index

Omisoka - Matsuri

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 06:47:57 +0100

Ōmisoka

Ōmisoka (大晦日^?), New Year's Eve, is the second-most important day in Japanese tradition because it is the final day of the old year and the eve of New Year's Day, which is the most important day of the year.

People tend to be very busy on Ōmisoka because they have much to do to prepare for the new year, and New Year's Day in particular. Many even do a thorough house cleaning, called ōsōji (大掃除). The exercise is much like the annual spring cleaning that people in most colder climates do and even involves changing the paper on shōji doors and setting tatami mats out to air in the sun. Similarly, on the final day of school before winter break, elementary school children do their own ōsōji to get their schools ready for the new year, and most businesses spend the year's final work day cleaning. The purpose of all this is to get ready to welcome in the new year with everything—including people's minds and bodies—in a fresh, clean state, making everything ready for the new beginning that New Year's Day is held to signify.

After cleaning, Japanese have the largest dinner of the year. Around 11:00 pm on Ōmisoka at home, people often gather for one last time in the old year to have a bowl of toshikoshi-soba (年越しそば) or toshikoshi-udon (年越しうどん) together—a tradition based on people's association of eating the long noodles with “crossing over from one year to the next,” which is the meaning of toshi-koshi. While the noodles are often eaten plain, or with chopped scallions, in some localities people top them with tempura. Traditionaly, families make Osechi (おせち) for new year day because cooking during the first 3 days of the new year is not a good thing for Kami of kitchens. But nowadays, most of families buy Osechi, cook ordinary dishes, or just don't know that custom.

At midnight, many visit a shrine or temple for Ninen-mairi(二年参り) . (See Hatsumōde) (初詣). Ninen(二年) means two years and mairi means pilgrimage.

Another regular feature of Ōmisoka starts at 7:30 pm when public broadcaster NHK airs Kōhaku Uta Gassen ("Red vs White singing contest"), one of the country's most-watched television programs. Popular singers (and singing groups) split into two teams, women in the red team and men in the white, which then alternate while competing for the audience's heart throughout the evening. At around 11:30 pm, the final singer (or group) sings, and the audience and a panel of judges are asked to cast their votes to decide which team sang better. The winning team gets a trophy and "the winners' flag." The program ends at about 11:45 pm. Programming then switches to coverage of midnight celebrations around the country. But that custom is beginning to disappear. Young people are becoming less interested in the Red vs White singing contest. Nowadays, huge Mixed martial arts events also take place and many people watch those, instead.

Throughout Japan, Shinto shrines prepare amazake to pass out to crowds that gather as midnight approaches. Most have a large cast bell (see bonshō for photos) that is struck once for each of the 108 earthly desires believed to cause human suffering. The bells' tolling straddles the midnight hour, and their deep, low tones reverberate for miles through the crisp night air as they ring out the old year and ring in the new.

Widely unknown even in Japan is the meaning of the word Ōmisoka. The kanji 晦 written as ミ十 (mi-so) means 30, mi-so-ka (Kanji 晦日) refers to the 30th and last day of a month in the ancient lunar calendar. The prefix Ō (大) makes it a comparative, so it's the last of the last days of the month.

Shichi-Go-San - Matsuri

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 06:45:22 +0100

Shichi-Go-San

Japanese girls at a shrine, dressed up for the Shichi-Go-San festival

Shichi-Go-San (七五三, seven-five-three^?) is a traditional rite of passage and festival day in Japan for three and seven year-old girls and five year-old boys, held annually on November 15. As Shichi-Go-San is not a national holiday, it is generally observed on the nearest weekend.

1 History
2 Current practice
3 Chitose Ame
4 See also
5 References

History

Shichi-Go-San is said to have originated in the Heian Period amongst court nobles who would celebrate the passage of their children into middle childhood. The ages three, five and seven are consistent with Japanese numerology, which dictates that odd numbers are lucky. The practice was set to the fifteenth of the month during the Kamakura Period.^[1]

Over time, this tradition passed to the samurai class who added a number of rituals. Children—who up until the age of three were required by custom to have shaven heads—were allowed to grow out their hair. Boys of age five could wear hakama for the first time, while girls of age seven replaced the simple cords they used to tie their kimono with the traditional obi.^[2] By the Meiji Period, the practice was adopted amongst commoners as well, and included the modern ritual of visiting a shrine to drive out evil spirits and wish for a long healthy life.

Current practice

The tradition has changed little since the Meiji Period. While the ritual regarding hair has been discarded, boys who are aged three or five and girls who are aged three or seven are still dressed in kimono—many for the first time—for visits to shrines. Three-year-old girls usually wear hifu (a type of padded vest) with their kimono. Western-style formal wear is also worn by some children. A more modern practice is photography, and this day is well known as a day to take pictures of children.

Chitose Ame

Chitose Ame (千歳飴^?), literally "thousand year candy", is given to children on Shichi-Go-San. Chitose Ame is long, thin, red and white candy, which symbolizes healthy growth and longevity. It is given in a bag with a crane and a turtle on it, which represent long life in Japan. Chitose Ame is wrapped in a thin clear rice paper film that resembles plastic. This is edible and a great source of fun for children.

References

^ Japanese Lifestyle: Shichi-Go-San, retrieved November 16, 2005
^ Kids Web Japan: Shichi-Go-San, retrieved November 16, 2005

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shichi-Go-San"

Bon Festival - Matsuri

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 06:41:06 +0100

Bon Festival

Illuminated by the Albuquerque Bridge, Japanese volunteers place candle lit lanterns into the Sasebo River during the Obon festival.

Kyoto's Gozan no Okuribi bonfire lit during the Obon festival.

An Obon offering.

Obon (お盆^?) or just Bon (盆^?) is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the departed (deceased) spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves, and when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars. It has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon-Odori.

The festival of Obon lasts for three days; however its starting date varies within different regions of Japan. When the lunar calendar was changed to the Gregorian calendar at the beginning of the Meiji era, the localities in Japan reacted differently and this resulted in three different times of Obon. "Shichigatsu Bon" (Bon in July) is based on the solar calendar and is celebrated around 15 July in areas such as Tokyo, Yokohama and the Tohoku region. "Hachigatsu Bon" (Bon in August) is based on the solar calendar, is celebrated around the 15th of August and is the most commonly celebrated time. "Kyu Bon" (Old Bon) is celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, and so differs each year. "Kyu Bon" is celebrated in areas like the northern part of the Kantō region, Chūgoku, Shikoku, and the Southwestern islands. These three days are not listed as public holidays but it is customary that people are given leave.^[1]

Obon shares some similarities with the predominantly Mexican observance of el Día de los Muertos, such as customs involving family reunion and care of ancestors' grave sites.

Obon is a shortened form of Ullambana (Japanese: 于蘭盆會 or 盂蘭盆會, urabon'e). It is Sanskrit for "hanging upside down" and implies great suffering^[2]. The Japanese believe they should ameliorate the suffering of the "Urabanna".

Bon Odori originates from the story of Mokuren, a disciple of the Buddha, who used his supernatural powers to look upon his deceased mother. He discovered she had fallen into the Realm of Hungry Ghosts and was suffering.^[3] Greatly disturbed, he went to the Buddha and asked how he could release his mother from this realm. Buddha instructed him to make offerings to the many Buddhist monks who had just completed their summer retreat, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. The disciple did this and, thus, saw his mother's release. He also began to see the true nature of her past unselfishness and the many sacrifices that she had made for him. The disciple, happy because of his mother's release and grateful for his mother's kindness, danced with joy. From this dance of joy comes Bon Odori or "Bon Dance", a time in which ancestors and their sacrifices are remembered and appreciated. See also: Ullambana Sutra.

