According to legend, thousands of years ago Buddha called all the animals to a meeting telling them he would make the first twelve animals arriving associated with a year, creating the signs of the Asian Zodiac. On the night before the meeting, Cat talked with his friend, Rat, and they agreed that whoever woke up first the next morning must wake up the other so that they could go together. However, Rat failed to keep his promise and went to the meeting alone. Then, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig arrived. They became the twelve signs of the Asian Zodiac. When Cat woke up and hurried there, the meeting was over. And supposedly, to this day, that is why cats kill rats.

Japanese Kanji of the Asian Zodiac Animal Signs
	The Rat (nezumi) 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008
	The Ox (ushi) 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009
	The Tiger (tora) 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010
	The Hare or Rabbit (usagi) 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011
	The Dragon (tatsu) 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012
	The Serpent or Snake (hebi) 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013
	The Horse (uma) 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014
	The Ram or Sheep (hitsuji) 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015
	The Monkey (saru) 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016
	The Rooster (tori) 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017
	The Dog (inu) 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018
	The Boar (inoshishi) 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019

The Tattoo Flash Designs eBook contains Asian and Western zodiac designs suitable for tattooing. You can purchase that volume HERE.

If you are looking for more kanji, you might try the following books: