A Fire Horse Woman Calls Time on a Centuries-Old, Gender-Biased Superstition—and Invites the World to Blaze in Orange

SEATTLE, WA, UNITED STATES, December 22, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- GoFeisty Publishing proudly announces the global release of FEISTY: The Accidental Beginning, a bold and sharply humorous novel inspired by real-life experiences. Written by a woman born in Japan’s Fire Horse year (Hinoe-Uma), the book launches a timely conversation—and a growing global movement—ahead of the Fire Horse Year’s return in 2026, a cycle that occurs only once every 60 years.

Told with wit, emotional honesty, and unapologetic clarity, FEISTY follows a Japanese woman who stumbles into an international marriage, confronts a deeply prejudiced mother-in-law, navigates motherhood, and rebuilds her identity as an immigrant in the United States. Beneath the humor lies a deeper purpose: confronting one of Japan’s most persistent and damaging gender-based superstitions.

For centuries, Japanese women born in Fire Horse years were branded as dangerous—“too strong,” “too wild,” and believed to bring misfortune to men. This belief, entirely lacking scientific basis, shaped social behavior across generations.

The book opens with a provocative and disarming voice:

“A Fire Horse woman devours men.
That’s the superstition Japanese people believe.
And I—
I am a Fire Horse.”

With this opening, FEISTY exposes the absurdity and cruelty of a myth that once justified discrimination, exclusion, and fear.

A History That Should Never Repeat
Every 60 years, when the Fire Horse year returned, so did anxiety. In earlier centuries, families feared the birth of Fire Horse girls so deeply that infanticide occurred. In the Meiji-era Fire Horse year of 1906, women faced widespread rejection in marriage and social isolation. Many never married; some took their own lives.

The most recent Fire Horse year, 1966, is still vividly remembered in Japan. Media outlets amplified warnings, elders repeated old legends, and a nationwide panic followed. The consequences were devastating: Japan’s birthrate dropped by approximately 25% in a single year, and an estimated 450,000 children were never born due solely to superstition.

The author of FEISTY was born in 1966—thanks to parents who rejected fear and chose reason.

A Wake-Up Call Abroad
When the author tells people in the United States, “I’m a Fire Horse—born once every 60 years,” the reaction is often admiration: That’s rare. That’s powerful.

But when she explains Japan’s history—how a myth led to denied marriages, social stigma, and mass avoidance of childbirth—listeners are stunned.

Their response is simple and unanimous: That must never happen again.

From Book to Movement: Blaze in Orange 2026
With the Fire Horse Year returning in 2026, FEISTY arrives not just as a book, but as a catalyst.

The final chapter, titled “FEISTY 2026,” calls for a complete transformation of the Fire Horse narrative—from fear to pride, from stigma to celebration. From this chapter emerged Blaze in Orange 2026, a global movement inviting people everywhere to reclaim the Fire Horse as a symbol of strength, resilience, and creative fire.

Orange—long associated in Japan with protection, vitality, and sacred power—has been chosen as the movement’s symbol.

The call to action is simple and inclusive:

For those born in the 1966 Fire Horse year, 2026 marks kanreki—the 60th birthday. Celebrate not in traditional red, but in blazing orange.

For Fire Horse babies born in 2026, welcome them with orange gifts, love, and pride—free from superstition.

For everyone else, join the celebration. Wear orange. Gift orange. Create in orange.

A Message to Media, Creators, and Brands
Sixty years ago, media amplified fear.
In 2026, Blaze in Orange calls on global media, creators, brands, and cultural leaders to amplify joy, truth, and pride instead.

From fashion and art to publishing and public dialogue, the movement invites the world to help ensure that outdated myths are not passed on to another generation.

About the Author
Megumi Bear is a Tokyo-born writer and creative professional, and the pen name of Megumi Haskin, founder of GoFeisty! and Ijiriya USA LLC. A former advertising planner at Hakuhodo in Tokyo, she writes with humor and honesty about cross-cultural life, identity, and resilience. FEISTY: The Accidental Beginning is her first book written in English. Her story has been featured in Nikkei Asia.

Availability
FEISTY: The Accidental Beginning is available worldwide in paperback and eBook formats via Amazon, IngramSpark global distribution, and major online retailers.
For more information, visit GoFeisty.com

MEGUMI HASKIN
Ijiriya USA LLC/GoFeisty! Publishing
[email protected]
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Instagram

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.

Information contained on this page is provided by an independent third-party content provider. Frankly and this Site make no warranties or representations in connection therewith. If you are affiliated with this page and would like it removed please contact [email protected]