As Obon occurs in the heat of the summer, participants traditionally wear yukata, or light cotton kimonos. Many Obon celebrations include a huge carnival with rides, games, and summer festival food like watermelon.^[4]

The festival ends with Toro Nagashi, or the floating of lanterns. Paper lanterns are illuminated and then floated down rivers symbolically signaling the ancestral spirits' return to the world of the dead. This ceremony usually culminates in a fireworks display.

1 Bon Odori
2 Celebrations outside Japan
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

Bon Odori

Bon Odori Singer in Osaka. His happi coat has the names of the songs he specializes in, here being Goshu Ondo and Kawachi Ondo.

Bon Odori Dancers (August 2004 at Imazu Primary School in Osaka)

Bon Odori (盆踊り, meaning simply Bon dance) is an event held during Obon. It is celebrated as a reminder of the gratefulness one should feel toward one's ancestors.

Originally a Nenbutsu folk dance to express the effusive welcome for the spirits of the dead, the style of celebration varies in many aspects from region to region. Each region has a respective local Bon dance, as well as different music accompanying the dance. The music can be songs specifically pertinent to the spiritual message of Obon, or local min'yo folk songs. Consequently, the Bon dance will look and sound different from region to region. Hokkaidō, or northern Japan, is known for a folk-song known as "Soran Bushi." The song "Tokyo Ondo" takes its namesake from the capital of Japan. "Goshu Ondo" is a folk song from Shiga prefecture. Residents of the Kansai area will recognize the famous "Kawachi ondo." Tokushima in Shikoku is very famous for its "Awa Odori," or "fool's dance," and in the far south, one can hear the "Ohara Bushi" of Kagoshima.

The way in which the dance is performed is also different in each region, though the typical Bon dance involves people lining up in a circle around a high wooden scaffold made especially for the festival called a 'yagura'. The yagura is usually also the bandstand for the musicians and singers of the Obon music. Some dances proceed clockwise, and some dances proceed counter-clockwise around the yagura. Some dances reverse during the dance, though most do not. At times, people face the yagura and move towards and away from it. Still some dances, such as the Kagoshima Ohara dance, and the Tokushima Awa Odori, simply proceed in a straight line through the streets of the town.

The dance of a region can depict the area's history and specialization. For example, the movements of the dance of the Tankō Bushi (the "coal mining song") of old Miike Mine in Kyūshū show the movements of miners, i.e. digging, cart pushing, lantern hanging, etc. All dancers perform the same dance sequence in unison.

There are other ways in which a regional Bon dance can vary. Some dances involve the use of different kinds of fans, others involve the use of small towels called tenugui which may have colorful designs. Some require the use of small wooden clappers, or "kachi-kachi" during the dance. The "Hanagasa Odori" of Yamagata is performed with a straw hat that has been decorated with flowers.

The music that is played during the Bon dance is not limited to Obon music and min'yo; some modern enka hits and kids' tunes written to the beat of the "ondo" are also used to dance to during Obon season. The "Pokémon Ondo" was used as one of the ending theme songs for the anime series in Japan.

The Bon dance tradition is said to have started in the later years of the Muromachi period as a public entertainment. In the course of time, the original religious meaning has faded, and the dance has become associated with summer.

To celebrate O-Bon in Okinawa, the eisa drum dance is performed instead.

Celebrations outside Japan

Brazil

Bon Odori Festival is celebrated every year in many Japanese communities all over Brazil, as Brazil is home to the largest Japanese population outside of Japan. São Paulo is the main city of the Japanese colony in Brazil, and also features the major festival in Brazil, with street odori dancing and matsuri dance. It also features Taiko and Shamisen contests. And, of course, this festival is also a unique experience of a variety of Japanese food & drinks, art and dance.

China

The Chinese version of O-Bon, the Ghost Festival (盂蘭節), is held in the seventh month of the Chinese calendar instead of July, though it usually falls in late July or early August. Unlike its Japanese counterpart, the festival is more religious and somber in nature rather than celebratory.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, Bon Odori Festivals are also celebrated every year in Penang and at the Matsushita Corp Stadium in Shah Alam, Selangor. This celebration, which is a major attraction for the state of Selangor, is the brain child of the Japanese Expatriate & Immigrant's Society in Malaysia. In comparison to the celebrations in Japan, the festival is celebrated on a much smaller scale in Penang and Selangor, and is less associated with Buddhism and more with Japanese culture. Held mainly to expose locals to a part of Japanese culture, the festival provides the experience of a variety of Japanese food & drinks, art and dance.

United States and Canada

The "Bon season" is an important part of the present-day culture and life of Hawaii. Bon Odori festivals are also celebrated in North America, particularly by Japanese-Americans or Japanese-Canadians affiliated with Buddhist temples and organizations. Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) temples in the U.S. typically celebrate Bon Odori with both religious Obon observances and traditional Bon Odori dancing around a yagura. Many temples also concurrently hold a cultural and food bazaar providing a variety of cuisine and art, also to display features of Japanese culture and Japanese-American history.^[5] Performances of taiko by both amateur and professional groups have recently become a popular feature of Bon Odori festivals.^[6]^[7] Bon Odori festivals are usually scheduled anytime between July and September. Bon Odori melodies are also similar to those in Japan; for example, the dance Tankō Bushi from Kyūshū is also performed in the U.S. In California, due to the diffusion of Japanese immigration, Bon Odori dances also differ from Northern to Southern California, and some are influenced by American culture, such as "Baseball Ondo".

References

^ Bon A-B-C, 2002, Bonodori.net, Japan, http://www.bonodori.net/E/sekai/bonabc3.HTML.
^ Chen, K 1968, ‘Filial Piety in Chinese Buddhism’, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, p88.
^ What is Obon, 1998, Shingon Buddhist International Institute, California, http://www.shingon.org/library/archive/Obon.html.
^ Obon: Japanese festival of the dead, 2000, Asia Society, http://www.asiasource.org/news/at_mp_02.cfm?newsid=27391.
^ Nakao, Annie, "Japanese Americans keeping Obon tradition alive", San Francisco Chronicle, Friday, July 8, 2005
^ Schulze, Margaret, "Obon Story: Honoring ancestors, connecting to our community", in the Nikkei West newspaper, San Jose, California, Vol. 10, No. 14, July 25th, 2002
^ "Obon Basics" - San Jose Taiko, California

Tanabata - Matsuri

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 06:14:29 +0100

Tanabata

Women dressed in yukata at Tanabata

Tanabata (七夕, tanabata^?, meaning "Evening of the seventh") is a Japanese star festival, derived from the Chinese star festival, Qi Xi (七夕 "The Night of Sevens")．

It celebrates the meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair). The Milky Way, a river made from stars that crosses the sky, separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar. The celebration is held at night, once the stars come out.

1 History
- 1.1 Story
2 Customs
3 Date
4 Festivals
5 Sendai Tanabata Festival
6 G8 summit
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

History

The festival originated from The Festival to Plead for Skills (乞巧奠; きっこうでん), an alternative name for Qi Xi, which was celebrated in China and also was adopted in the Kyoto Imperial Palace from the Heian Period. The festival spread to the general public by the early Edo period, became mixed with various Obon or Bon (盆）traditions (because Bon was held on 15th of the seventh month then), and developed into the modern Tanabata festival. In the Edo period, girls wished for better sewing and craftsmanship, and boys wished for better handwriting by writing wishes on strips of paper. At this time, the custom was to use dew left on taro leaves to create the ink used to write wishes. Incidentally, Bon is now held on 15 August on the solar calendar, close to its original date on the lunar calendar, making Tanabata and Bon as further separate events.

