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:
Kodansha's Essential Kanji Dictionary: A Compact Character Dictionary for Students and Professionals
