift your thinking to

8:53

something like, hey, that person

8:55

isn't wrong. They just think

8:57

differently than I do. And by

8:59

doing that, kind of seeing

9:02

things through someone else's eyes, you

9:04

will be blessed in more ways than you ever

9:06

thought possible. Wednesday,

9:09

not me. I wasn't born

9:11

on Wednesday, but both Richard and

9:14

Julian were. Your lucky

9:16

god is a Visa. Elise

9:18

is a lot of fun, lot of prosperity,

9:21

wealth, business, crops,

9:23

food, and the patron of

9:25

fishermen. He was the first

9:27

child of Iizanagi and Iizanami

9:29

and was born without any

9:31

bones. Your god used to be

9:33

called leech boy. It's

9:35

a story. Really good story. It's all

9:37

in episode sixty eight. You'll

9:40

recognize this guy because he's holding a fishing

9:42

rod and a big old fish.

9:46

Your special traits are that you're clever

9:48

with a refreshing atmosphere.

9:50

You're also imbued with the incredible

9:53

ability of Literally,

9:58

here one, no

10:01

ten. Or to

10:03

understand everything from only hearing

10:05

one part of it, or

10:07

just that you're very perceptive.

10:10

You have great communication skills and

10:12

wisdom and you're great at planning.

10:15

Your antenna is always up. Catching

10:17

all the seasonal topics and cutting

10:19

edge information that's going on in the world

10:21

around you. You're sociable and you

10:23

can talk to anyone. Yet

10:26

and there's always a yet. You're

10:28

not good at pursuing only one thing

10:31

and instead are which

10:34

means broad and shallow.

10:36

You know and can do a lot,

10:38

but none of them very deeply.

10:41

Aviso's advice to you is because

10:43

you are so blessed with the ability to

10:45

receive and gather information and

10:48

also the ability to convey it

10:50

to others Why not

10:52

use that by generously providing

10:54

knowledge and information for those around

10:56

you? Putting all that good stuff out

10:58

there will come back around and

11:00

flower bigly to reward you.

11:02

Thursday, people. You

11:05

and my friends are Fukuoka juke,

11:08

To identify for Guadalupe just

11:10

remember, big head. He's the

11:12

sage with that giantly long

11:14

head. Also, sometimes he's

11:16

seen with a deer. This won't

11:18

help you find the God in a lineup,

11:20

but he also doesn't eat

11:22

and he can resurrect the dead.

11:25

Your temperament is both free spirited

11:27

and generous. They're also

11:29

a vigorous enquirer. Always

11:31

seeking new experiences and challenging

11:33

yourself in a variety of ways.

11:35

You have a yearning for the

11:37

unseen world and are more

11:39

interested in philosophy, religion,

11:41

and fortune telling than reality. You

11:45

never lose hope no matter what the situation

11:48

is, and you're always

11:50

acting with an eye to the future.

11:52

You're pretty easy going and you don't

11:54

dwell in the past. You're

11:56

blessed with many friends

11:58

because you are just that

12:00

likable. If something interests

12:02

you, you're on it. But if

12:04

something else interesting comes along,

12:06

you'll just abandon that first thing you are

12:08

into and move on to that new

12:10

shiny thing. You're good at

12:12

seeing the big picture, though, you

12:14

like dabbling, and you get bored

12:16

easily. Fukuoka's

12:19

recommendation is that you'll be able to find

12:21

the path you are looking for by

12:24

moving around and travel.

12:26

If you're searching for something and

12:28

you wish to travel abroad, you will

12:30

find that your life will improve rapidly,

12:33

which is oddly specific, don't you

12:35

think? Speaking

12:37

of moving, Moving on to Friday.

12:40

Friday's lucky god is DiCopechan.

12:42

The god of commerce

12:44

and prosperity and the patron

12:46

of cooks farmers, bankers, protector

12:49

of props, and a

12:51

demon hunter lot on his

12:53

plate, this one. To

12:56

distinguish this fellow from the rest,

12:58

think big smile, short legs,

13:00

and a hat. Also

13:02

note that dicopitan can

13:04

manifest as dicokotenol or

13:07

dicokunol in the female

13:09

form, which is really cool.

13:12

Your nature, Friday people, is

13:14

that you have a mature atmosphere

13:16

and are the epitome of a

13:18

person with a strong core and

13:21

you're incredibly honest. You

13:23

have a great sense of responsibility

13:25

and hard work and everything

13:27

you do. People around

13:29

you rely on you. At

13:31

first glance, someone might think that you are

13:33

a modest individual However,

13:36

you have astonishing willpower

13:38

and ambition. Your motto

13:40

is something like big dreams

13:42

and better dreams You have

13:44

the perseverance to plan ahead and work

13:46

hard to get things done. You're

13:49

rational and you hate wasting time

13:51

and money. Nevertheless,

13:53

and there's always, and nevertheless,

13:56

you can swing too highly paranoid and

13:58

will retreat into your shell at

14:00

times. When you do this, people

14:02

think that you're calculating dicoten's

14:05

gentle guidance to you is to exert

14:07

your strong presence or good,

14:09

and most things and people will fall

14:11

under your influence. It's

14:14

a little weird too. Which

14:16

are the weekends now, two more to go.