The name Tanabata is remotely related to the Japanese reading of the Chinese letters 七夕, which used to be read as "Shichiseki" (しちせき). It is believed that a Shinto purification ceremony existed around the same time, in which a Shinto miko wove a special cloth on a loom called a Tanabata 棚機 (たなばた) near waters and offered it to a god to pray for protection of rice crops from rain or storm and for good harvest later in autumn. Gradually this ceremony merged with 乞巧奠（きっこうでん, (The Festival to Plead for Skills) and became Tanabata 七夕. Oddly the Chinese writing 七夕 and the Japanese reading Tanabata (たなばた) joined to mean the same festival, although originally they were two different things, an example of ateji.

Story

Like Qi Xi and Chilseok, Tanabata was inspired by the famous Chinese folklore, The Princess and the Cowherd.

Orihime (織姫, Weaving Princess^?), daughter of the Tentei (天帝, Sky King, or the universe itself^?), wove beautiful clothes by the bank of the Amanogawa (天の川, Milky Way, lit. "heavenly river"^?). Her father loved the cloth that she wove and so she worked very hard every day to weave it. However, Orihime was sad that because of her hard work she could never meet and fall in love with anyone. Concerned about his daughter, Tentei arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi (彦星, Cow Herder Star^?) (also referred to as Kengyuu (牽牛^?)) who lived and worked on the other side of the Amanogawa. When the two met, they fell instantly in love with each other and married shortly thereafter. However, once married, Orihime no longer would weave cloth for Tentei and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to stray all over Heaven. In anger, Tentei separated the two lovers across the Amanogawa and forbade them to meet. Orihime became despondent at the loss of her husband and asked her father to let them meet again. Tentei was moved by his daughter’s tears and allowed the two to meet on the 7th day of the 7th month if Orihime worked hard and finished her weaving. The first time they tried to meet, however, they found that they could not cross the river because there was no bridge. Orihime cried so much that a flock of magpies came and promised to make a bridge with their wings so that she could cross the river. It is said that if it rains on Tanabata, the magpies cannot come and the two lovers must wait until another year to meet.

The following variation of the story is known in China and Japan: A young farmer named Mikeran discovered on his farm a robe which, unbeknownst to him, belonged to a goddess named Tanabata. Soon after, Tanabata visited Mikeran and asked if he had found it. He lied and told the goddess that he hadn't but would help with her search. Eventually the pair fell in love, were wed and had many children. However, one day Tanabata noticed a piece of cloth which had once belonged to her robe on the roof of Mikeran's hut. His lie discovered, Tanabata agreed to forgive him on the condition that he weave a thousand pairs of straw shoes, but until that time, she would leave him. Mikeran was unable to weave the shoes in his lifetime and thus never met Tanabata again. However, it is said that the pair meet once a year when the stars Altair and Vega intersect.

Customs

In present-day Japan, people generally celebrate this day by writing wishes, sometimes in the form of poetry, on tanzaku (短冊, tanzaku^?), small pieces of paper, and hanging them on bamboo, sometimes with other decorations. The bamboo and decorations are often set afloat on a river or burned after the festival, around midnight or on the next day. This resembles the custom of floating paper ships and candles on rivers during Obon. Many areas in Japan have their own Tanabata customs, which are mostly related to local Obon traditions. There is also a traditional Tanabata song:

Sasa no ha sara-sara (笹の葉　さらさら)
Nokiba ni yureru (軒端にゆれる)
Ohoshi-sama kira-kira (お星様　キラキラ)
Kingin sunago (金銀砂子)

Translation:

The bamboo leaves rustle, rustle,
shaking away in the eaves.
The stars go twinkle, twinkle;
Gold and silver grains of sand.

Date

The original Tanabata date was based on the Japanese lunisolar calendar, which is about a month behind the Gregorian calendar. As a result, some festivals are held on July 7, some are held on a few days around August 7, while the others are still held on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar, which is usually in August in the Gregorian Calendar.

The Gregorian dates of "the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the Japanese lunisolar calendar" for the coming years are:

2008-08-07
2009-08-26
2010-08-16
2011-08-06
2012-08-24 (The Chinese date is 2012-08-23 because of the time difference.)
2013-08-13
2014-08-02
2015-08-20
2016-08-09
2017-08-28
2018-08-17
2019-08-07
2020-08-25

Festivals

The Sendai Tanabata Festival

Large-scale Tanabata festivals are held in many places in Japan, mainly along shopping malls and streets, which are decorated with large, colorful streamers. The most famous Tanabata festival is held in Sendai from August 5 to August 8. In the Kantō area, the biggest Tanabata festival is held in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa for a few days around July 7. A Tanabata festival is also held in São Paulo, Brazil around the first weekend of July.

Although Tanabata festivals vary from region to region, most festivals involve Tanabata decoration competitions. Other events may include parades and Miss Tanabata contests. Like other Japanese festivals, many outdoor stalls sell food, provide carnival games, etc., and add to the festive atmosphere.

Sendai Tanabata Festival

The Sendai Tanabata festival began shortly after the city was founded in the early Edo Period. The Tanabata festival gradually developed and became larger over the years. Although the festival's popularity started to dwindle after the Meiji Restoration, and almost disappeared during the economic depression that occurred after World War I, volunteers in Sendai revived the festival in 1928 and established the tradition of holding the festival from August 6 to August 8.

During World War II it was impossible to hold the festival, and almost no decorations were seen in the city from 1943 to 1945, but after the war, the first major Tanabata festival in Sendai was held in 1946, and featured 52 decorations. In 1947, the Showa Emperor Hirohito visited Sendai and was greeted by 5,000 Tanabata decorations. The festival subsequently developed into one of the three major summer festivals in the Tohoku region and became a major tourist attraction. The festival now includes a fireworks show that is held on August 5.

At the Sendai Tanabata festival, people traditionally use seven different kinds of decorations, which each represent different meanings. The seven decorations and their symbolic meanings are:

Paper strips (短冊; Tanzaku) : Wishes for good handwriting and studies	Paper Kimono (紙衣; Kamigoromo) : Wishes for good sewing. Wards off accidents and bad health.	Paper Crane (折り鶴; Orizuru) : Family safety, health, and long life	Purse (巾着; Kinchaku) : Good business
Net (投網; Toami) : Good fishing and harvests	Trash Bag (くずかご; Kuzukago) : Cleanliness and unwastefulness	Streamers (吹き流し; Fukinagashi) : The strings that Orihime uses to weave

The ornamental ball (くす玉; Kusudama) often decorated above streamers in present-day Tanabata decorations was originally conceived in 1946 by the owner of a shop in downtown Sendai. The ball was originally modelled after the Dahlia flower. In recent years, box-shaped ornaments have become popular alternatives to the ornamental ball.

G8 summit

Participating leaders at 34th G8 summit

In 2008, the 34th G8 summit in Toyako, Hokkaido coincided with Tanabata.^[1] As host, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda invited the G8 leaders to participate in the spirit of the festival. They were each asked to write a wish on a piece of paper called tanzaku, to hang the tanzaku on a bamboo tree, and then to take the necessary actions to change the world for better.^[2] As a symbolic gesture, the actual writing and the act of hanging up that note is at least a first step.^[3]

The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs made colored strips of paper and a bamboo tree for G8 wishes available in Roppongi during the summit.^[4]

Protesting organizations in Sapporo during the G8 summit also tried to use the spirit of Tanabata to focus attention on a somewhat different set of wishes. Non-governmental organizations like Oxfam, and CARE International set up an online wish petition campaign to coincide with the G8 Summit and Tanabata.^[5]

Outside Japan, Fukuda's timely gesture had unanticipated consequences. For example, the Indian nationally-circulated newspaper, The Hindu picked up on this festival theme by printing an editorial featuring unconventional Tanabata wishes.^[6]

Fukuda also invited his fellow citizens to try turning off the lights in their house and stepping outside to enjoy with their family the sight of the Milky Way in the night sky.^[7] On July 7, the Japanese Ministry of the Environment anticipated that over 70,000 facilities and households across Japan would switch off their lights from 20:00 to 22:00 as a symbolic step and as a wish for the future.^[8]

