The calendar and dates

Japanese make use of the sun calendar nowadays. But before that, there was the Lunar calendar in which “Taian” is known to be a good day and “Butsumetsu” is a bad day. Taian is a good day because it is "the day of great peace", and Butsumetsu is a bad day because it is "the day Buddha died". Most festivals are held on Taian days, as they believe that this will bring good luck. In the Lunar calendar, the other days are known as Taian, Butsumetsu, Senpu, Tomobiki, Shakko and Sensho. The Japanese believe that a funeral held on Tomobiki would not be ideal, as otherwise some of the people who attend the ceremony may die soon. This calendar, which consisted of 5 weeks in a month, and 6 days a week, was known as Rokuyo.

The other calendar, which consists of 12 day weeks, contained a day called Sarinbo, which occurred twice a month. The Japanese found this day so unlucky that whenever this day came, they ceased to travel or even step out of the house. This superstition is still believed today!