Date/Time

Rokuyou Calendar

Rokuyou (先勝・友引・先負・仏滅・大安・赤口) calendar for 2023. Use it to check auspicious days for weddings and events.

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

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Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

2023 Lucky Day Ranking Top 10 days ranked by overlapping auspicious calendar notations

Rank	Date	Rokuyou	Calendar Notes	Score
🥇	12/12（Tue）	先負	天赦万倍	70 pts
🥈	3/1（Wed）	大安	大安天赦寅	65 pts
🥉	5/16（Tue）	大安	大安天赦	60 pts
4	4/30（Sun）	先勝	天赦寅	55 pts
5	7/15（Sat）	友引	天赦	50 pts
5	9/27（Wed）	友引	天赦	50 pts
7	4/22（Sat）	大安	大安万倍	30 pts
7	4/28（Fri）	大安	大安万倍	30 pts
7	5/4（Thu）	大安	大安万倍	30 pts
7	7/12（Wed）	大安	大安万倍	30 pts

Scoring: 天赦日 50 pts / 一粒万倍日 20 pts / 己巳の日 15 pts / 大安 10 pts / 巳の日 8 pts / 寅の日 5 pts

Meaning of Rokuyou

Rokuyou is a Chinese calendrical concept that was introduced to Japan roughly during the Kamakura–Muromachi period; it has no direct connection to Buddhism. The cycle begins with 先勝 on the 1st day (new moon) of each lunar month and repeats in a 6-day cycle in the order below. Because it is calculated from the lunar calendar, the same Gregorian date does not necessarily fall on the same rokuyou every year.

先勝せんしょう

"He who acts first wins." Morning is auspicious, afternoon inauspicious. A day to act promptly and without hesitation.

✔ Good for: urgent matters, legal proceedings, contracts (morning)
✘ Avoid: afternoon celebrations

友引ともびき

Originally means "a draw, no winner." Morning and evening are auspicious, around noon is inauspicious. The popular interpretation of "pulling a friend along" is a later folk belief that differs from the original meaning.

✔ Good for: celebrations in general
✘ Avoid: funerals (by folk tradition)

先負せんぷ

"He who acts first loses." Morning is inauspicious, afternoon is auspicious. A day to stay calm and unhurried.

✔ Good for: quiet matters (afternoon)
✘ Avoid: urgent matters, lawsuits, competitions

仏滅ぶつめつ

"Even the Buddha perishes" — the most inauspicious day in rokuyou, unlucky all day. Some wedding venues offer discounts on 仏滅 as bookings tend to drop.

✘ Avoid: weddings, new business openings, moving, celebrations in general

大安たいあん

"Great peace." The most auspicious day in rokuyou, lucky all day. Weekend 大安 days see concentrated wedding bookings; some venues charge premium rates.

✔ Good for: weddings, opening a business, moving, contracts, celebrations in general

赤口しゃっこう

"Red" evokes blades, blood, and fire — a color of ill omen. Only around noon is auspicious; otherwise inauspicious. Like 仏滅, celebrations are strongly avoided.

✔ Good for: matters around noon only
✘ Avoid: celebrations in general (except noon), tasks involving fire or sharp objects

Calendar Notations Displayed on This Calendar

In addition to rokuyou, the following calendar notations are displayed. None of them have any scientific basis; as noted in the side note above, they are rooted in folk custom.

天赦天赦日 (Tenshanitchi) てんしゃにち

The most auspicious day, occurring only 5–6 times a year. "The day heaven pardons all sins." Determined by the combination of season and the day's zodiac stem-branch. Auspicious for starting anything. Considered especially lucky when it overlaps with 一粒万倍日.

万倍一粒万倍日 (Ichiryū Manbaibi) いちりゅうまんばいび

An auspicious day occurring 5–6 times a month. "One grain of rice grows into ten thousand." Determined by the combination of the solar month and the day's twelve earthly branches. Favorable for starting new ventures such as opening a business, beginning a project, or starting savings. Said to cancel out with 仏滅 when they overlap.

己巳 / 巳己巳の日 / 巳の日つちのとみのひ / みのひ

The festival day of Benzaiten, occurring every 12 days. 己巳の日 is the premium version where the zodiac stem-branch matches 己巳, occurring once every 60 days. Associated with fortune and financial luck; considered auspicious for shrine visits.

寅寅の日 (Tora no Hi) とらのひ

Occurs every 12 days. Since the tiger is said to "travel 1,000 ri and return 1,000 ri," this is considered a lucky day for departures, new journeys, and buying a new wallet. Some regions avoid funerals as they associate it with "going on a journey (and not returning)."

How Rokuyou Is Calculated

Rokuyou is determined by the remainder when the sum of the lunar month number and lunar day is divided by 6.