References

^ Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA): Schedule; Reuters (India): "Factbox -- Schedule for G8 Summit and Surrounding Events News." July 3, 2008.
^ 2008 Japan G8 Summit NGO Forum. " About Tanzaku Action - One Million Wishes," July 2008.
^ Saito, Mari and Sophie Hardach. "G8 leaders to wish upon a bamboo tree at summit," Reuters. July 2, 2008.
^ Japan, MOFA: "Setting up of the Public Relations Booth for the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit," June 16, 2008.
^ Oxfam: "Tanabata: Your wishes to the Summit!" July 2008.
^ Cooper, Andrew F. and Ramesh Takur. "Wishing on a star for the G8 summit," The Hindu (Chennai). July 7, 2008.
^ Japan, Prime Minister of Japan: "Before Tanabata, the Star Festival," Fukuda Cabinet E-mail Magazine No. 38 (July 3, 2008).
^ "Lights to be turned off at 72,000 facilities on Tanabata night," Hokkaido Shimbun (Sapporo). July 4, 2008.

Hanami (flowers) - Matsuri

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 06:09:08 +0100

Hanami

Hanami parties along the Kamo River.

Hanami (花見^?, lit. "flower viewing") is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, "flower" in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms (桜 or 櫻, sakura^?), or ume blossoms (梅, ume^?). From mid January to early May, sakura bloom all over Japan. The blossom forecast (桜前線, sakurazensen^?, lit. cherry blossom front) is announced each year by the weather bureau, and is watched carefully by those planning hanami as the blossoms only last a week or two. In modern-day Japan, hanami mostly consists of having an outdoor party beneath the sakura during daytime or at night. Hanami at night is called yozakura (lit. "night sakura"). In many places such as Ueno Park temporary paper lanterns are hung for the purpose of yozakura.

History

Close up of ume blossoms

The practice of hanami is many centuries old. The custom is said to have started during the Nara Period (710–794) when the Chinese Tang Dynasty influenced Japan in many ways; one of which was the custom of enjoying flowers. Though it was ume blossoms that people admired in the beginning, by the Heian Period, sakura came to attract more attention. From then on, in tanka and haiku, "flowers" meant "sakura."

Hanami was first used as a term analogous to cherry blossom viewing in the Heian era novel Tale of Genji. Whilst a wisteria viewing party was also described, from this point on the terms "hanami" and "flower party" were only used to describe cherry blossom viewing.

Hanami in Ōita

Sakura originally was used to divine that year's harvest as well as announce the rice-planting season. People believed in kami inside the trees and made offerings. Afterwards, they partook of the offering with sake.

Emperor Saga of the Heian Period adopted this practice, and held flower-viewing parties with sake and feasts underneath the blossoming boughs of sakura trees in the Imperial Court in Kyoto. Poems would be written praising the delicate flowers, which were seen as a metaphor for life itself, luminous and beautiful yet fleeting and ephemeral. This was said to be the origin of hanami in Japan.

Close up of Yoshino cherry blossoms

The custom was originally limited to the elite of the Imperial Court, but soon spread to samurai society and, by the Edo period, to the common people as well. Tokugawa Yoshimune planted areas of cherry blossom trees to encourage this. Under the sakura trees, people had lunch and drank sake in cheerful feasts.

Today, the Japanese people continue the tradition of hanami, gathering in great numbers wherever the flowering trees are found. Thousands of people fill the parks to hold feasts under the flowering trees, and sometimes these parties go on until late at night. In more than half of Japan, the cherry blossoming period coincides with the beginning of the scholastic and fiscal years, and so welcoming parties are often opened with hanami. The Japanese people continue the tradition of hanami by taking part in the processional walks through the parks. This is a form of retreat for contemplating and renewing their spirits.

The teasing proverb dumplings rather than flowers (花より団子, hana yori dango^?) hints at the real priorities for most cherry blossom viewers, meaning that people are more interested in the food and drinks that accompany a hanami party rather than actually viewing the flowers themselves. (A punning variation, Boys Over Flowers (花より男子, Hana Yori Dango^?), is the title of a manga and anime series.)

Dead bodies are buried under the cherry trees! is a popular saying about hanami, after the opening sentence of the 1925 short story "Under the Cherry Trees" by Motojirō Kajii.

Hinamatsuri (Doll Festival) - Matsuri

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 06:04:42 +0100

Hinamatsuri

Seven-tiered Hina doll set

The Japanese Doll Festival (雛祭り, Hina-matsuri^?), or Girls' Day, is held on March 3, the third day of the third month. Platforms with a red hi-mōsen are used to display a set of ornamental dolls (雛人形, hina-ningyō^?) representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period.

1 Origin and customs
2 In popular culture
3 Placement
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links

Origin and customs

The custom of displaying dolls began during the Heian period. Formerly, people believed the dolls possessed the power to contain bad spirits. Hinamatsuri traces its origins to an ancient Japanese custom called hina-nagashi (雛流し^?, lit. "doll floating"), in which straw hina dolls are set afloat on a boat and sent down a river to the sea, supposedly taking troubles or bad spirits with them. The Shimogamo Shrine (part of the Kamo Shrine complex in Kyoto) celebrates the Nagashibina by floating these dolls between the Takano and Kamo Rivers to pray for the safety of children. Also people have stopped doing this now because of fishermen catching the dolls in their nets. They now send them out in to the sea, and when the spectators are gone they take the boats out of the water and bring them back to the temple and burn them.

The customary drink for the festival is amazake, a sweet, non-alcoholic version of sake made from fermented rice; the customary food is colored arare, bite-sized crackers flavored with soy sauce. Chirashizushi (sushi rice flavored with sugar, vinegar, topped with raw fish and a variety of ingredients) is often eaten. A soy sauce-based soup is also served containing clams still in the shell. Clam shells in food are deemed the symbol of a united and peaceful couple, because a pair of clam shells fits perfectly, and no pair but the original pair can do so.

In popular culture

References to the holiday and its activities are often referred to in film and music. Dating as far back as 1930's, the Hinamatsuri has been the subject of Japanese film, such as Hinamatsuri no yoru.^[1] More recently, the J-pop group the Mini Moni released a song Minimoni Hinamatsuri! which sings of the joy of the day.

This custom has also been shown in anime series such as Ojamajo Doremi and Keroro Gunsou (ep. 47). It was instrumental in solving the case in the episode "Festival Dolls Dyed in the Setting Sun" in season 11 of Case Closed.

A Hinaningyo display is obtainable by players in the Nintendo Wii game, Animal Crossing-City Folk.

An episode of the original Pokémon series, Princess vs. Princess, Girl's day was the main area in the episode. Unfortunately, due to cultural differences between America and Japan, this episode wasn't aired until several months later, along with The Purr-fect Hero (which happened on Kids Day, another Japanese Festival). Until the episode was aired it created a plot hole, because this was the episode where Jesse caught her Lickitung.

Placement

The Kantō region and Kansai region have different placement orders of the dolls from left to right, but the order of dolls per level are the same.

The term for the platform in Japanese is hina dan (雛壇^?). The layer of covering is called dankake (段掛^?) or simply mousen (毛氈^?), a red carpet with rainbow-striped at the bottom.

First platform

An Emperor doll, with two handmaidens.

The top tier holds two dolls, known as Imperial dolls (内裏雛 (だいりびな), da-i-ri-bi-na^?). These are the Emperor (御内裏様, O-dairi-sama^?) holding a traditional staff (笏, shaku^?) and Empress (御雛様, O-hina-sama^?) holding a fan. The words dairi means "Imperial Palace", and hina means "girl" or "princess".

