Tigers Everywhere

As this year is the year of a tiger, even Starbucks coffee shop is selling a mug with a decoration of a tiger, a stuffed tiger and packed coffee beens with a picture of a tiger.
This custom of twelve zodiac animal signs indicating years was introduced to Japan from China. The twelve animals are; mouse, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep ,monkey, rooster, dog ,and wild boar. It is said that each animal sign determines the character and destiny of a person born in the year.

People who were born in the year of a tiger are supposed to have such personalities; thoughtful, passionate, generous, heroic, challengeable, vigorous, and stimulating, but unpredictable, competitive and short-tempered. Do you know anybody who was born in the year of a tiger? The years of a tiger are following,
2010, 1998, 1986, 1974, 1962, 1950, 1938, 1926, 1914 ・・・・・

In Japanese there is an interesting expression - “Tora( a tiger) ni naru- become a tiger”. Can you guess what it means? When you get dead drunk, people say you become a tiger. This time of the year, there are a lot of New Year’s parties producing another tigers!
Keiko
-NARAWALK Guide