We continue our New Years Celebration today with part VI of my 12 Days of Christmas coin wishlist series. Hmm... I don't think I'm going to get to part XII by the 5th, which is the last day of the real 12 Days of Christmas. Oh well. I don't know if I'll keep going after that or not. I'll keep going on today's part anyway!

So this is 2024. On the Japanese calendar it is Reiwa year 6, or the 6th year of the current emperor, Naruhito, who will be renamed to the Reiwa Emperor after his death, which will hopefully be many years away because he seems like a pretty nice fellow.

So far the Reiwa era hasn't been too lucky. We've had COVID, the Ukraine war and the new Israel/Palestine mess, and many smaller but no less unfortunate events. Here's hoping that the 6th year is the one that turns it all around. We're not off to a good start. If you didn't see the news, there was a pretty major earthquake on the Japan Sea side of Japan. The Dragon year starts with a bang...

Let's hope it improves from here! At least maybe a crypto bull run that makes us all rich so we don't have to worry about bills anymore, except those from the taxman.

Anyway, for the next coin on my wishlist, I am adding this beauty:

You can see we have this beautiful turtle image on the obverse side. The reverse just has Queen Elizabeth II, so it's nothing special.

There are many coins with turtles. I pick this one just because I like the image. Unfortunately it seems to be going for quite a lot of cash in all my searches, around $150 and up.

The Importance of Turtles in Japan

Now why a turtle, you might be asking. Great question. The turtle, you see, is considered a very lucky creature in Japanese folklore. Having a dream about a turtle on the first night of the year (called hatsuyume) means good good things are coming your way. Some people say the first dream can come anytime within the first week of the year, so if you are reading this anytime within the first week of the year, you may still have a chance!

Turtles are thought to represent longevity, good fortune, and protection. So you can see how having one enter your first dream of the year might portend good things. Back in the day in Japan, if a fisherman accidentally caught a turtle, he'd treat it to a cup of sake and let it loose. The sake may have been a means of apology or a bribe to send some good luck—or both! Some fishermen may still do this practice.

^{"Turtles and a Sake Cup" by Yashima Gakutei}

In folklore, turtles are thought to live for 10,000 years. Back in the day 10,000 was more of a placeholder meaning an inconceivably large number (kind of like how some people use millions in the English-speaking world), so the meaning might just have been that turtles live for a very very long time.

Maybe the most famous folktale involving turtles in Japan is Urashima Taro. In this tale, the kind fisherman Taro saves a turtle. The turtle rewards him by taking him to the Dragon Palace under the sea where he meets a princess and lives in happiness and luxury for many many years until he grows homesick and comes back where he realizes hundreds of years have passed, making it something of a Rip Van Winkle story.

^{Urashima and the Turtle - by Ogata Gekko}

So. I didn't dream of any turtles for my first dream of the year. I dreamed something but I can't remember it clearly. I don't think turtles were involved, though. At any rate, maybe I'll attract the luck of the spirits by having this turtle coin with me in the future.

See the rest of this series: #1 The Gate of Nikko, #2 Silver Yen Dragon, #3 Gold Koban, #4 Aichi Shachihoko., #5 Hachiko.

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David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Twitter or Mastodon.