Over the weekend Geordie Japan hit 7000 views, now perhaps in website terms that’s not that much, but for a niche blog that’s only been online since March I’m pretty damn proud of that figure. I’m hoping for big things for the blog and beyond and hopefully the number 7 will bring us some luck with this, why? Well seven is considered a lucky number in Japan (and other parts of Asia too) but what’s so special about seven?
7, or 七 (pronounced “nana” or “shichi”) in Japanese, is deeply ingrained into Japanese culture. In the Buddhist religion when one becomes a ‘stream winner’ they can be reborn a maximum of seven times before reaching nibbana. There are also regarded to be seven Buddhist treasures. This religious association with the number seems to be the origin point in Japanese culture for the importance of the figure of seven.
The part where seven becomes lucky starts with the seven lucky gods (七福神). The seven gods are most commonly known to be;
- Hotei – the fat and happy god of abundance and good health
- Jurōjin – god of longevity
- f*ckurokuju – god of happiness, wealth and longevity
- Bishamonten – god of warriors
- Benzaiten –goddess of knowledge, art and beauty, especially music
- Daikokuten –god of wealth, commerce and trade.
- Ebisu – god of fishers or merchants, often depicted carrying a sea bream
Of the group only Ebisu is known to be Japanese, Hotei, Jurōjin and f*ckurokuju are from China while Bishamonten, Benzaiten and Daikokuten are from India. The seven lucky gods are often depicted sailing on a treasure ship, the Takarabune (宝船), and will sail into port on New Year and distribute gifts and wealth to those deemed worthy, Children will often be given red envelopes with the image of the Takarabune on it containing money around this time. Children are also encouraged to put either a picture of the seven gods or the Baku (a mythical being that devours nightmares) under their pillow on the evening of January 1st. If you have a dream that night where you are blessed with good fortune in life then you will be lucky for the year, provided you do not tell anyone. On the other hand if you have an unlucky dream then you must prey to the Baku spirit and set the picture adrift in the nearest river or ocean. On January seventh it is traditional to eat nanakusa-gayu (seven herb rice porridge) which is packed full of good vitamins to help you recover from your New Year over celebrations, it is also thought to prevent illness for the year. Further reading on the seven lucky gods can be foundhere.
The number seven has also ingrained itself into both the celebration of life and the mourning of death in Japan. After a baby is born its birth is celebrated on its seventh day of life, conversely after someone’s death there is seven days of mourning, then they are mourned once again seven weeks after the death. Other life monuments are often marked alongside the number seven somehow, such as in the 7-5-3 festival which held on the 15th November where children aged seven, three and five visit their local Shinto shrines and are blessed. Girls aged 3 and boys aged 5 are formally welcomed into the community at this event and Girls aged seven are allowed from this day to wear the decorative obi sash with their kimono as they have now entered womanhood. The Tanabata (七夕) star festival is held on the seventh day of the seventh month, again luck is once again associated with this as it is traditional to write your wishes down and hang them from a specially erected bamboo tree.
Film Still from The Seven Samurai
So from this deep rooted concept of the lucky number seven it’s no surprise to find that the number is prevalent in Japanese popular culture. Such as in Akira Kurosawa’s legendary Seven Samurai (七人の侍) in which seven warriors attempt to defend a village, the film was later remade in the West as The Magnificent Seven. There is also a Japanese manga named Nana (Japanese for 7) in which two girls, both named Nana, come together coincidentally and share an apartment together, the apartment is number 707 of course. There are many references to the number seven in the manga, and later the anime and live action film versions. There is a television drama named lucky seven and even AKB48 have a song named for the number. Overall Japanese films, televisionprograms, songs, manga, video games and every aspect of popular culture often somehow includes a reference to seven.
So with all that, can you blame me for being excited that we have hit 7000 views? I’ll leave you with two things, firstly a Japanese proverb;
Nana korobi ya oki (七転び八起き) which literally means “seven falls, eight getting up”, an encouraging phrase which reminds us that after life goes down it always comes back up again.
And lastly a question, have you ever wondered why the highest concentration of 7-11 brand supermarkets in the world is in Japan?
FAQs
What are the luckiest numbers? According to superstition, the five luckiest numbers are 3, 4, 8, 9, 12, 21 and 77. However, these numbers may not be considered lucky by all cultures.
