Ja pa n e se cu st om s
This page int r oduces you t o som e Japanese social cust om s w hich m ay be helpful w hile you adapt your self t o Japanese w ay of life.
[ Seasonal gr eet ings]
[ Cour t esy w hen you m ove t o a new neighbor hood] [ End of t he Year Event s]
[ Com ing- of- Age Day and Japanese Kim ono] [ Event s in t he Spr ing]
[ Bon Odor i] [ Moonlight Par t y]
[ Nat ional Holidays in Aut um n]
Se a son a l gr e e t in gs
I n Japan t her e ar e cust om s called m id- year gift ( Ochu- gen) and year - end gift ( Oseibo) . We send Oseibo at t he end of t he year t o show appr eciat ion t o bosses, client s, m at ch- m aker s, old t eacher s, r elat ives and ot her s w ho deser ve consider at ion.
You ar e supposed t o send Ochu- gen fr om ear ly July t o ar ound t he t im e of 15t h and Oseibo fr om ear ly Decem ber t o ar ound 20t h. I n gener al t he pr ices of gift s r ange fr om 3000 yen t o 5000 yen depending on how m uch favor you feel you ow e t o t he per son. How ever , you do not have t o be concer ned about pr ices because t he m ost im por t ant t hing is t o convey your appr eciat ion.
Ther e ar e a var iet y of gift s, including det er gent , seasonings, beer cer t ificat es, seaw eeds, and luxur y fr esh food deliver ed dir ect ly fr om t he localit y. A num ber of depar t m ent st or es com pet e w it h one anot her in developing t heir ow n unique m er chandise. When you r eceive Ochu- gen or Oseibo, you send a t hank- you not e in t hr ee days in t he for m of a post car d or a let t er t o show
your appr eciat ion for t he gift , for inst ance, by saying, " w e ver y m uch enj oyed t he food."
I n Japan w hen you m ove t o a new com m unit y, you visit your neighbor s w it h sm all gift s. This int r oduces you and r eassur es t he long t im e r esident s w ho m ight be w or r ied about t he kind of per son you ar e. I n t he past , people w ould give a pr esent of Japanese buckw heat noodles called " Hikkoshi Soba" , but now m or e and m or e people give t hings like soap or t ow els. Alt hough t he younger gener at ion t ends t o ignor e t his cust om s, older people st ill follow it , t hinking t his is im por t ant par t of cour t esy.
Befor e m oving int o a lar ge apar t m ent block, you visit t he people w ho w ill be living next t o you on t he sam e floor and also t he apar t m ent s above and below t o apologize for any noise you m ight m ake w hile m oving in. I t is also cust om ar y t o gr eet your neighbor s w hen you r un int o t hem in t he hallw ay, in t he elevat or , and ot her com m unal ar eas.
These cust om s m ight seem t r oublesom e t o som e people but t hey w ould be m uch appr eciat ed by your new neighbor s.
En d of t h e Ye a r Ev e n t s
I n Japan, Decem ber is consider ed t o be t he busiest m ont h of year as a ser ies of event s such as Chr ist m as, Bonenkai ( end- of- year par t y) , Osoj i ( gener al house- cleaning) , and pr epar at ion for t he New Year t ake place. This page int r oduces you t o t he end of year event s in Japan.
< Ch r ist m a s>
As you know , Chr ist m as is a Chr ist ian celebr at ion. How ever , it becam e one of t he biggest year -end event s in Buddhist Japan aft er t he Wor ld War I I , and it w as developed int o a non- r eligious Japanese st yle Chr ist m as. The Japanese enj oy exchanging pr esent s and eat Chr ist m as cakes. Going t o t he chur ch on t he eve is not ver y popular in Japan. I nst ead, Chr ist m as par t y is held on t he eve w it h fr iends inst ead w it h fam ily, and chicken is eat en as a Chr ist m as feast inst ead t ur key. Thus it becam e m or e like Japanese st yle Chr ist m as.
< Bon e n k a i>
Though it is t he busiest m ont h of year , Decem ber is also t he t im e for t he Japanese t o enj oy Bonenkai. Bonenkai lit er ally m eans a par t y for for get t ing t he year . Usually sect ions of
com panies, social gr oups and close fr iends have ow n Bonenkai. Many r est aur ant s and I zakayas ( Japanese st yle pub) ar e full in Decem ber because of t his event .
