First Dream Of The New Year – Japanese Hatsuyume Tradition

Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – Like many other ancient cultures, people in Japan have long believed dreams can foretell the future.

For example, ancient Egyptians believed certain signs or events seen in dreams revealed unpredictable information about the future and they used the messages in their dreams in order to cure illnesses, make important State decisions, and even decide where to build a temple or when to wage a battle. How dreams were interpreted can be found in the ancient Egyptian Dream Book, a hieratic papyrus that probably dates to the early reign of Ramesses II (1279-1213 BC).

According to the Japanese Hatsuyume tradition that dates back to the Edo period (1603 – 1868) the first dream, you experience during the night of January 1 is significant.

The first dream of the new Year decides how the next 12 months will be, according to the Japanese hatsuyume tradition. Credit: Public Domain

The tradition of hatsuyume which means “first dream” is based on the belief that the first vision you see in your dream predicts whether the 12 months ahead will be good ones.

According to the Japanese it is considered to be particularly good luck to dream of Mount Fuji, a hawk, and an eggplant.

Why these three dream symbols are particularly lucky is not entirely clear and there are various theories.

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