Which is the lucky number 7 or 8? ›
In Buddhism 8 is a lucky number, possibly because of the eight petals of the lotus, a plant associated with luck in India and a favourite Buddhist symbol. In China, just as the number 7 determines the life of a woman, 8 determines that of a man.
Why is number 7 so lucky? ›
In numerology, the number 7 represents a quest for knowledge, and it is significant in practically every major religion – consider the Christian bible seven days of creation and eastern faiths' seven main chakras. It's also associated with better fortune, as proven by the slot machine jackpots of 777.
What is the lucky number to become rich? ›
Number 8 is often considered as the most powerful number in terms of material wealth and success.
What is a lucky 4-digit number? ›
A four digit number (numbered from 0000 to 9999) is said to be lucky, if the sum of its first two digits is equal to the sum of its last two digits. If a four digit number is picked up at random, then the probability that it is a lucky number is. 0.07.
What is the best numbers for lottery? ›
The most frequently drawn winning numbers from the main barrel are 17, 7, 11, 2, 3 and 9, while the least frequently drawn are 33, 15, 34, 31, 26 and 1. The most frequently drawn Powerball numbers are 19 and 2, while the least frequently drawn Powerball numbers are 14 and 16.
Is 7 a holy number? ›
Seven was symbolic in ancient near eastern and Israelite culture and literature. It communicated a sense of “fullness” or “completeness” (שבע “seven” is spelled with the same consonants as the word שבע “complete/full”). This makes sense of the pervasive appearance of “seven” patterns in the Bible.
Why is 12 a powerful number? ›
"The number 12 is a symbol of faith, the church and divine rule. The number 12 features prominently in the Bible. The Old Testament Book of Genesis states there were 12 sons of Jacob and those 12 sons formed the 12 tribes of Israel. The New Testament tells us that Jesus had 12 apostles.
What is the luckiest number in the Bible? ›
Seven. Can be used to signify "perfection" or "completeness". It may have been inspired from the fact that the primary lunar phases are roughly 7 days (7.4) each. Examples include the seven days of creation and so seven days that make up a week, and the seven lamps on the Temple Menorah.
What does 7 mean spiritually? ›
In the metaphysical philosophy of numerology, the number 7 signifies the Greek deity Athena and the Roman deity Minerva, both goddesses of war and the city protectress. People affiliated with the number seven are believed to be insightful, intuitive, truthful, introspective, intellectual, and wise.
Seven was the most powerful magical number, based on centuries of mythology, science, and mathematics, and therefore had a very important role in the wizarding world. Arithmancer Bridget Wenlock was the first to note this through a theorem which exposed the magical properties of the number seven.
Why is 9 a lucky number? ›
We can say that Number 9 is a fortunate number as this number brings a prosperity, happiness and good luck in life. Number 9 is associated with Mars and its a powerful number but the people who are born on the dates 9, 18, 27 have an aggression issue as they easily get angry on small things.
What number makes you a billionaire? ›
Calculating Net Worth. In the United States, a billionaire is a person with a net wealth of a billion dollars, or $1,000,000,000. Billionaires in other countries are defined by other monetary units.
What number makes you rich? ›
Someone who has $1 million in liquid assets, for instance, is usually considered to be a high net worth (HNW) individual. You might need $5 million to $10 million to qualify as having a very high net worth while it may take $30 million or more to be considered ultra-high net worth.
What are rich numbers? ›
We can call a number with a large number of divisors compared to its neighbors a rich number. Thus 24 is a rich number. Any number with just two divisors will be a prime number such as N=31 which has {1,31} as its divisors. The number N=60(127)=7620 is also a rich number with its neighbor N=7621 being a prime.
What are no 1 lucky numbers? ›
For the people born on birth dates that sum up to Number 1, all the numbers that add up to 1 are lucky, hence, their lucky dates are 1, 10, 19 and 28. Their powers shall increase on those days and they can perform at their best and achieve good results and success.
Is 69 a lucky number? ›
69, spelled sixty-nine, is the natural number that follows 68 and precedes 70. An odd number, 69 is divisible by 1, 3, 23 and 69. 69 is a composite number, meaning that it is not a prime, and a lucky number.
What is the luckiest 3-digit number? ›
Angel Number 333 is considered one of the luckiest alignments of numbers, according to numerology.
