Hatsuyume: Japan's first dream of the year
Hatsuyume is the first dream of the New Year in Japanese tradition, long read as a sign for the year ahead. Which night counts has three answers, and the best-known lucky dreams are, in order, Mount Fuji, a hawk and an eggplant. From a psychology point of view, a New Year dream reflects what is on your mind around the holidays, like any other dream; it does not predict the future.
Which night counts?
There are three views: the night of New Year's Eve into January 1, the night of January 1 into the 2nd, and the night of the 2nd into the 3rd. All three were already current in the Edo period. Today January 2 is also sometimes called “first dream day”.
Fuji, hawk, eggplant
The saying ichi Fuji, ni taka, san nasubi ranks the luckiest things to see in a first dream: Mount Fuji, then a hawk, then an eggplant. It was already known in the early Edo period and is recorded in several Edo-period books.
Why these three is debated. The best-known explanation ties them to Suruga Province (central Shizuoka today): the highest mountain, Fuji; then nearby Mount Ashitaka; then the first eggplants of the season, which were expensive. It is one explanation among several.
Dreaming of a sheep in the Year of the Goat (2027)
2027 is the Year of the Goat (Sheep) in the Japanese zodiac, starting January 1. Sheep are not in the Fuji–hawk–eggplant saying, and Japanese first-dream custom has no set reading for them.
China's Zhou Gong's Book of Dreams does mention sheep: leading cattle and sheep home brings joy to the family, and a ewe with her lamb is very auspicious. That is a Chinese tradition, separate from the Japanese custom.
What psychology says about New Year dreams
Most dream content continues the people, events and worries we care about while awake (Domhoff, 2003), and activities that fill our days show up in dreams in proportion (Schredl & Hofmann, 2003). Family visits, travel and plans for the new year naturally find their way into dreams. A first dream works better as a mirror of that season than as a prophecy.
Related dreams
References
- 和樂web（小学館）「一富士二鷹三茄子」の由来解説（江戸時代の『笈埃随筆』『俚言集覧』『嬉遊笑覧』『甲子夜話』などへの記載に言及）
- 《周公解梦》
- Domhoff, G. W. (2003). The Scientific Study of Dreams: Neural Networks, Cognitive Development, and Content Analysis. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
- Schredl, M., & Hofmann, F. (2003). Continuity between waking activities and dream activities. Consciousness and Cognition, 12(2), 298–308.
For entertainment only. Not medical or psychological advice. If nightmares trouble you for a long time, please talk to a professional.
Updated: 2026-10-09