Chinese Zodiac vs. Japanese Zodiac

[somenube]

For a summer project I was thinking of making a clock with the numbers in kanji and the zodiac signs and animals for the time. When the clock struck a certain hour it would make the animal noise. There is one problem, I am not sure if the symbols for the Japanese zodiac are any different than the Chinese. Also, Do I use 犬 for dog,馬 for horse, and 羊 for sheep or do I use other kanji specifically designed for the zodiac like 午？
Thanks a ton!

[richvh]

The symbols are the same for both Japanese and Chinese zodiacs. However, there are special signs for some of the animals (different from the normal animal signs. See Wikipedia among other sources.

[AJBryant]

See this link on historical time in Japan.

And these: http://www.cafepress.com/sengokudaimyo.15315393
http://www.cafepress.com/sengokudaimyo.14402468


Tony

[somenube]

Ok thanks that helped a lot! I thought the kanji, or hanzi, were different. But the zodiac kanji are the same.