What is the Ilgan (Day Master)?
A Saju chart (Saju Pallja) consists of 8 Chinese characters representing the year, month, day, and hour of your birth — two characters per pillar. Among these eight, the Heavenly Stem of the Day Pillar (the upper character of the third column) is called the Ilgan (日干), or Day Master.
The Day Master is the character that represents "you" in the chart. While the other seven characters describe your environment — parents, siblings, spouse, children, career, and wealth — only the Day Master directly shows your core energy and innate temperament. That's why every Saju reading begins with identifying the Day Master.
The Day Master is the "subject" of your Saju. The same life period (fortune cycle) will be experienced completely differently depending on whether your Day Master is Gapwood (甲木) or Imsu (壬水). Knowing your Day Master is the first step to understanding your Saju.
The 5 Elements × Yin/Yang = 10 Heavenly Stems
The 10 Heavenly Stems (Cheongan) divide the energy of heaven into 10 types. Each of the Five Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) has both a Yang (陽) and Yin (陰) expression, giving us 10 total. Yang stems tend to be direct and outward; Yin stems tend to be subtle and flexible.
| Element | Yang (陽) Stem | Yin (陰) Stem | Energy Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🌳 Wood (木) | 甲 Gap (Gapwood) | 乙 Eul (Eulwood) | Growth, expansion, vitality |
| 🔥 Fire (火) | 丙 Byung (Byunghwa) | 丁 Jeong (Junghwa) | Passion, light, warmth, spread |
| 🏔️ Earth (土) | 戊 Mu (Muto) | 己 Gi (Gito) | Stability, receptivity, center, trust |
| ⚙️ Metal (金) | 庚 Gyeong (Gyeonggeum) | 辛 Sin (Singeum) | Decisiveness, precision, principle |
| 💧 Water (水) | 壬 Im (Imsu) | 癸 Gye (Gyesu) | Wisdom, flexibility, depth, intuition |
10 Day Master Personality Cards
Find your Day Master below. Each card outlines the core temperament, strengths, and career tendencies of that Heavenly Stem.
Like a towering tree growing straight toward the sky, Gapwood Day Masters charge toward their goals in a single direction. They love being first, demonstrate powerful momentum on new ventures, and would rather break than bend under pressure.
Like a vine that finds its way around any obstacle, Eulwood excels at reading the environment and pivoting gracefully. Soft on the outside but surprisingly tenacious, they survive and thrive. Fine aesthetic sensibility and a gift for managing relationships.
Like the sun, Byunghwa illuminates everything around them and draws people in. They naturally command attention and radiate warmth. Fast-moving and expansive by nature, their challenge is channeling that energy into focused output.
Like a candle — small but intensely bright. Junghwa Day Masters dive deep into whatever they focus on, developing genuine expertise. Emotionally rich and perceptive, they read others' feelings with uncanny accuracy.
Like a mountain — immovable and trustworthy. Muto Day Masters don't rush; they plant roots before taking action. Once committed, they follow through to the end. People naturally lean on them as the anchor of any group.
Like rich, fertile farmland that nourishes everything within it. Gito Day Masters are grounded in reality, with sharp practical judgment. Their deep care for others and meticulous attention to detail are their greatest strengths.
Hard as steel and quick to decide. Gyeonggeum Day Masters have a powerful sense of justice and stick fiercely to their principles. Direct and forceful — sometimes seen as blunt — but their words carry weight and credibility.
Like a precisely cut gemstone, Singeum Day Masters have exquisitely refined taste. They are obsessed with beauty and flawlessness, unable to overlook even minor imperfections. Their personal aesthetic standard is uniquely their own, and their eye for quality is unmatched.
Like a great river or ocean that accepts everything. Imsu Day Masters combine broad-minded receptivity with sharp strategic thinking. They resist rigid structures, preferring to flow freely toward solutions. Rapid situational awareness and a hunger for varied experience drive their growth.
Like a gentle rain that quietly seeps in and saturates everything. Gyesu Day Masters possess exceptional intuition — perceiving what cannot be put into words. Their inner world is deep and rich, and their capacity for empathy is extraordinary.
Full Classification Table — Element, Polarity & Keywords
A complete overview of all 10 Day Masters organized by Five Element and Yin/Yang polarity.
| Day Master | Character | Element | Polarity | Core Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🌲 Gapwood | 甲 | Wood | Yang | Pioneer, drive, self-respect |
| 🌿 Eulwood | 乙 | Wood | Yin | Flexible, resilient, artistic |
| ☀️ Byunghwa | 丙 | Fire | Yang | Charisma, expansion, passion |
| 🕯️ Junghwa | 丁 | Fire | Yin | Focus, expertise, depth |
| 🏔️ Muto | 戊 | Earth | Yang | Trust, stability, perseverance |
| 🌾 Gito | 己 | Earth | Yin | Care, practicality, detail |
| ⚔️ Gyeonggeum | 庚 | Metal | Yang | Decisiveness, justice, principle |
| 💎 Singeum | 辛 | Metal | Yin | Aesthetics, perfectionism, sensitivity |
| 🌊 Imsu | 壬 | Water | Yang | Inclusivity, strategy, freedom |
| 🌧️ Gyesu | 癸 | Water | Yin | Intuition, empathy, inner depth |
How to Find Your Day Master
To find your Day Master, you first need to generate your Saju chart (Manseryeok) using your birth date and time.
- A Saju chart has 4 pillars × 2 characters = 8 characters total.
- Reading left to right: Year Pillar · Month Pillar · Day Pillar · Hour Pillar.
- In each pillar, the upper character is the Heavenly Stem and the lower is the Earthly Branch.
- The upper character of the Day Pillar is your Day Master (Ilgan).
If your Saju reads 甲子 / 丙午 / 壬申 / 庚子,
the Day Pillar is the third column: 壬申.
The upper character is 壬 (Im) → Your Day Master is Imsu (壬水).
Use a Saju app or visit getsaju.com to instantly check your Day Master by entering your birth date and time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Do people with the same Day Master have the same personality?
The Day Master reveals the direction of your temperament, but how it actually manifests is heavily shaped by the full chart composition. A Gapwood (甲木) Day Master with an abundance of Metal in the chart will appear very different from one with abundant Wood. The Day Master is your starting point — the full picture requires reading the entire chart.
Q2. What is the difference between the Day Master and the Day Pillar?
The Day Pillar (Ilju) consists of both the Day Master (Heavenly Stem, upper) and the Day Branch (Earthly Branch, lower). For example, if your Day Pillar is 甲子, the Day Master is 甲 (Gapwood) and the Day Branch is 子 (Rat). The Day Master represents your ego-self; the Day Branch represents your inner self and the spouse/relationship palace. The 60 Ilju types interpret these two characters together.
Q3. What is the difference between Yang and Yin Day Masters?
Even within the same Five Element, Yang Day Masters (甲·丙·戊·庚·壬) express their energy in an active, extroverted, and direct manner. Yin Day Masters (乙·丁·己·辛·癸) operate in a more introverted, subtle, and flexible way. Neither is better or worse — they simply represent different styles of expressing the same elemental energy.
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Check My Saju for FreeThis content is for entertainment purposes only and does not replace professional advice.