Japan History and Culture

Japan annual event
The full list of national holidays is as follows:

January 1 (national holiday)
New Year (shogatsu)

The second Monday in January
Coming 0f Age day or Adult’s Day (Seijin-no hi)

February 3
Beginning of spring (setsubun)

February 11 (national holiday)
National Foundation Day (kenkoku kinenbi)

February 14
Valentine’s Day

March 3
Doll’s Festival (hina matsuri)

March 14

White Day

March 20 or 21
Vernal Equinox (Shunbun-no hi)

April 29 (national holiday)
Showa Day (Showa no hi)

May 3 (national holiday)
Constitution Day (kenpo kinenbi)

May 4 (national holiday)
Greenery Day (midori no hi)

May 5 (national holiday)

Children’s Day (kodomo no hi)

July/August 7
Star Festival (tanabata)

The third Monday in July
Marine Day (Umi-no hi)

July/August 13-15
Obon

Third Monday of September (national holiday)
Respect for the Aged Day (keiro no hi)

Around September 23 (national holiday)
Autum Equinox Day (shubun no hi)

Second Monday of October (national holiday)
Health and Sports Day (taiiku no hi)

November 3 (national holiday)
Culture Day (bunka no hi)

November 15
Seven-Five-Three (shichigosan no hi)

November 23 (national holiday)
Labour Thanksgiving Day (kinro kansha no hi)

December 23 (national holiday)
Emperor’s Birthday (tenno no tanjobi)

December 24-25
Christmas

December 31
New Year’s Eve (omisoka)

If a national holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will also be a holiday. If a day lies between two national holidays, the day will also be turned into a holiday.

Japanese New Year Money Gift (Otoshidama)

Otoshidama is the lucky preserve of Japanese children. On January 1st, Japanese people have a custom of giving pocket money to children. The money comes from parents, grandparents and relatives this is known as Otoshidama, small gifts with money, colourful envelopes and a typical gift for a junior or senior high school student would be 5000 to 10000 yen ($50 - $100) per relative. That means that the money can add up pretty fast.

Accroding to Kumon Children’s Research Institute (1999), Otoshidama is usually given in decorative envelopes. It is estimated that the average child receives around 40,000 yen each year. Most save the money. Others spend it on relatively expensive computer games, clothes, and CDs.

In the Edo period, large stores and wealthy families gave out a small bag of mochi and a Mandarin orange to spread happiness all around. The amount of money given depends on the age of the child but is usually the same if there is more than one child so that no one feels slighted.

The ceremony of Coming-of-Age Day. (Seijin-no-hi, ????)

The Japanese Coming of Age Ceremony (Seijin shiki or Seijin no hi) is a Japanese annual event, which takes place on the second Monday of January (it used to be celebrated always on January 15 until the year 1999), on January 15 th is a national holiday. On this day, men and women who have had their twentieth birthdays during the year are proclaimed to become adults and they are eligible to vote, to smoke and drink, if they wish. Along with the bestowal of many new rights, they also must bear the responsibilities of adults.

As styles of ceremonies are different from region to region, it is common for 20-year-olds dressed in formal outfits including many young women usually wear brightly colored, gorgeous kimono called “furisode”(swinging sleeves) and the young men don new suits to attend the celebrations held in their hometown and visit shrines. Today, Many young men wear western style suits, but if you`re lucky, you might see one in a formal black kimono with five mon (family crests), hakama, and haori (samarai style).

Local governments usually have a ceremony known as a seijin shiki (adult ceremony) to honor the “new adults”. The ceremony is generally held in the morning and all of the young adults maintaining residency in the area are invited to attend. Government officials give speeches, and small presents are handed out to the new adults. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the government gives the new adults a money gift.

After the ceremony, the young adults often gather in groups and go to parties or go out drinking. Young women not used to wearing the slippers known as zori can often be seen limping as the afternoon wears on and evening approaches. Later in the evening, it is not unusual to see wobbly young adults staggering in the trains, heading happily home after a day of celebration

The furisode

Furisode (??) means “long flowing sleeves” .

Furisode is a style of kimono. When a young Japanese woman turns 20 years old, to celebrate the Coming of Age Day, she is recognised as an adult. She has the right to vote, is responsible for any crimes and is allowed to smoke and drink (officially).

