Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac) Coloring Pages

2027 Is the Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac)

The Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac) is the 8th animal in the Japanese zodiac, and it stands for the sheep.
The year 2027 is the Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac), which comes around once every 12 years.
It comes right after Year of the Horse (Japanese Zodiac), and next is Year of the Monkey (Japanese Zodiac).
Many people draw pictures of sheep on New Year's cards and New Year's decorations.

Sheep are Gentle and Friendly

Sheep are gentle animals that live together in a flock with lots of friends.
Because of this, they are seen as a sign of peace and getting along well with family.
Their soft wool becomes yarn to make clothes like sweaters and scarves that keep you warm in winter.
You can also learn about real sheep in our Sheep coloring page article!

9 Coloring Pages

We have 9 pictures in all! You can find cute sheep, cool sheep, and detailed coloring pages for adults.
The first 3 pages feature a fluffy sheep surrounded by stars and swirls, and 2 Japanese-pattern sheep with flowers and Mt. Fuji behind them.
Parent and Baby Sheep with the First Sunrise has thick lines, so even little kids can color it easily.
Sheep in New Year Clothes is a fun New Year picture with a wooden paddle game and kite flying.
Kagami Mochi and Sheep has an empty box at the top. You can write messages like "Happy New Year" to make your own New Year's card!
Bighorn Sheep on a Rocky Mountain shows a strong sheep with big horns. The Treasure Ship picture is loaded with lucky treasures!
Japanese-Pattern Sheep is a detailed coloring page for adults that you can take your time to color.

People Born in the Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac)

People born in the Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac) are said to be gentle and kind, just like a sheep.
Many of them are good at getting along with people around them and working hard step by step.
If you have family or friends born in the Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac), try coloring a sheep picture as a gift for them!

New Year and Sheep

In Japan, it is a tradition to use the zodiac animal of the year for decorations and New Year's cards.
At shrines, you might see clay bells and ornaments shaped like zodiac animals.
For New Year 2027, try decorating your room with sheep coloring pages to welcome the new year!
It is also fun for the whole family to color a different picture each and line them up on display.

Use the white paper for the fluffy wool

You can leave the wool of Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac) white, or color it lightly with cream or light gray.
If you add a slightly darker color to the bottom of the fluffy bumps, it will look super soft and 3D.
Making the face and legs a light brown or skin tone that is a bit darker than the wool makes it pop!

Use celebratory colors for the New Year

Color the fancy clothes and decorations with New Year colors like red, gold, white, and green.
Color the plum blossoms red or pink, the pine and bamboo green, and the first sunrise orange and yellow to start a bright new year!
For the picture with the parent and baby Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac), make the sky light blue and the grass yellow-green for a gentle feel.
It is also fun to display this with the kadomatsu coloring page!

When making a New Year's card

For the picture with the kagami mochi, color it first. Then write "Happy New Year!" or your name in the box at the top.
If you print it small to fit a postcard, you can make your very own handmade New Year's card.

For advanced coloring pages, use traditional Japanese colors

For the Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac) with Japanese patterns or big horns, try traditional Japanese colors like indigo blue, vermilion red, golden brown, and bright grass green to make it look elegant.
It is easy to color if you pick one color for each part of the pattern.

Colorful options look wonderful, too!

Real sheep are whitish, but on your coloring page, you can use any colors you like—such as pink, light blue, or even rainbow colors!
It is also fun to color each of the three animals on the treasure ship a different color.

When Did Sheep Come to Japan?

Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac) is an animal that was hardly ever in old Japan.
There is a record that they were given to Japan from a country on the Korean Peninsula about 1,400 years ago during the Asuka period, but they did not take root in Japan.
People started keeping them in earnest in the Meiji period to get wool.
So, to people long ago, Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac) was a rare animal.

Curled Horns of Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac)

Many kinds of male Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac) have horns that curl around like spirals.
Horns grow a little bit every year, and if you count the lines on the horn, you can tell their age.
Bighorn Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac) have very big, heavy horns, and the males butt heads with each other to test their strength.

Kanji Characters with "Sheep"

The kanji for "beautiful" (美), "good" (善), and "group" (群) all have the character for Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac) inside them.
It is said this is because people in ancient China thought Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac) was important and good.

Does Counting Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac) Make You Sleepy?

Have you ever heard of counting "one Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac), two Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac)" on nights when you cannot sleep?
This came from English-speaking countries, and one theory says it is because the English word for Year of the Sheep (Japanese Zodiac), "sheep," sounds like the word "sleep."