The dolls are usually placed in front of a gold folding screen byōbu (屏風^?).

Optional are the two lampstands, called bonbori (雪洞^?), and the paper or silk lanterns that are known as hibukuro (火袋^?), which are usually decorated with cherry or ume blossom patterns.

Complete sets would include accessories placed between the two figures, known as sanbou kazari (三方飾り^?), composing of two vases kuchibana (口花^?).

The traditional arrangement had the male on the right, while modern arrangements had him on the left (from the viewer's perspective).

Second platform

The second tier holds three court ladies san-nin kanjo (三人官女^?). Each holds a sake equipment. From the viewer's perspective, the standing lady on the right is the long-handled sake-bearer Nagae no choushi (長柄の銚子^?), the standing lady on the left is the backup sake-bearer Kuwae no choushi (加えの銚子^?), and the only lady in the middle is the seated sake bearer Sanpou (三方^?).

Accessories placed between the ladies are takatsuki (高坏^?), stands with round table-tops for seasonal sweets, excluding hishimochi.

Third platform

The third tier holds five male musicians go-nin bayashi (五人囃子^?). Each holds a musical instrument except the singer, who holds a fan.

Left to right, from viewer's perspective, they are the:

Small drum Taiko (太鼓^?), seated,
Large drum Ookawa (大鼓^?), standing,
Hand drum Kotsuzumi (小鼓^?), standing,
Flute Fue (笛^?), or Yokofue (横笛^?), seated,
Singer Utaika (謡い方^?), holding a folding fan sensu (扇子^?), seated.

Fourth platform

Two ministers (daijin) may be displayed on the fourth tier: the Minister of the Right (右大臣, Udaijin^?) and the Minister of the Left (左大臣, Sadaijin^?). The Minister of the Right is depicted as a young person, while the Minister of the Left is much older. Also, because the dolls are placed in positions relative to each other, the Minister of the Right will be on the viewer's left and the Minister of the Left will be on the viewer's right. Both are sometimes equipped with bows and arrows.

Between the two figures are covered bowl tables kakebanzen (掛盤膳^?), also referred to as o-zen (お膳^?), as well as diamond-shaped stands hishidai (菱台^?) bearing diamond-shaped ricecakes hishimochi (菱餅^?). Hishidai with feline-shaped legs are known as nekoashigata hishidai (猫足形菱台^?).

Just below the ministers: on the rightmost, a mandarin orange tree Ukon no tachibana (右近の橘^?), and on the leftmost, a cherry tree Sakon no sakura (左近の桜^?).

Fifth platform

The fifth tier, between the plants, holds three helpers or samurai as the protectors of the emperor and empress. From left to right (viewer's perspective):

Maudlin drinker nakijougo (泣き上戸^?),
Cantankerous drinker okorijougo (怒り上戸^?), and
Merry drinker waraijougo (笑い上戸^?)

Other platforms

On the sixth and seventh tiers, a variety of miniature furniture, tools, carriages, etc. are displayed.

Sixth platform

These are items used within the palatial residence.

tansu (箪笥^?) : chest of (usually 5) drawers, sometimes with swinging outer covering doors.
nagamochi (長持^?) : long chest for kimono storage.
hasamibako (挟箱^?) : smaller clothing storage box, placed on top of nagamochi.
kyoudai (鏡台^?) : lit., mirror stand, a smaller chest of drawer with a mirror on top.
haribako (針箱^?) : sewing kit box.
2 hibachi (火鉢^?) : braziers.
daisu (台子^?) : a set of ocha dougu (お茶道具^?) or cha no yu dougu (茶の湯道具^?), utensils for the tea ceremony.

Seventh platform

These are items used when away from the palatial residence.

juubako (重箱^?), a set of nested lacquered food boxes with either a cord tied vertically around the boxes or a stiff handle that locks them together.
gokago (御駕籠 or 御駕篭^?), a palanquin.
goshoguruma (御所車^?), an ox-drawn carriage favored by Heian nobility. This last is sometimes known as gisha or gyuusha (牛車^?)).
Less common, hanaguruma (花車^?), an ox drawing a cart of flowers.

References

^ Hinamatsuri no yoru (1921)

Japanese New Year - Matsuri

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:54:39 +0100

Japanese New Year

The kadomatsu is a traditional decoration for the new year holiday.

The Japanese celebrate New Year's Day on January 1 each year on the Gregorian Calendar. Before 1873, the date of the Japanese New Year (正月, shōgatsu^?) was based on the Chinese lunar calendar and celebrated at the beginning of spring, just as the contemporary Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese New Years are celebrated to this day. However, in 1873, five years after the Meiji Restoration, Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar, so the first day of January is the official New Year's Day in modern Japan. It is considered by most Japanese to be one of the most important annual festivals and has been celebrated for centuries with its own unique customs.

1 Traditional food
2 Postcards
3 Otoshidama
4 Mochi
5 Poetry
6 Games
7 Entertainment
8 Hatsumōde, hatsuhinode, the "firsts" of the year
9 References
10 See also

Traditional food

Japanese people eat a special selection of dishes during the New Year celebration called osechi-ryōri (御節料理 or お節料理^?), typically shortened to osechi. A popular soup is ozōni (お雑煮^?), consisting of miso, boiled seaweed (昆布, kombu^?), fish cakes (蒲鉾, kamaboko^?), mashed sweet potato with chestnut (栗きんとん, kurikinton^?), simmered burdock root (金平牛蒡, kinpira gobo^?), and sweetened black soybeans (黒豆, kuromame^?). Many of these dishes are sweet, sour, or dried, so they can keep without refrigeration—the culinary traditions date to a time before households had refrigerators, when most stores closed for the holidays. There are many variations of osechi, and some foods eaten in one region are not eaten in other places (or are even banned) on New Year's Day. Today, sashimi and sushi are often eaten, as well as non-Japanese foods. To let the overworked stomach rest, seven-herb rice soup (七草粥, nanakusa-gayu^?) is prepared on the seventh day of January, a day known as jinjitsu (人日^?).

Postcards

Materials for making nengajō

The end of December and the beginning of January are the busiest times for the Japanese post offices. The Japanese have a custom of sending New Year's Day postcards (年賀状, nengajō^?) to their friends and relatives. It is similar to the Western custom of sending Christmas cards. Their original purpose was to give your faraway friends and relatives tidings of yourself and your immediate family. In other words, this custom existed for people to tell others whom they did not often meet that they were alive and well.

Japanese people send these postcards so that they arrive on the 1st of January. The post office guarantees to deliver the greeting postcards by the first of January if they are posted within a time limit, from mid-December to near the end of the month and are marked with the word nengajo. To deliver these cards on time, the post office usually hires students part-time to help deliver the letters.

It is customary not to send these postcards when one has had a death in the family during the year. In this case, a family member sends a simple postcard to inform friends and relatives they should not send New Year's cards, out of respect for the deceased.

People get their nengajō from many sources. Stationers sell preprinted cards. Most of these have the Chinese zodiac sign of the New Year as their design, or conventional greetings, or both. The Chinese zodiac has a cycle of 12 years. Each year is represented by an animal. The animals are, in order: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and boar. 2006 was the year of the dog, 2007 was the year of the boar, 2008 was the year of the rat, and 2009 is the year of the ox. For 2006, famous dogs like Snoopy and other cartoon characters were especially popular. For 2008, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse were popular.

The postcards may have spaces for the sender to write a personal message. Blank cards are available, so people can hand-write or draw their own. Rubber stamps with conventional messages and with the annual animal are on sale at department stores and other outlets, and many people buy ink brushes for personal greetings. Special printing devices are popular, especially among people who practice crafts. Software also lets artists create their own designs and output them using their computer's color printer. Because a gregarious individual might have hundreds to write, print shops offer a wide variety of sample postcards with short messages so that the sender has only to write addresses. Even with the rise in popularity of email, the nengajō remains very popular in Japan.