< Osoj i>
cleaning of w indow scr eens, kit chen fan and r oom lum ps, t hose of w hich ar e r ar ely done by daily cleaning, ar e done. Osoj i is not m er ely a t hor ough cleaning, but it or iginally has a r eligious significance of pur ificat ion. Osoj i m ust t r adit ionally be done by all fam ily m em ber s, t hough now adays fem ale m em ber s of a house ar e t end t o be in char ge of it .
< Pr e pa r a t ion for t h e N e w Ye a r >
One of t he m ost essent ial pr epar at ions for Oshogat su ( t he New Year ) is cooking Osechi Ryor i ( new year plat es) . Osechi is eat en dur ing t he fir st t hr ee days of Oshogat su. I t m ust be cooked ahead of t im e, so t hat t he m ot her can shar e in t he j oys of Oshogat su w it hout spending all her t im e in t he kit chen. Osechi is neat ly packed in a Jubako, a 4- 5 t ier ed lunch box, and each food has m eaning w hich m ake a Japanese New Year m er r y. Som e of t he m eanings ar e as follow s;
Bam boo Shoot : bam boo shoot w it h a lot of j oint st ands for const ancy Whit e Radish ( Daikon) : it sym bolizes a long life
Dat em aki: Rolled om elet m eans pr ogr ess of lear ning
Kur om am e: Black sw eet ened soybeans m ean har d w or king
Kazunoko: Her r ing r oe m eans t o be blessed w it h childr en
Anot her im por t ant pr epar at ion for Oshogat su is t he New Year decor at ions such as Kadom at su ( pipe- t r ee br anches) put up at t he gat es, Shim enaw a ( a sacr ed st r aw fest oon) hunged above t he fr ont door , and Kagam im ochi ( r ound m ir r or - shaped r ice cakes) offer ed in t he alcove of t he m ain r oom or on Kam idana ( t he household alt ar ) . Those decor at ions m ust be com plet ed by Decem ber 30 as one- day decor at ion is believed t o be unlucky.
< Om isok a >
Om isoka is t he last day of t he year , w hich is Decem ber 31st . Pr epar at ions for t he New Year ar e
t o be m ade by Om isoka. Typically, t he Japanese spend Om isoka night eat ing m andar in or anges in Kot at su ( a t able w it h a heat er and a cover let ) and w at ching NHK Kohaku Ut agassen ( t he annual singing cont est on New Year ’s Eve) . Also, t her e ar e t w o m or e im por t ant event s t hat should not be for got t en, w hich ar e list ening t o Joya- no- Kane and eat ing Toshikoshi Soba. On New Year s’ Eve, t em ples r ing Joya- no- Kane, or t he w at ch- night bell, 108 t im es, w ishing t o r elieve t he hum an suffer ings caused by m en’s ear t hly desir es, w hich am ount , accor ding t o Buddhist belief, t o 108. Toshikoshi Soba is t he soba noodle eat en on t he New Year ’s Eve. As noodles being long, w e eat t he noodles w ishing our long lives.
The Com ing- of- Age ( Seij in- shiki) cer em ony is im por t ant event in Japan. The cer em ony is held t o w elcom e young people w ho get vot ing r ight and adm it t ed int o t he societ y as full gr ow nups. Hist or ically Com ing- of- Age Day w as celebr at ed on Jan.15, invit ing t hose w ho becam e 20 year s old t o t he official Com ing- of Age cer em ony at m unicipal halls. I n 2000, t he dat e w as changed t o t he second Monday of Januar y.
Ever y year t her e ar e m any r epor t s on bad m anner s am ong par t icipant s w ho don't list en t o speeches by host s of cer em ony, m ake noises and don't behave t hem selves. Event ually som e ar e even or der ed t o leave t he sit e. Many adult s ar e lam ent ed and t hink such invit ees ar e not ent it led t o be t r eat ed as gr ow nups. Sever al m unicipal bodies decided t o cancel t he cer em ony t his year . I t is ver y r egr et t able as t her e ar e a lot of young people w ho ar e looking for w ar d t o at t ending t he cer em ony.
