Japanese clock system
Jun. 20th, 2009 12:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wombat1138Another table/infosplat from the Okami wiki:
The twelve-part pattern on the floor of the circular elevator room shows a form of clock dial associated with the lunar zodiac. The outer ring is labelled with kanji that originated from the "Twelve Earthly Branches" of the Chinese astronomical calendar and are now associated with the twelve zodiac animals in this type of abstract cyclical context, as opposed to concrete real-life members of the species. Hence, the "Time of the Rat" (around midnight) uses the kanji 子 for "rat", whereas a discussion about pet rats or mousetraps etc. would use the kanji 鼠 instead. The inner ring of the dial shows a repeating sequence of Japanese numbers that starts with 九 (9) at both midnight and noon, then counts downward through the "double hour" zodiac periods to 四 (4) before restarting.
The twelve "double hours" are divided into two sets of six periods each: Rabbit to Monkey, starting at sunrise; Rooster to Tiger, starting at sundown. Within each set, all six periods are divided equally, but vary in length throughout the year: during the summer, each "double hour" period in daylight hours is much longer than each "double hour" at night, and vice-versa during the winter. The only times when all twelve "double hours" are of exactly equal 120-minute length are on the spring and autumn equinoxes.
The twelve-part pattern on the floor of the circular elevator room shows a form of clock dial associated with the lunar zodiac. The outer ring is labelled with kanji that originated from the "Twelve Earthly Branches" of the Chinese astronomical calendar and are now associated with the twelve zodiac animals in this type of abstract cyclical context, as opposed to concrete real-life members of the species. Hence, the "Time of the Rat" (around midnight) uses the kanji 子 for "rat", whereas a discussion about pet rats or mousetraps etc. would use the kanji 鼠 instead. The inner ring of the dial shows a repeating sequence of Japanese numbers that starts with 九 (9) at both midnight and noon, then counts downward through the "double hour" zodiac periods to 四 (4) before restarting.
| Boar 亥 | Rat 子 | Ox 丑 | ||
| 四 (4) | 九 (9) | 八 (8) | ||
| Dog 戌 | midnight | Tiger 寅 | ||
| 五 (5) | 七 (7) | |||
| Rooster 酉 | sunset | sunrise | Rabbit 卯 | |
| 六 (6) | 六 (6) | |||
| Monkey 申 | Dragon 辰 | |||
| 七 (7) | noon | 五 (5) | ||
| Sheep 未 | Horse 午 | Snake 巳 | ||
| 八 (8) | 九 (9) | 四 (4) |
The twelve "double hours" are divided into two sets of six periods each: Rabbit to Monkey, starting at sunrise; Rooster to Tiger, starting at sundown. Within each set, all six periods are divided equally, but vary in length throughout the year: during the summer, each "double hour" period in daylight hours is much longer than each "double hour" at night, and vice-versa during the winter. The only times when all twelve "double hours" are of exactly equal 120-minute length are on the spring and autumn equinoxes.