Allegories and Symbols of Rabbits in Japan

The meanings and symbols of rabbits in Japan are as follows:

Rabbits are lively and cute, and have a strong jumping ability, so they symbolize leaping; rabbits have a strong ability to reproduce, so they are also regarded as a good omen for fertility and prosperity. The Japanese consider the Year of the Rabbit to be a suitable year to talk about marriage, and hope that more young people will become like the rabbit family, which symbolizes good fortune for the family. The rabbit's calm character, which does not like to fight, is also positioned as "peace" and "security" in the Chinese zodiac. The myth of the white rabbit depicted in Japan's "Chronicle of Ancient Matters" has been widely spread, and since ancient times, the white snake, white fox, white deer, white bird and other "white" series of animals have been regarded by the Japanese as messengers of the gods, and naturally, the white rabbit, with its snow-white fur, has been honored as well.

The rabbit is one of the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac and corresponds to the dao (卯) of the earth's branches. The Chinese character "卯" is a hieroglyphic character that mimics an open door, and the month of dao symbolizes the springtime when everything emerges from the ground. In Japan, because of the myth of the "white rabbit of the Inkan no Hare," the white rabbit is considered the god of love, and it is a tradition to make snow rabbits in winter. In the ancient Korean Peninsula, there is the "Tale of the Tortoise and the Hare", which tells the story of the tortoise in the East China Sea on behalf of the Dragon King, intended to take the liver of the rabbit, but the rabbit finally in the critical moment, with cunning and escape.