14:19

Born on Saturday listeners, your

14:22

guiding God is binsai ten

14:24

or bin ten. Ben Zaida

14:26

is the goddess of eloquence, speech,

14:29

the arts, music, wisdom,

14:31

wealth, and learning. With a

14:33

little warrior goddess thrown in there

14:35

too. Usually,

14:37

you'll find a beaver loop in her

14:39

hands. Sometimes in her

14:41

eight hands, You might also see

14:43

her depicted with a five headed dragon,

14:46

her sword, or her wish granting

14:48

jewel. Since

14:50

you are born under her influence, you

14:52

are blessed with smart social sense

14:55

and the outstanding ability to

14:57

attract mates and money

14:59

you enjoy and are very good at

15:01

enriching your life with your fantastic

15:04

artistic sense, your cool

15:06

hobbies, and your bent for romance.

15:08

But you don't like working in

15:10

the mud. I really had said that.

15:12

You don't like working in the mud. Like

15:15

anybody likes working in the mud. Anyway,

15:17

You're the type of person that

15:19

if you're having a boring day,

15:21

we'll ask yourself, hey,

15:23

how can I find something interesting going

15:26

on? Or make my day more

15:28

interesting by myself. However,

15:31

that said, you're not a big risk

15:33

taker. You're a little bit of what

15:35

is called hop pole Beijing, which

15:38

is a word that's used even now in Japanese.

15:40

It means eight directions, beautiful

15:44

person. But it's not a good

15:46

thing. It actually means that you're

15:48

always trying to please everyone 116

15:51

said, those around you, cherish

15:53

you, and are willing to go out of their

15:55

way to stand up and take care of

15:57

you. Your lucky

15:59

piece of advice is to do things for

16:01

others without expecting anything in

16:03

return. By bringing joy to

16:05

other people, your life will start

16:07

to sparkle even more. Keep

16:09

the door to creativity open, and

16:12

believe in all possibilities. If

16:14

you find yourself

16:16

thinking, I should explore a different

16:18

path once in a while. That's

16:21

the whisper of the goddess of opportunity.

16:25

Follow your inspiration and you will

16:27

find the people and the things you need to

16:29

become infinitely happy and

16:31

successful. And

16:33

finally, Sunday people. If

16:35

you haven't figured it out yet, you're a lucky

16:38

god is whole pay. Oltay

16:40

is easy to find. He's

16:42

called the laughing buddha and is

16:44

the one often mistaken for the real

16:46

buddha, big old

16:48

belly, big old laughing mug,

16:50

simple robe, and a great

16:52

big bag full of fortune. He's

16:55

the guardian of children, patron

16:57

of diviners, and those who work in

16:59

bars. Your nature

17:01

is that you are very attractive. Okay?

17:04

If not physically attractive,

17:06

then you have a magnetic personality.

17:08

Your aura attracts people.

17:11

You also boldly challenge life

17:13

with your independence and self reliant

17:16

attitude. However, deep inside,

17:19

you kind of yearn for status or

17:21

some position of honor or

17:23

respect. You're

17:25

bold in everything you do,

17:27

and you're also generous and give

17:29

freely to those around you.

17:31

You're compassionate and have leadership

17:34

qualities but are a little

17:36

proud and self centered in

17:38

vain. Don't just dress

17:40

up in fancy clothes to be noticed by

17:42

others. Polish that inner self

17:45

too. Otay's advice to

17:47

you is to keep on keeping on,

17:49

make continuous efforts and your originality

17:52

and expressiveness will be supported by many people

17:54

and you will be rewarded nicely.

17:57

Your tenacity and courage will

17:59

make your dreams come true. Even

18:01

if it takes some time.

18:03

Keep believing in your dreams.

18:05

Keep helping others when you can.

18:08

And you'll be rewarded and admired by those

18:10

around you. So there

18:12

you go. The seven

18:15

lucky gods at the beginning of this

18:17

New Year and just which one is

18:19

representing and watching out for

18:21

you. So that's all

18:23

for today. Thank

18:25

you so much for listening. We're

18:27

in season seven, which is mind blowing.

18:30

And I'm wishing for every single one of

18:32

a twenty twenty three that treats you

18:34

and your loved 116. Fantastically.

18:36

I think now that you have your

18:39

very own personal lucky god

18:41

riding shotgun, you should be

18:43

in awesome shape for the New

18:45

Year. Thank you for listening and

18:47

supporting the show. I'm really looking forward

18:49

to the New Year with you, and I will

18:51

talk to you again in two weeks.

18:54

Bye bye.