Birthday greetings.
Happy birthday
schnappycat .
Time of Day
Of course, prior to the western time-keeping system, knowing the time was neither precise nor a critical concern. There were two ways premodern Japan marked time throughout the day. The day was divided into two periods: sunrise to sunset and sunset to sunrise. Each of those two intervals was divided into six divisions. So the divisions or "hours", if you will, were approximately two hours in western time. The two intervals marked by dawn and dusk were not of equal duration (only equal at the two equinoxes). The twelve divisions were denoted by the zodiac signs of Junishi. The hours went in this order with their approximate time: rat 11:00 PM -1:00 AM, ox 1:00-3:00 AM, tiger 3-5:00 AM, hare 5-7:00 AM, dragon 7- 9:00 AM, snake 9-11:00 AM, horse 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM, goat 1-3:00 PM, monkey 3-5:00 PM, rooster 5- 7:00 PM, dog 7-9:00 PM, boar 9-11:00 PM. The "hours" were also represented by numbers, i.e. the hour of the rat was the nineth hour which would decrease by each hour to the fourth hour, then start with another nineth hour in the daytime. In addition to telling the time, the twelve divisions also denoted directions which meant that some days were more auspicous to travel in a certain direction than others, as we mentioned before.
All of that means the picture is just a little joke about midnight feedings.
schnappycat .
Time of Day
Of course, prior to the western time-keeping system, knowing the time was neither precise nor a critical concern. There were two ways premodern Japan marked time throughout the day. The day was divided into two periods: sunrise to sunset and sunset to sunrise. Each of those two intervals was divided into six divisions. So the divisions or "hours", if you will, were approximately two hours in western time. The two intervals marked by dawn and dusk were not of equal duration (only equal at the two equinoxes). The twelve divisions were denoted by the zodiac signs of Junishi. The hours went in this order with their approximate time: rat 11:00 PM -1:00 AM, ox 1:00-3:00 AM, tiger 3-5:00 AM, hare 5-7:00 AM, dragon 7- 9:00 AM, snake 9-11:00 AM, horse 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM, goat 1-3:00 PM, monkey 3-5:00 PM, rooster 5- 7:00 PM, dog 7-9:00 PM, boar 9-11:00 PM. The "hours" were also represented by numbers, i.e. the hour of the rat was the nineth hour which would decrease by each hour to the fourth hour, then start with another nineth hour in the daytime. In addition to telling the time, the twelve divisions also denoted directions which meant that some days were more auspicous to travel in a certain direction than others, as we mentioned before.
All of that means the picture is just a little joke about midnight feedings.