Conventional nengajō greetings include:

kotoshi mo yoroshiku o-negai-shimasu (今年もよろしくお願いします^?) (I hope for your favour again in the coming year)
(shinnen) akemashite o-medetō-gozaimasu ((新年)あけましておめでとうございます^?) (Happiness to you on the dawn [of a New Year])
kinga shinnen (謹賀新年^?) (Happy New Year)
shoshun (初春^?) (literally "early spring")

Otoshidama

Pouch for giving otoshidama called otoshidama-bukuro (お年玉袋 otoshidama-bukuro^?).

On New Year's Day, Japanese people have a custom of giving money to children. This is known as otoshidama (お年玉, otoshidama^?). It is handed out in small decorated envelopes called 'pochibukuro,' similar to Goshugi bukuro or Chinese red envelopes and to the Scottish handsel. 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.

Mochi

Another custom is creating rice cakes (餅, mochi^?). Boiled sticky rice (餅米, mochigome^?) is put into a wooden shallow bucket-like container and patted with water by one person while another person hits it with a large wooden mallet. Mashing the rice, it forms a sticky white dumpling. This is made before New Year's Day and eaten during the beginning of January.

Mochi is made into a New Year's decoration called kagami mochi (鏡餅^?), formed from two round cakes of mochi with a bitter orange (橙, daidai^?) placed on top. The name daidai is supposed to be auspicious since it means "several generations."

Because of mochi's extremely sticky texture, there is usually a small number of choking deaths around New Year in Japan, particularly amongst the elderly. The death toll is reported in newspapers in the days after New Year.^[1]

Poetry

The New Year traditions are also a part of Japanese poetry, including haiku and renga. All of the traditions above would be appropriate to include in haiku as kigo (season words). There are also haiku that celebrate many of the "first" of the New Year, such as the "first sun" (hatsuhi) or "first sunrise", "first laughter" (waraizome—starting the New Year with a smile is considered a good sign), and first dream (hatsuyume). Since the traditional New Year was later in the year than the current date, many of these mention the beginning of spring.

Along with the New Year's Day postcard, haiku might mention "first letter" (hatsudayori—meaning the first exchange of letters), "first calligraphy" (kakizome), and "first brush" (fude hajime).

Games

It was also customary to play many New Year's games. These include hanetsuki, takoage (kite flying), koma (top), sugoroku, fukuwarai (whereby a blindfolded person places paper parts of a face, such as eyes, eyebrows, a nose and a mouth, on a paper face), karuta, and others.

Entertainment

There are many shows created as the end-of-year, and beginning-of-year entertainment, and some being a special edition of the regular shows. For many decades, it has been customary to watch the TV show Kōhaku Uta Gassen aired on NHK on New Year's Eve. The show features two teams, red and white, of popular music artists competing against each other.

Hatsumōde, hatsuhinode, the "firsts" of the year

Celebrating the new year in Japan also means paying special attention to the first time something is done in the new year.

Hatsuhinode (初日の出) is the first sunrise of the year. Before sunrise on January 1, people often drive to the coast or climb a mountain so that they can see the first sunrise of the new year.

Hatsumōde is the first trip to a shrine or temple. Many people visit a shrine after midnight on December 31 or sometime during the day on January 1. If the weather is good, people often dress up or wear kimono.

Other "firsts" that are marked as special events include shigoto-hajime (仕事始め, the first work of the new year), keiko-hajime (稽古始め, the first practice of the new year), hatsugama (the first tea ceremony of the new year), and the hatsu-uri (the first shopping sale of the new year).

References

^ http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070103a6.html

Japanese Festivals

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:46:39 +0100

Japanese festivals

Stalls selling food or toys are a familiar sight at festivals throughout Japan.

Gold and platinum plated mikoshi in Kichijōji.

Big Mikoshi "Yatai" Parade In Miki, Hyogo, Japan.

Mikoshi Parade In Kamakura Japan 2007

This mikoshi enshrines Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Tōshō-gū in Nikkō. Participants carry the mikoshi during the spring and autumn matsuri of the shrine.

The procession of a thousand warriors is the highlight of the autumn festival at Toshogu in Nikko.

Japanese festivals are traditional festive occasions. Some festivals have their roots in Chinese festivals but have undergone dramatic changes as they mixed with local customs.

Some are so different that they do not even remotely resemble the original festival despite sharing the same name and date. There are also various local festivals (e.g. Tobata Gion) that are mostly unknown outside a given prefecture. It is commonly said that you will always find a festival somewhere in Japan.

Unlike most people of East Asian descent, Japanese people generally do not celebrate Chinese New Year (it having been supplanted by the Western New Year's Day in the late 19th century); although Chinese residents in Japan still do. In Yokohama Chinatown, Japan's biggest Chinatown, tourists from all over Japan come to enjoy the festival. And similarly the Nagasaki Lantern Festival ^[1] is based in Nagasaki's China town. See: Japanese New Year.

Events within festivals

Festivals are often based around one or two main events, with food stalls, entertainment, and carnival games to keep people entertained. Some are based around temples or shrines, others hanabi (Fireworks), and still others around contests where the participants sport loin cloths (see: Hadaka Matsuri).

Local festivals (Matsuri)

Matsuri (祭^?) is the Japanese word for a festival or holiday. In Japan, festivals are usually sponsored by a local shrine or temple, though they can be secular.

There is no specific matsuri days for all of Japan; dates vary from area to area, and even within a specific area, but festival days do tend to cluster around traditional holidays such as Setsubun or Obon. Almost every locale has at least one matsuri in late summer/early autumn, usually related to the rice harvest.

Notable matsuri often feature processions which may include elaborate floats. Preparation for these processions is usually organized at the level of neighborhoods, or machi. Prior to these, the local kami may be ritually installed in mikoshi and paraded through the streets.

One can always find in the vicinity of a matsuri booths selling souvenirs and food such as takoyaki, and games, such as Goldfish scooping. Karaoke contests, sumo matches, and other forms of entertainment are often organized in conjunction with matsuri. If the festival is next to a lake, renting a boat is also an attraction.

Favorite elements of the most popular matsuri, such as the Nada Kenka Matsuri of Himeji or the Neputa Matsuri of Hirosaki, are often broadcast on television for the entire nation to enjoy.

Some examples of famous matsuri are the Jidai, Aoi and Gion Matsuri held in Kyoto; Tenjin Matsuri in Osaka; and the Kanda Matsuri, Sannō and Sanja Matsuri of Tokyo. Especially, Gion Matsuri, Tenjin Matsuri, and Kanda Matsuri are the three most famous Matsuri in Japan.

Sapporo Snow Festival (Hokkaido)

Sapporo Yuki Matsuri, this is one of the largest festivals of the year for the city of Sapporo. This festival is held in February for one week. This festival began in 1950 when high school students built snow statues in Odori park, central Sapporo. This event is now very large and commercialized. This event attracts over two million people from around the world every year. About 1 dozen large sculptures are built for the festival along with around 100 smaller snow and ice sculptures. Several concerts and other events are held at this festival. At the Sapporo TV tower one can use their observation deck to view the beautiful sculptures at Odori park for ¥700 from 09:00-22:30 (starting at 08:00 on the weekend) (Japan-Guide.com).

Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival

Lake Shikotsu is the northernmost ice-free lake which is 363 meters deep. This festival features a moss-covered cave, which has evergreen draped on the inside and is covered in ice (Gianola, 2008). This festival is held from late January to mid February. This festival features ice sculptures, small and large. At night the sculptures are illuminated by different colored lights. There is a fireworks show during the festival as well. Admission is free. Amasake (hot sake) is available for purchase to enjoy (2008 Ministry of Land).

