The final day 20 - a Japanese superstition

December 20th is the final 20th or day 20 of the year. It is an ominous date in Japan, a bit like a "Friday the 13th", only its on a fixed date and falls just once a year. It is an inauspicious day to be cautious and avoid disaster.

There are various theories about the origin of this day, but one is that in the Kinki region, executions of criminals were carried out on this day. It is also considered an inauspicious day closely related to mountain gods, and in many regions people avoid entering the mountains on this day.

Along the border between Wakayama and Nara prefectures, there is a mountain range called Hatenashi Mountains. Hatenashi means "no twenty"! Legend goes that a yokai called "Ippondatara," who eats travelers who enter the mountains, lives there and appears on December 20th annually.  It is believed that it may be because of this legend that people began to avoid entering the mountains on this day.