Many parents buy the Furisode for their daughters to celebrate this significant point in a young woman’s life. Furisode is the most gorgeous formal kimono for unmarried women, it is an elaborate decorations beautiful designs and colors made of very fine, brightly colored silk..

There are three kinds of furisode which vary according to the length of the sleeves. The longest sleeves are 42.3 inches. The next longest sleeves are 41.3 inches. And the shortest sleeves are 33.5 inches.

The middle-length sleeved furisode is commonly worn at Seijinshiki (coming of age ceremonies), graduation ceremonies, and wedding parties. The style of obi used with this furisode is called fukuro obi , which is an obi that is double the width of a typical obi and is worn by folding it in half. There are many elaborate ways to wear a fukuroobi.

Furisode generally uses flowered patterns and designs. In addition, tie-dyed designs are often used to make the furisode more elaborate and the use of gold foil adds to the richness. Obi-age(Obi scarf) is used to cover obi-makura (small pillow) which supports the obi in the back and holds the obi crest line in place. A carefully selected obi-jime (the cord tied over the obi) is tied at the front. Fastening the obi and also accenting the obi A pair of white tabi (traditional Japanese socks) is always used when one wears a formal kimono

Furisode are mainly worn for major social functions such as wedding ceremonies or tea ceremonies until they get married. Depending on the quality of the materials, design and workmanship, a furisode normally costs around  ?100,000 to ?300,000 to rent and over ?1,000,000 (approximately $10,000 US) to purchase.

The second Monday in January is a public holiday called ‘Adult Day’ and many young women attend a ceremony wearing their Furisode kimono

The Tachibina ( standing hina dolls, 立雛, 紙雛)

The Tachibina is an older form of Japanese Hina dolls from the early Edo period  (1603-1827). The earlier Tachi bina dolls were not made to stand up, instead they were made to lay down or lean on the display. The faces of this set appear to be old with a beautiful sparkle on Gofun, probably from the late Edo to early Meji period.

The “Tachibina”, which is consist of a pair, one male (large, with outstretched protective arms) and one female (smaller, armless). The male is usually about 38 cm high, while the female is around 23 cm. They are generally made of paper and are relatively two dimensional. He wears a kosode, or short-sleeved kimono, and hakama pants, all of paper, while her kosode is constructed simply of paper wrapped cylindrically around her and tied with a paper obi sash.

They are related to very ancient protective figures (the amagatsu, a cross of bamboo with a head, and the hoko, an almost armless stuffed doll). They also evoke and sometimes replace the elaborate emperor and empress hina-ningyo which girls display at Hina Matsuri. When made of paper or inexpensive materials, they are appropriate for the nagashibina ceremony, the ancestor of Hina Matsuri, in which dolls are touched or rubbed to absorb one’s sins, and then thrown into a river.

The pair can also be made of various more durable materials (kimekomi, wood, pottery, or complex construction like hina) and today represent marriage.

Hatsuyume (First Dream, 初夢)

Hatsuyume is the Japanese word for the first dream had in the New Year.

Hatsuyume, literally hatsu means first, yume means dream in Japanese,the night of  December 31 was often passed without sleeping, thus the hatsuyume was often the dream seen the night of January 1. This explains why January 2 (the day after the night of the “first dream”) is gives the name to the second day of the year in the traditional Japanese calendar.

Traditionally, the contents of the dream would foretell the luck of the dreamer in the ensuing year. There is an old saying, Mt. Fuji (Ichi-fuji, 一富士), a hawk (ni-taka, 二鷹) or an eggplant (san-nasubi, 三茄子or nasu, 成す), it indicates the three best things to have in your first dream. If you dream of three things, you will have good fortune during the year. This belief has been in place since the early Edo period but there are various theories regarding the origins as to why this particular combination was considered to be auspicious. One theory suggests that this combination is lucky because Mount Fuji is Japan’s highest mountain, a hawk is a clever and strong bird, and the word for eggplant (nasu or nasubi 茄子) has the same sound as the word “nasu 成す” which means achieving something great.