Lake Towada Snow Festival

This lake festival is held in the beginning of February. Held in the town of Yasumiya, this festival is on the south side of lake Towada (near the wooden statues). This festival is open all day, but at 5pm one can enjoy activities such as going through a snow maze, exploring a japanese igloo, and eat foods from Aomori and Akita prefectures. There is a fireworks show and events held on an ice stage (MisawaJapan.com).

Aomori Nebuta Festival

This festival is held annually and features colorful lantern floats called nebuta which are pulled through the streets of Central Aomori. This festival is held from about the 2nd-7th Augusts every year. This event attracts millions of visitors. During this festival, 20 large nebuta floats are paraded through the streets near Aormori JR rail station. These floats are constructed of wooden bases and metal frames. Japanese papers; washi, are painted onto the frames. These amazing floats are finished off with the historical figures or kabuki being painted on the paper. These floats can take up to a year to complete. There is a dance portion of this festival. There are haneto dancers and they wear special costumes for this dance. Everyone is welcome to purchase their own haneto costume that they may too join in on the fun (Mishima, Aomori Nebuta Festival).

Nango Summer Jazz Festival

Every year this wonderful event is held. Thousands of artists from all over Tohoku and even further regions come to Nango to perform. This is the largest open-air jazz concert held in Tohoku region. This festival began in 1989, in a small venue indoors. There was such a large response from the fans that is was expanded into a large annual festival. One must purchase tickets for this event (Bernard, 2007).

Cherry Blossom Festivals

Japan celebrates the entire season of the cherry blossoms. All over Japan festivals are held and include food and at night beautiful lanterns. An interesting fact concerning cherry blossoms:

According to a study, plants in urban areas have plants that bloom are blooming faster. From evidence at a cherry arboretum at Mt. Takao, early flowering of the cherry blossoms is happening due to the larger response to temperature variation (Primack, Higuchi, & Miller-Rushing, 2009).

Some locations of cherry blossom festivals include:

Yaedake Cherry Blossom Festival in Okinawa. This festival takes place from late January – mid February
Matsuyama Shiroyama Koen Cherry Blossom Festival in Matsuyama-city, Ehime. This festival takes place early April.
Matsue Jozan Koen Festival in Matsue-city, Shimane. This festival has a feature of illuminating the cherry blossom trees at night. This festival takes place late March-early April.
Tsuyama Kakuzan Koen Cherry Blossom Festival in Tsuyama-city, Okayama. Japanese tea ceremonies and music performers are held at these festivals. This festival is held early-mid April.
Takato Joshi Koen Cherry Blossom Festival in Takato-machi Ina-city, Nagano prefecture. The trees in this region have pink blossoms. This festival is held early April.
Takada Koen Cherry Blossom Festival in Joetsu-city, Niigata prefecture. This festival is held early-mid April.
Kitakami Tenshochi Cherry Blossom Festival in Kitakami-city, Iwate. This festival is held mid April-early May.
Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival held in Hirosaki Koen Hirosaki-city, Aomori prefecture. This festival is held late April-early May (Mishima, Cherry Blossom Festivals 2010).

Nationwide festivals

Fixed days

Seijin Shiki : Coming of Age Day (second Monday of January)
Hinamatsuri : Doll Festival (3 March)
Hanami : Flower Viewing (late March to early April)
Tanabata : star festival (7 July)
Shichi-Go-San: festival day for children aged three, five and seven (15 November)
Ōmisoka : New Year's Eve (31 December)

Multiple days

Setsubun : division of season (beginning of each of the four seasons)
Ennichi : temple fair (holy days related to Kami and/or Buddha)

Bunkasai

Japanese Cultural Festival

New Year (正月, Shōgatsu)^?)

Date: 1-3 of January (related celebrations take place throughout January)

Other Names: Oshōgatsu (O is an honorific prefix)

Information: New Year observances are the most important and elaborate of Japan's annual events. Before the New Year, homes are cleaned, debts are paid off, and osechi (food in lacquered trays for the New Year) is prepared or bought. Osechi foods are traditional foods which are chosen for their lucky colors, shapes, or lucky-sounding names in hopes of obtaining good luck in various areas of life during the new year. Homes are decorated and the holidays are celebrated by family gatherings, visits to temples or shrines, and formal calls on relatives and friends. The first day of the year (ganjitsu) is usually spent with members of the family.

People try to stay awake and eat toshikoshisoba, soba noodles to be eaten at midnight. People also visit Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. Traditionally three shrines or temples are visited. This is called sansha-mairi. In the Imperial Palace at dawn on the 1st of January, the emperor performs the rite of shihōhai(worship of the four quarters), in which he does reverence in the direction of various shrines and imperial tombs and offers prayers for the well-being of the nation. On January 2 the public is allowed to enter the inner palace grounds; the only other day this is possible is the emperor's birthday (December 23). On the 2nd and 3rd days acquaintances visit one another to extend greetings (nenshi) and sip otoso (a spiced rice wine). Some games played at New Year's are karuta (a card game), hanetsuki (similar to badminton), tako age (kiteflying), and komamawashi (spinning tops). These games are played to bring more luck for the year. Exchanging New Year's greeting cards (similar to Christmas Cards in Western countries) is another important Japanese custom. Also special allowances are given to children, which are called otoshidama. They also decorate their entrances with kagami-mochi (2 mochi rice balls placed one on top of the other, with a tangerine on top), and kadomatsu (pine tree decorations).

A later New Year's celebration, Koshōgatsu, literally means "Small New Year" and starts with the first full moon of the year (around January 15). The main events of Koshōgatsu are rites and practices praying for a bountiful harvest.

Doll Festival (雛祭り^?)

Date: 3 March

Other Names: Sangatsu Sekku (3rd month Festival), Momo Sekku (Peach Festival), Joshi no Sekku (Girls' Festival)

Information: This is the day families pray for the happiness and prosperity of their girls and to help ensure that they grow up healthy and beautiful. The celebration takes place both inside the home and at the seashore. Both parts are meant to ward off evil spirits from girls. Young girls put on their best kimonos and visit their friends' homes. Tiered platforms for hina ningyō (hina dolls; a set of dolls representing the emperor, empress, attendants, and musicians in ancient court dress) are set up in the home, and the family celebrates with a special meal of hishimochi (diamond-shaped rice cakes) and shirozake (rice malt with sake).

Hanami (花見^?)

Hanami party along Sakai River in Beppu, Oita

Date: April

Other Names: Hanami (flower viewing), Cherry Blossom Festival

Information: Various flower festivals are held at Shinto shrines during the month of April. Excursions and picnics for enjoying flowers, particularly cherry blossoms are also common. In some places flower viewing parties are held on traditionally fixed dates. This is one of the most popular events during spring. The subject of flower viewing has long held an important place in literature, dance and the fine arts. Ikebana (flower arrangement) is also a popular part of Japanese culture and is still practiced by many people today. Some main things people do during this event are: games, folk songs, folk dance, flower displays, rides, parades, concerts, kimono shows, booths with food and other things, beauty pageant, and religious ceremonies. Familys go out during weekends to see the cherry blossoms.

Children's Day (子供の日, Kodomo-no-hi^?)

Date: 5 May

Other Names: Iris Festival (菖蒲の節句, Shōbu no Sekku^?), Tango Festival (端午の節句, Tango no Sekku^?)

Information: May is the month of the Iris Festival. The tall-stemmed Japanese iris is a symbolic flower. Its long, narrow leaves resemble the sharp blades off a sword, and for many centuries it has been the custom to place iris leaves in a boy's bath to give him a martial spirit. Originally May 5 was a festival for boys corresponding to the Doll Festival, for girls, but in 1948 it was renamed Children's Day, and made a national holiday. However, this might be a misnomer; the symbols of courage and strength mainly honor boys. It is customary on this day for families with male children to fly koinobori (carp streamers, a symbol of success) outside the house, display warrior dolls (musha ningyō) inside, and eat chimaki (rice cakes wrapped in cogan grass or bamboo leaves) and kashiwamochi (rice cakes filled with bean paste and wrapped in oak leaves).

