Designs for Happy New Year's cards
(
Nengajo)

Access since January 5, 2006

In Japan, people send a New Year greeting card, called "negajo", to each of their relatives, friends, and acquaintances. There is a symbolic animal for each year, e.g. monkey for the 2004th year. Twelve animals are assigned to each year, rotating in the following order: ne (rat or mouse), ushi (cattle), tora (tiger), u (rabbit or hare), tatsu (dragon), mi (snake), uma (horse), hitsuji (sheep), saru (monkey or ape), tori (hen, rooster or chicken), inu (dog), i (wild boar).


"2024"

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2024 (January 4)



"2022 tora (tiger)"

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2022 (January 3)


"2021 ushi (cow, bull, ox, cattle)"

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2021 (January 4)


"2020 nezumi (mice or rats)"

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2020 (January 3)


"2019 inoshishi"

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2019 (January 10)


"2018 inu (dog)"

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2017 (December 22)


"2017 tori"

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2017 (January 9)


"2016 saru"

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2016 (uploaded January 9, 2017)



"2015 hotsuji"

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2015 (January 11)


lack for 2014 because of mourning



"2013 mi"

Concentric rings appear to rotate.

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2012 (December 28)



"2012 tatsu"

Concentric rings appear to be spirals or eyes appear to move.

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2011 (December 26)



"2011 u"

The diameter of the irises in the right image is half of that of the irises in the left image, but the former appears to be much smaller than it is. Moreover, the girl appears to look at "23", but actually she looks at the pink Chinese character. This eye-direction illusion was first produced by Professor Watanabe.

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2010 (December 28)



"2010 tora"

Concentric rings appear to be distorted.

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2009 (December 23)

The image of the tiger is selected from CorelDRAW cliparts.



"2009"

Hearts appear to move.

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2008 (December 23)


"2009 ushi"

The Chinese character "ushi" appears to move toward the lower right.

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2007 (December 25)

(The design for the greeting cards of the Heisei 21th year (2009 AD))


"2008ne"*

* ne = rats or mice

The five rats are of the same size but the second and fourth ones appear to be smaller than the rest.

(The design for the greeting cards of the Heisei 20th year (2008 AD))

Copyright Akiyoshi .Kitaoka 2006 (November 27)


"2007i"*

* i = wild boar

Wild boars appear to sway.

(The design for the greeting cards of the Heisei 19th year (2007 AD))

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2007 (December 23)


"Dogs 2006"

The left dog appears to be yellowish while the right one bluish, though they are identical in color gradient.

(The design for the greeting cards of the Heisei 18th year (2006 AD))

The works that were not adopted

Copyright Akiyoshi Kitaoka 2005 (December 10)

The contour of the dogs is from one of the CorelDRAW cliparts.


I am sorry to announce that I cannot make the New Year illusion design for 2005 because of mourning. <December 8, 2004>


"Monkey 2004"

Rings appear to rotate.

(The design for the greeting cards of the Heisei 16th year (2004 AD))

The works that were not adopted

Copyright A.Kitaoka 2003


"Sheep 2003"

Red appears to be orange or magenta.

(The design for the greeting cards of the Heisei 15th year (2003 AD))

Copyright A.Kitaoka 2002
(c)Akiyoshi Kitaoka "Trick eyes" Tokyo: KANZEN 2002


"A horse"

The light-green grating appears to move laterally.

(The design for the greeting cards of the Heisei 14th year (2002 AD))

Copyright A.Kitaoka 2001

The contour of the horse is from one of the CorelDRAW cliparts.


"Snakes 2001"

The Cafe Wall patterns appear to move.

(The design for the greeting cards of the Heisei 13th year (2001 AD))

Copyright A.Kitaoka 2000
(c)Akiyoshi Kitaoka "Trick eyes" Tokyo: KANZEN 2002


"Dragon ascending"

Vertical and horizontal gray lines appears to be curved to the center.

(The design for the greeting cards of the Heisei 12th year (2000 AD))

Copyright A.Kitaoka 1999
(c)Akiyoshi Kitaoka "Trick eyes" Tokyo: KANZEN 2002


"Rabbits"

Concentric circles appear to be a spiral.

(The design for the greeting cards of the Heisei 11th year (1999 AD))

Copyright A.Kitaoka 1998


"Tiger"

Thick oblique lines appear to wave.

(The design for the greeting cards of the Heisei 10th year (1998 AD))

Copyright A.Kitaoka 1997


Back