Birthdays

Birthdays are a very important event in Rokugani culture. It celebrates their position in society, their connection to their ancestors and position as samurai. They do not however remember the exact day on which a person was born, but rather all of Rokugan celebrates turning one year older at the Festival of New Year's Day at the beginning of each year. This is also combined with the celebration of the fall of the Kami and founding of the Great Clans.

Calculating Age
In Rokugan a newborn child is considered to be one years old. Thus, all ages in Rokugan are actulaly one greater than they should be. A man who was twenty years old would be living in his twentieth year, but would actually be nineteen years old.

Asahina family
The Asahina family find the exact date of a person's birth important for astrological purposes not celebration, and will therefore often record the individual persons birth date. For major noble births entire astrological charts are made, detailing any bad or good omens in a addition to any other unusual aspects.

Major References

 * Way of the Crane Page 15.