Tanabata (七夕^?)

Date: 7 July

Other Names: The Star Festival
Information: It originated from a Chinese folk legend concerning two stars-the Weaver Star (Vega) and the Cowherd Star (Altair)-who were said to be lovers who could meet only once a year on the 7th night of the 7th month provided it didn't rain and flood the Milky Way. It was named Tanabata after a weaving maiden from a Japanese legend who was believed to make clothes for the gods. People often write wishes and romantic aspirations on long, narrow strips of coloured paper and hang them on bamboo branches along with other small ornaments.

Bon Festival (盆, bon^?)

Date: 13-15 August

Other Names: urabon (盂蘭盆^?)

Information: A Buddhist observance honoring the spirits of ancestors. Usually a "spirit altar" (shōryōdana) is set up in front of the Butsudan (buddhist family altar) to welcome the ancestors' souls. A priest is usually asked to come and read a sutra (tanagyō). Among the traditional preparations for the ancestors' return are the cleaning of grave sites and preparing a path from them to the house and the provision of straw horses or oxen for the ancestors' transportation. The welcoming fire (mukaebi) built on the 13th and the send-off fire (okuribi) built on the 16th are intended to light the path.

"7-5-3" Festival (七五三, Shichigosan^?)

Date: 15 November

Information: Five-year-old boys and seven- or three-year-old girls are taken to the local shrine to pray for their safe and healthy future. This festival started because of the belief that children of certain ages were especially prone to bad luck and hence in need of divine protection. Children are usually dressed in traditional clothing for the occasion and after visiting the shrine many people buy chitose-ame ("thousand-year candy") sold at the shrine.

Preparation for the New Year and Year-end fair

Date: late December

Other Names: Year-end (年の瀬, toshi no se^?),Year-end Fair (年の市, Toshi no Ichi^?)

Information: Preparations for seeing in the new year were originally undertaken to greet the toshigami, or deity of the incoming year. These began on the 13th of December, when the house was given a thorough cleaning; the date is usually nearer the end of the month now. The house is then decorated in the traditional fashion: A sacred rope of straw (shimenawa) with dangling white paper strips (shide) is hung over the front door to prevent evil spirits from entering and to show the presence of the toshigami. It is also customary to place kadomatsu, an arrangement of tree sprigs, beside the entrance way. A special altar, known as toshidana ("year shelf"), is piled high with kagamimochi (flat, round rice cakes), sake (rice wine), persimmons, and other foods in honor of the toshigami. A fair is traditionally held in late December at shrines, temples or in local neighborhoods. This is in preparation for the new year holidays. Decorations and sundry goods are sold at the fair. Originally these year-end fairs provided opportunities for farmers, fisherfolk and mountain dwellers to exchange goods and buy clothes and other necessities for the coming year.

Ōmisoka (大晦日, Ōmisoka^?)

Date: 31 December

Information: People do the general house cleaning (Ōsōji) to welcome coming year and not to keep having impure influences. Many people visit Buddhist temples to hear the temple bells rung 108 times at midnight (joya no kane). This is to announce the passing of the old year and the coming of the new. The reason they are rung 108 times is because of the Buddhist belief that human beings are plagued by 108 earthly desires or passions (bonnō). With each ring one desire is dispelled. It is also a custom to eat zaru-soba in the hope that one's family fortunes will extend like the long noodles.

References

^ Nagasaki Lantern Festival description

[edit] External links

Official sites
- Festivals all over Japan - Japan Atlas
- Japan National Tourist Organization (photo library)
Matsuri sites
Private initiative sites/galleries
- JCITI.COM about Nagoya, see festivals section.
- Reggie.net photographs of Neputa floats in Hirosaki.
- Description of the Odawara Omatsuri festival - archived.
- The Digital Matsuri Project Japanese festival videos

References

mothra.rerf.or.jp::hiroshima::about matsuri an external article covering the topic
Matsuri Food an article about the various foods available at most matsuri
2008 Ministry of Land, I. T. (n.d.). 2008 Chitose-Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival. Retrieved August 06, 2009, from Yokoso! Japan Weeks: http://www.yjw2008.jp/eng/info.php?no=241
Bernard, S. (2007, July 11). Nango Holds Summer Jazz Festival. Retrieved August 09, 2009, from About.com: http://www.misawa.af.mil/news/story_print.asp?id=123060239
Gianola, D. (2008, February 3). Chitose Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival. Retrieved August 6, 2009, from VR Mag: http://www.vrmag.org/issue29/CHITOSE_LAKE_SHIKOTSU_ICE_FESTIVAL.html
Japan-Guide.com. (n.d.). Sapporo Snow Festival. Retrieved August 6, 2009, from Japan-Guide.com: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5311.html
MisawaJapan.com. (n.d.). Lake Towada Winter Festival. Retrieved August 06, 2009, from MisawaJapan.com: http://www.misawajapan.com/festivals/others/towada_winter.asp
Mishima, S. (n.d.). Aomori Nebuta Festival. Retrieved August 09, 2009, from About.com: http://gojapan.about.com/cs/tohokuregion1/a/aomorinebuta.htm
Mishima, S. (n.d.). Cherry Blossom Festivals 2010. Retrieved August 09, 2009, from About.com: http://gojapan.about.com/cs/cherryblossoms/a/sakurafestival.htm
Primack, R., Higuchi, H., & Miller-Rushing, A. (2009, September). The impact of climate change on cherry trees and other species in Japan. Retrieved August 09, 2009, from EBSCO Host: http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=2&sid=9ce9efca-4e6d-4702-afff-8d9e8f3c8425%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JmxvZ2lucGFnZT1sb2dpbi5hc3Amc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZlJnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3d#db=a9h&AN=43528180

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_festivals"

index

Omisoka - Matsuri

Ōmisoka

Shichi-Go-San - Matsuri

Shichi-Go-San

Contents

History

Current practice

Chitose Ame

See also

References

Bon Festival - Matsuri

Bon Festival

Contents

Bon Odori

Celebrations outside Japan

Brazil

China

Malaysia

United States and Canada

See also

References

Tanabata - Matsuri

Tanabata

Contents

History

Story

Customs

Date

Festivals

Sendai Tanabata Festival

G8 summit

See also

References

Hanami (flowers) - Matsuri

Hanami

History

See also

Hinamatsuri (Doll Festival) - Matsuri

Hinamatsuri

Contents

Origin and customs

In popular culture

Placement

First platform

Second platform

Third platform

Fourth platform

Fifth platform

Other platforms

Sixth platform

Seventh platform

See also

References

Japanese New Year - Matsuri

Japanese New Year

Contents

Traditional food

Postcards

Otoshidama

Mochi

Poetry

Games

Entertainment

Hatsumōde, hatsuhinode, the "firsts" of the year

References

See also

Japanese Festivals

Japanese festivals

Contents

Events within festivals

Local festivals (Matsuri)

Sapporo Snow Festival (Hokkaido)

Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival

Lake Towada Snow Festival

Aomori Nebuta Festival

Nango Summer Jazz Festival

Cherry Blossom Festivals

Nationwide festivals

Fixed days

New Year (正月, Shōgatsu)^?)

Doll Festival (雛祭り^?)

Hanami (花見^?)

Children's Day (子供の日, Kodomo-no-hi^?)

Tanabata (七夕^?)

Bon Festival (盆, bon^?)

"7-5-3" Festival (七五三, Shichigosan^?)

Ōmisoka (大晦日, Ōmisoka^?)