Japanese Festivities: January to June
あけましておめでとうございます、今年もよろしくお願いします !
Akemashite omedetō gozaimasu ! Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegai shimasu!
Happy New Year! Wish you a pleasant year!
An example how osechi ryōri can be presented
With such words all Japanese start their New Year. Much could be said about this and other festivities featured in this article, but we will only briefly present all of them in this post and write more about the individual events when they will be celebrated.
New Year, also known as Oshōgatsu お正月 is a national holiday that lasts up to 3 days in Japan. On this occasion families gather and enjoy traditional food (osechi ryōri お節料理) with auspicious meanings – e.g., shrimp connected to long life, konbu seaweed symbolising happiness or celebratory red seabream. It is common practice to spend January 1st sorting all the New Year's Day postcards (nengajō 年賀状) received from friends and relatives. Families make lists to keep track of who sent the postcards in order to properly reply by sending similar postcards the following year.
Pre-Covid hatsumōde celebration.©加藤俊
The very first visit of the year to a shintō shrine, hatsumōde 初詣, is a particularly popular tradition. On New Year’s, every shintō shrine is stormed by people buying lucky charms (mamori 守り) and fortune slips (mikuji 御籤) to have a fresh start, and paying respects to the enshrined deity, asking for its protection. It is not uncommon to see people wearing traditional clothing during hatsumōde, as it is also a way to celebrate this occasion. The second Monday of January is a special day as well, as it marks the ceremonial passage to adulthood (seijinshiki 成人式) for everyone who turns 20 during the given year. Starting 2022, the legal age of majority will be lowered to 18 years old, therefore, this tradition will likely be adapted.
February is a rather patriotic month, with the mythical foundation of the country by emperor Jinmu on the 11th and the birthday of the current emperor of Japan, Naruhito, on the 23rd. Valentine’s day is not a national holiday, but it is widely celebrated – in a slightly different way than how we know it. In Japan on Valentine’s girls give chocolate to boys they have feelings for, and boys they are close with, as a token of appreciation,
Kintoki Scattering Jewels to Demons, Torii Kiyonaga. image credit: Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Another festivity held in February is Setsubun 節分, scheduled between the 2nd and 4th of February, or one day before the beginning of spring determined according to the old calendar. The holiday mixes tradition, folklore and spirituality; many households perform a roleplay-like ritual to chase away the evil spirits who might lurk around. The father usually wears a mask depicting an Oni, an evil ogre, and is chased away by the kids who throw roasted beans at him. A similar activity is held in major shrines, where politicians and celebrities gather to throw edible beans and candies at the visitors. Another tradition tied with Setsubun is eating a big maki-roll called ehō-maki 恵方巻 in silence while facing a lucky direction tied with the year’s chinese zodiac sign, thus channelling luck and prosperity for the year to come.
March is dedicated to young girls as well celebrating the spring that is soon to come. Girl’s Day, also known as Hinamatsuri 雛祭り (lit. Doll’s Festival). Households with at least one daughter usually display their collection of Hina dolls, dressed in court attire from the classical period, to wish the children health and good fortune. The end of the month is also marked by a national holiday celebrating the Vernal Equinox and the end of the cold season. Additionally on the 14th of March people celebrate the White Day, an event held only in Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan, which is the counterpart of the Valentine’s day. On White Day boys repay for the gifts they received a month earlier, and generally gift chocolates and candy to the girls they know.
Hina dolls displayed at Yanagawa, Fukuoka prefecture. ©Marty Borsotti
Cherry Blossoms and Hanami. ©Atul Vinayak
Although not a festivity per se, hanami 花見, the contemplation of blossoms, takes the honour spot in March and April. People gather in park to celebrate spring by contemplating cherry blossoms and enjoy a picnic, where alcohol is bound to flow. It is not uncommon that food stalls (yatai 屋台) pop up in the biggest parks of a city to support the flower enthusiasts by selling them all sort of snacks. There is only one national holiday happening in April, the celebration of the birthday of Emperor Shōwa on the 29th.
Koi-carp windsocks hang in Itoshima, Fukuoka prefecture.
©Marty Borsotti
May means Golden Week, which, coincidentally, is the topic of the very first blog article that we published. Golden Week is the name given to the first week of May, which is packed with national holidays. For an in-depth explanation we recommend you to read this blog post about Golden Week. Now we will only briefly mention Children’s Day, formerly known as Boys’ Days, as it is considered the male counterpart to Hinamatsuri. On 5th of May carp-like windsocks are hung in households who have at least one son to wish them a healthy life, and to succeed just like the carp that swims upstream against the waterfall to become a dragon. Some families also display samurai dolls or traditional armours – symbols of strength.
June with its beginning of the rainy season does not feature major festivities, as people are stuck at homes waiting for the rain to cease. It is transitionary prelude to a hot and humid summer packed with events and festivities.
©Masaaki Komori
Written by Marty Borsotti