January: 初夢 (Hatsuyume),

This month’s word is Hatsuyume – a dream that happens on the night of New Year’s Day to the morning of the 2nd. If your Hatsuyume is lucky, 2015 will be a good year for you. Good dreams are determined by the following signs (in this order!): “Mt. Fuji, hawks, and eggplants.”
Although more of an older tradition, it was customary to place pictures under one’s pillow to encourage good Hatsuyume. An example would be a picture of a baku-an – imaginary animal that ate bad dreams.