Influence of a Folk Superstition on Fertility of Japanese in California and Hawaii, 1966.

The article examines the influence of folk superstition on crude birth rate of the Japanese populations in Japan, California and Hawaii as of 1966. The superstition that is examined in this study is the belief that females born in the Year of Hinoe-Uma based on the zodiac almanac, have undesirable characteristics and that must be avoided for marriage. The strength of the belief has been documented in the crude birth rate in Japan for 1966, in which the rate fell to 13.7 per thousand population in comparison to 17 and 18 per thousand population in 1955. Similarities and differences in the birth trend of Japanese baby girl in California and Hawaii with those in Japan are observed for 1966. Findings showed that rates in California and Hawaii decreased due to the superstition of Hinoe-Uma.