Sky watch: Origins of Japanese legend of the Pleiades
So much within our popular culture - everything from Polaris missiles to Betelgeuse (spelled as Beetlejuice), the zany film character portrayed by Michael Keaton - have names that originate in the stars.
Automobile manufacturers in particular enjoy using celestial words to name their vehicles: Taurus, Saturn, Nova, Astro, Mercury, Eclipse, Subaru.
Subaru?
Yes. In Japanese sky lore, Subaru represents the Pleiades, one of the most noticeable and beautiful star clusters in all the heavens.
To see this cluster - also known as the Seven Sisters - go outdoors after dark beginning Nov. 21 and look low toward the eastern sky.
The Pleiades cluster appears in the constellation Taurus, the bull, and seems to be riding on his back. You can find Taurus fairly easily because its face is outlined by a V-shaped grouping of stars - the Hyades - and the bright yellowish-orange star Aldebaran forms his fiery eye.
You also can spot it more easily by casting your gaze slightly to the side of the cluster.
In Western culture, the name "Pleiades" is believed to derive from the Greek word meaning "to sail" because when the grouping was seen to rise just before the sun, it was a sign of the start of the navigational season in the Mediterranean world.
Eastern cultures saw it quite differently. Much of the Subaru myth arrived in Japan from China, and the term may have Buddhist roots. The word is thought to mean "united" or "getting together." The Chinese character for Subaru (Kanji) also has connotations of being "bright," and so the Subaru stars seem to "get together in one place."
Over time, this Eastern lore was modified for local religious customs or planting and fishing seasons. In some farming regions, people saw the stars of Subaru as seeds and believed their rising with the springtime sun signaled a time for planting. In some coastal areas, Japanese anglers saw in it a fish net and used it to determine when to cast their own nets into the sea.
If you've never checked out the Pleiades, get out on Nov. 21 to do so. It is truly one of the most sparkling and exquisite sights in all the heavens.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