Kagami mochi(mirror mochi,鏡餅)  

Kagami mochi (a rice cake decoration for Japanese New Year’s), literally “Kagami” means a mirror and Mochi means a rice cake, which is offered to Buddha and other deities at the New Year. And the kagami mochi is decorated with objects often chosen for the lucky ideas suggested by puns on their names.

Kagami mochi consists of a stack of two round rice cakes (mochi), which round shape symbolizes fulfillment in the family. The stacked cakes indicate successfully “piling up” or adding another year to one’s life.

 The smaller placed atop the larger, and a daidai orange (a Japanese bitter orange) with an attached leaf on top, whose name means “generation”, is said to symbolize the continuation of a family from generation to generation.

In addition, it may have a piece of white paper. Some of the Kagamimochi are  decorated with a folding fan, a sheet of kombu (Kelp) and a skewer of dried persimmons under the rice cakes. It sits on a stand called a sanpō (三宝) over a sheet called a shihōbeni (四方紅), which is supposed to ward off fires from the house for the following years. Sheets of paper called gohei (御幣) folded into lightning shapes similar to those seen on sumo wrestler’s belts are also attached.

The ornamental mochi is removed on January 11 and broken into smaller pieces  before being eaten. By this time, the kagami mochi is usually quite brittle, and cracks appear on the surface. The mochi is not cut with a knife, since cutting has negative connotations (like “cutting off ties”). It’s broken with one’s hands or a hammer, and thus the ritual is called kagami biraki鏡開き(”Mirror Opening”also known as the “Rice Cutting Ceremony”). The smaller pieces are roasted and put in zenzai or shiruko (sweet soup of boiled beans) or zoni (vegetable and meat soup). By partaking of this offering to the gods, ancient people believed that they were inviting divine blessings.

Thousand-year candy (chitoseame,千歳飴)

Chitoseame means “thousand-year candy,” is given to children on “Seven-Five-Three” Festival (Shichi-Go-San ).

Chitoseame is shaped like a long thin stick of red and white wheat gluten, which comes in a long white paper bag decorated with symbols of longevity and ensures healthy growth such as pine, bamboo, plums, cranes, and tortoises. Chitoseame and the bag are both expressions of parents’ wish that their children lead long, prosperous lives.

admin on August 26th, 2008 | File Under Culture | No Comments -

Floating Ceremony of Paper Hina Dolls (Nagashibina)

Nagashi-bina is an event that involves dispelling impurities and misfortunes by floating dolls away on river or sea.

This was called “Nagashi-bina”.  Because this was done around the time peach flowers bloom, it has come to be called “Momo no Sekku”, but it used to be called “Joshi no Sekku”.

Displaying dolls indoors became a practice quite a while later.

On this day girls and women dedicate dolls to the shrine deity. The dolls are brought to the beach at Kada and floated away on a wooden boat, taking with them all evils and sicknesses that befall women.”

A boatload of dolls ( Nagashbina sets)

In this rite, dry straw or wood is woven into a boat, which carries a pair of male and female paper dolls to be cast adrift in the river or sea. As it has become quite a rare event, in recent years it has come to attract visitors by the busload.

admin on August 26th, 2008 | File Under Culture | No Comments -

Lucky Laugh or Funny Face Game (Fukuwarai)

Fukuwarai is a Japanese traditional game which is usually played during New Year holiday  in Japan. The game can help you to learn directions and parts of the face.

Fukuwarai means “happy laugh.” Fuku means fortune, and warai means laughing, which is also a popular indoor game on the New Years. The game is usually played by children, but adults may sometimes play also. The game is similar to that of Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

How to play
 
1. Draw two same pictures of a person’s face.
2. Cut the eyes, eyebrows, nose, ears, and mouth out of one picture.
3. Then one player is blindfolded with a handkerchief or some other type of cloth.
4. The blindfolded player tries to place cutouts of the eyes, eyebrows, mouth, and nose on the face, while the other players shout instructions–for example, “Higher!” “To the left!” “There!”
5. After the player places the pieces, the blindfold is removed so the player can view his or her handiwork.
6. Most of the time, the face comes out looking ridiculous, and the players can’t keep from laughing and let the next player take a turn.

Originally, only one style of face was used for the game - a comical, round face of Otafuku. Otafuku is a homely looking woman. Nowadays, other faces are sometimes used, such as those of popular actors and comic book characters or popular anime characters.