(lunar month + lunar day) mod 6 → 0:大安 / 1:赤口 / 2:先勝 / 3:友引 / 4:先負 / 5:仏滅

For example, the 3rd day of the 5th lunar month gives (5+3) mod 6 = 2 → 先勝. The cycle resets on the 1st of each lunar month (新月), so the starting point shifts each month. The 1st of lunar month 1 and 7 is 先勝, the 1st of month 2 and 8 is 友引, and so on in a half-year repeating pattern.

Identifying the lunar month requires astronomical calculation. This site uses Jean Meeus's approximate formula (Astronomical Algorithms, 1998) to find new moon times, and follows the Tenpōreki system — treating months without a mid-solar-term (中気) as intercalary (leap) months.

Side Note — The Mystery of Rokuyou — No Scientific Basis, Yet 60–70% Consult It

Rokuyou is said to have originated in China as a divination concept called "Rokuyousei" (六曜星), which was introduced to Japan around the Kamakura–Muromachi period. During the Meiji era, the government even issued a ban on its promotion as a superstition, yet it survived as a folk custom and persists to this day. Despite having no scientific basis whatsoever, a 2022 survey found that approximately 60–70% of Japanese people consult rokuyou when scheduling ceremonial occasions.

At wedding venues, weekend 大安 dates see booking concentrations, while 仏滅 dates are so unpopular that some venues offer discounted rates. At funerals, there is a custom of avoiding 友引, but this is considered a misunderstanding rooted in the word's sound — implying "pulling a friend along" — whereas the original meaning is simply "a draw, no winner."

Because rokuyou is calculated from the lunar calendar (lunisolar calendar), the same Gregorian date does not fall on the same rokuyou every year. Since the cycle resets to 先勝 at the start of each lunar month (新月), rokuyou can appear discontinuous when a month boundary is crossed.

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
1 先負	2 仏滅	3 大安	4 赤口	5 先勝	6 友引	7 先負
8 仏滅	9 大安	10 赤口	11 先勝	12 友引	13 先負	14 仏滅
15 大安	16 赤口	17 先勝	18 友引	19 先負	20 仏滅	21 大安
22 先勝	23 友引	24 先負	25 仏滅	26 大安	27 赤口	28 先勝
29 友引	30 先負	31 仏滅

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
			1 大安	2 赤口	3 先勝	4 友引
5 先負	6 仏滅	7 大安	8 赤口	9 先勝	10 友引	11 先負
12 仏滅	13 大安	14 赤口	15 先勝	16 友引	17 先負	18 仏滅
19 大安	20 友引	21 先負	22 仏滅	23 大安	24 赤口	25 先勝
26 友引	27 先負	28 仏滅

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
			1 大安	2 赤口	3 先勝	4 友引
5 先負	6 仏滅	7 大安	8 赤口	9 先勝	10 友引	11 先負
12 仏滅	13 大安	14 赤口	15 先勝	16 友引	17 先負	18 仏滅
19 大安	20 赤口	21 先勝	22 友引	23 先負	24 仏滅	25 大安
26 赤口	27 先勝	28 友引	29 先負	30 仏滅	31 大安

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
						1 赤口
2 先勝	3 友引	4 先負	5 仏滅	6 大安	7 赤口	8 先勝
9 友引	10 先負	11 仏滅	12 大安	13 赤口	14 先勝	15 友引
16 先負	17 仏滅	18 大安	19 赤口	20 先負	21 仏滅	22 大安
23 赤口	24 先勝	25 友引	26 先負	27 仏滅	28 大安	29 赤口
30 先勝

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
	1 友引	2 先負	3 仏滅	4 大安	5 赤口	6 先勝
7 友引	8 先負	9 仏滅	10 大安	11 赤口	12 先勝	13 友引
14 先負	15 仏滅	16 大安	17 赤口	18 先勝	19 友引	20 仏滅
21 大安	22 赤口	23 先勝	24 友引	25 先負	26 仏滅	27 大安
28 赤口	29 先勝	30 友引	31 先負

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
				1 仏滅	2 大安	3 赤口
4 先勝	5 友引	6 先負	7 仏滅	8 大安	9 赤口	10 先勝
11 友引	12 先負	13 仏滅	14 大安	15 赤口	16 先勝	17 友引
18 大安	19 赤口	20 先勝	21 友引	22 先負	23 仏滅	24 大安
25 赤口	26 先勝	27 友引	28 先負	29 仏滅	30 大安

Rokuyou Calendar

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

2023 Lucky Day Ranking Top 10 days ranked by overlapping auspicious calendar notations

Meaning of Rokuyou

先勝 せんしょう

友引 ともびき

先負 せんぷ

仏滅 ぶつめつ

大安 たいあん

赤口 しゃっこう