Since 1980, I've been drawing nengajou (Japanese New Year's cards, or 年賀状) and sending them to friends. It's traditional to create them based on the animals of the Chinese zodiac, but I also draw them as little cartoons. I rarely get my cards done on time (they're supposed to be received on New Year's day), but I've drawn them over thirty years, so it's now a personal tradition that I enjoy continuing. You can see from the images how the technology has changed. When I first started doing this color cards were expensive, so everything was printed in black and white. Later, I started hand-coloring the cards. Now, I draw the cards by hand and color them on the computer. Also, in the beginning of the World Wide Web, small files were important, so I deliberately used low-resolution images. I have gone back and re-scanned many of the images for clarity, but I probably should do it again, since we all have much better monitors and more bandwidth today.The zodiac is based on a twelve year cycle, and each year is assigned a specific animal with various good and bad qualities. I was born in the year of the tiger, which has nothing but good qualities, of course! What year were you born in? Knowing that it's a twelve year cycle, with a little math you should be able to figure out your sign from the list below...
A warning to those born in early January. If you are in the Japanese orbit of things, you may have been told you are one sign, only to find out from Chinese people that you are another sign. This is because Japan no longer uses the old lunar calendar, but China does (at least for the zodiac). For example, I have always considered myself a Tiger, but in China I am an Ox. Two signs for the price of one!
Have fun looking at my cards...
Year of the....
1980 MONKEY
For more information on the Chinese zodiac, click HERE and you'll reach a site dedicated to it.
Copyright 2011, Frederik L. Schodt
Revised -- 01/01/2012