The Com ing- of- Age cer em ony is enj oyable as you can see m any young gir ls in t r adit ional Japanese Kim ono. I n Japan, t her e is a cust om t hat single gir ls w ear kim ono w it h long sleeves, w hile m ar r ied w om en w ear kim ono w it h shor t sleeves. Kim ono is ver y expensive and par ent s w ho have daught er s save m oney t o buy Kim ono. But Kim ono is ver y t ight gar m ent , so m any young gir ls w ho have accust om ed t o w ear ing casual clot hes like j eans don't w ear it oft en. They put on Kim ono only lim it ed occat ions like w edding cer em ony, for m al par t y, et c. Ther efor e m or e and m or e people use r ent al Kim ono on Com ing- of- Age cer em ony.
Ev e n t s in t h e Spr in g
H in a - M a t su r i ( Gir ls’ Fe st iv a l)
Mar ch 3r d is Hina- Mat sur i. I t is t he gir ls'day. I n Japan w e set up t r adit ional dolls. The gir ls invit e guest s and dr ink sw eet m ild r ice w ine and eat diam ond- shaped r ice cakes. The doll- st and is build in five or seven st air s. A set of dolls usually consist s of t he Em per or and Em pr ess and t heir cour t ier s.
Oh a n a m i
The Japanese love cher r y blossom s ver y m uch. Ever y spr ing, m any people enj oy t he beaut y of t he cher r y blossom s in full bloom w hile eat ing, dr inking and singing under t he cher r y t r ees. I n som e places, t her e ar e night t im e light ing of t he cher r y t r ees only dur ing t his per iod.
Kodom o- n o- H i ( Boy s' Fe st iv a l)
p-shaped st r eam er s at t ached t o a t all bam boo pole out door s. They eat 'Chim aki', w hich is a kind of r ice cakes w r apped in bam boo leaves.
Bon Odor i
I t is get t ing hot t er day by day and people plan how t o spend t he sum m er vacat ion. For
business people, t he Bon per iod ( Aug.13 - Aug.16) is convenient t o spend long holiday because dur ing t he per iod m ost com panies ar e closed.
The Bon per iod is or iginat ed fr om t t he Buddhism r it ual w hen people w ish t heir ancest or s soul m ay r est in peace. Ther efor e m any people r et ur n t o t he hom et ow n dur ing t his and visit t heir ancecst or s' gr aveyar d. Ther e ar e m any com m unit y w her e people gat her at night and enj oy t he Japanese Bon dance and w alk ar ound var ious st alls of goldfish scooping, cot t on candy, t oys and so on w ear ing t he Yukat a ( casual Japanese kim ono) and Get a ( w ooden clogs) .
I f you find a not ice of t he Bon dance near by, w hy don't you j oin it and see how people enj oy t he sum m er vacat ion.
M oon ligh t Pa r t y
I n Japan, people celebr at e t he night of a full m oon in m id- Sept em ber .
The funct ion of " Jyugoya" ( The night of a full m oon) or iginat ed fr om China.
I n Heian Per iod, it w as int r oduced t o Japan. People com posed poem and played t he cer em onial Cour t m usic ( Gagaku) in t he m oon view ing feast of cour t .
I n Edo per iod, t he funct ion of " Jyugoya" becam e m or e popular . People m ade offer ing dum pling ( Tsukim idango) , gr een soybeans, t ar o, per sim m on and Japanese pam pas gr ass, et c. t o t he m oon.
I n pr esent t im e, " Jyugoya" is called 'Chushu no Meiget su' ( t he har vest m oon) or 'I m o Meiget su' ( t he t ar o m oon) . People offer and eat t ar o and dum pling on t he Jyugoya night .
Re spe ct - for - t h e - Age d D a y
This is t he day w hen people expr ess r espect and w ish for longevit y of t he senior people.
Childr en m ay offer a hear t ful ser vice such as m assage t o t he gr andpar ent s, and t heir par ent s m ay give som e gift s and offer a feast .
On t his day, each m unicipal gover nm ent or ganizes var ious event s t o ent er t ain senior cit izens.
Au t u m u n a l Equ in ox D a y
On t his day, t he lengt h of dayt im e and night t im e becom es equal.
Cust om ar ily people visit t heir ancest or 's gr aveyar d and w ish t hem t o r est in peace.
