This year is the year of the snake, and its character is a snake. When I think of snakes, I don't have many good images. They're disgusting, poisonous, and so on. But I have no right to say too much. That's right, I haven't seen one for decades. I wonder if their numbers have drastically decreased, or if they're just not around?
The only time I ever saw one in earnest was when I visited the Japan Snake Center. When I was still businessman, I stopped by the nearby center on my way back from a business trip to Kiryu. But even that was decades ago. My first real memory goes back nearly 70 years to my childhood. The snakes I often saw in my hometown at the time were the Yamakagashi, the Japanese Rat Snake, and the Mamushi, whose bites can be deadly. At that time, we often had mice in our house. They lived in any nice house, not just ours. At night, I could hear the sound of something running around on the ceiling. At those times, I could also hear a rustling sound. I was told that it was the Japanese Rat Snake chasing mice.
One day, a huge Japanese rat snake was found dead on the dirt floor of a barn. Its abdomen was swollen in the middle. It looked like it had eaten a dead mouse. Come to think of it, the day before, I had set up a poisonous mouse trap, but the Japanese rat snake had swallowed the mouse that had eaten it. It was a pity, as they were seen as "beneficial snakes" that caught mice.
Yamakagashi and poisonous Mamushi, called "Hame" in the local dialect, could be seen anywhere along the rice field paths. Yamakagashi were not scary because they would run away from you, but Mamushi could jump on you, so you had to be extremely careful when going to such places. Fortunately, I have never been bitten, and no one around me had such an unfortunate experience.
These snakes are thought to have evolved from lizards, and there are said to be 3,000 species in the world. Their ears have degenerated, and instead they sense vibrations on the ground with their lower jaws. Their eyesight is generally weak, and some even degenerate. Their legs have degenerated, so their way of moving is of course characteristically snaked or flat, but they can also move in a straight line by moving their abdominal muscles. By chance, they have become one of the twelve zodiacs, and they have a deep relationship with people, so it is necessary to continue to have good relationships with them.
By the way, there are many proverbs related to snakes. One of them, which is interesting in relation to the zodiac, is "The dragon's head and the snake's tail." It means that "The head (the first half) is impressive, but the tail (the second half) tapers off." If there is a project that spans these two years, where the previous year was a dragon and this year is a snake, it is carrying a risk that fits this description. The cabinet, which was launched in the year of the dragon and is now in its second year in the year of the snake, as well as all the people, should do their best in the year of the snake!
（Jan. 4, 2025 Yoshihiro Fujiwara）
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