Who the Rooster is
The tenth branch (酉, tori) — precision, confidence, and unmissable presence. It belongs to sunset, due west, and Metal in its refined, finished form: the polished blade.
The Rooster is read as sharp, capable, and proud — the sign that is exactly as competent as it appears, and knows it.
The bird that called the sun
The Rooster sits at the heart of Japan's oldest myth. When Amaterasu, the sun goddess, hid in a cave and plunged the world into darkness, the gods gathered the tokoyo no nagatori — the "long-crowing birds," roosters — to call the dawn and coax her out. The rooster is the bird that summons the sun; you still see them kept at Shinto shrines. And the Tori-no-ichi, the November "Rooster Fairs," are where Japan buys ornate kumade rakes to "rake in" fortune for the year. The Rooster is the sign of the confident announcer, the one whose voice brings the light.
The Rooster's nature
Precision and pride. Rooster people are associated with diligence, honesty, and an eye for detail. The shadow the texts name is criticism — the sharp eye that improves everything, turned on people who did not ask to be improved.
Time, direction, and season
The hour of 5pm to 7pm — sunset, the mirror of the Rabbit's dawn. Direction due west. Mid-autumn, the equinox, the harvest gathered.
Who the Rooster moves with
Harmony in the Metal trinity with Ox and Snake (巳酉丑). Opposition to the Rabbit (卯) — sunset against sunrise, west against east.
The Year of the Rooster
Read as a year of hard work, precision, and reckoning — a time to finish, account, and put things in order.
The Rooster is one of the twelve Earthly Branches — the ox, the tiger, the dragon, and the rest.