There are many ways to tell time: the sundial, the 12-hour clock and the 24-hour clock. But there is a much more interesting way to tell time too, one the Japanese used in ancient times: by animal.
The animal clock is based on the Chinese zodiac where all 12 animals in the zodiac have been assigned two hours of the day.
"Meet me in the fourth division of the hour of the horse" is a much more interesting way to say "Meet me between 12:30 and 1:00 p.m." Each set of two hours has four divisions, making each division 30 minutes long. The fourth division of the hour of the horse is not as exact as saying "12:45," giving people more time to make their appointments. Makes you wonder why the Japanese ever abandoned this system.