japanese festivals

Holidays in Japan are very different than America, even the ones that are the same!  We decided to give the less well known holidays some airtime and talk about some holidays in Japan that you may, or may not, have heard of.

How holidays are handled in Japan

• Naturally, many western holidays (or American) don’t apply here:

  • Christmas – people know what it is but it doesn’t look like what you think christmas looks like or mean what you think it means because this is Japan

  • Thanksgiving – though, Japan does have their own Labor Thanksgiving Day like most countries.

  • Easter – yeah they have no idea on the easter thing

Laws for Holidays

• The public Holiday law didn’t come about as it is today until 1948

• There are provisions of the law that say if a public holiday is on a Sunday you get Monday off

• There is also a provision that says if a normal day is between two public holidays then you get that day off too – pretty sweet!

• Holiday dates changed when Japan adopted the Gregorian Calendar in 1873

Here are some of the holidays we didn’t talk about in Episode 111:

• Obon (Hanasaku Iroha)

  • What it is: A celebration of one’s ancestors in the Buddhist faith.  It occurs on the 13th-15th days of the 7th month of the year in the lunar calendar but is still normally observed in August in many regions.

  • What you do: People hang lanterns outside of their homes to guide their ancestor’s spirits back home.  There is dancing and grave-visits.  At the end of Obon floating lanterns are put into rifers, lakes and seas.  This is the celebration that is most famously known for the big burning symbols on the mountains of Kyoto known as Gozan no Okuribi.  They are meant to guide the souls of the ancestors who visit the world during the Obon period back to the afterlife.

  • What people think about it:  Obon normally signals a period of time off as standard for most companies.  While it is not a public holiday officially many companies give their summer time off over the obon period.  Like many things in the world of Japanese spirituality it is often something that is observed without an extreme amount of reverence on many people’s part.

  • Anime that shows this:

• Coming of Age Day

  • What it is: A day that celebrates people reaching maturity (20) during the year.

  • What you do:  People who have turned 20 go to a city hall, park, or other public place for a ceremony where the mayor equivalent of the town says some important things about being a responsible adult now in society.

  • What people think about it:  Most people I know love it for what it is, a day off.  People who have been through it say it’s a day that normally ends up in a big party as 20 is also the legal drinking age.

  • Anime that shows this:

• The Summer Holidays

  • What it is: Not national or public holidays but a period of time in which students have off for the Summer.  Normally starting at the end of July and lasting through the month of August.

  • What you do:  Students will spend summer holidays attending summer matsuri – festivals – in traditional summertime clothing – yukata.  Shaved ice is a standard point of nostalgia for summertime.

  • What people think about it:  Most students kind of get a hard bargain over the summer holidays as teachers will give a lot of homework to account for not being in school.  As a result I have heard it is not uncommon for a student to have 4-7 hours of homework a day.

  • Anime that Shows this:

• Doll Festival – Hinamatsuri (Hayate the Combat Butler, episode 11, “Around the time of the Hina Festival.”, Gokyoudai Monogatari, episode 19 “Hinamatsuri”, Urusei Yatsura, episode 18 “Girl’s Day! Introducing Ran”, Shin-chan episode 40, Sazae-san, episode 2079, Hanasaku Iroha)

  • What it is: Not national or public holiday, the Hinamatsuri or doll festival falls on Girl’s Day on March 3rd.

  • What you do:  Many-tiered special platforms are covered in red carpet on which special dolls and items are placed.  The dolls represent a more traditional period of Japan where at the top is an emperor and empress and going down from there are other important members of the family and imperial court.   Businesses and homes alike will display them in a public window, or invite people in to see them, during the festival.  Attendees walk around and look at the, in some cases very very old, displays of dolls and eat festival food.

  • What people think about it:  The superstition behind the festival is that if you have a girl in the family and you display the dolls it will bring her luck in finding a suitor young.   If you have a girl and you do not display the dolls then she will grow up to be an old maid.  Many people kind of laugh at this notion now, but, there is still a feeling of “it couldn’t hurt” surrounding the belief by most people.

  • Anime that shows this:

• Tanabata (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Tanabata) – Hidamari Sketch, Keroro Gunsou, .hack//Legend of the Twilight, Ai Yori Aoshi, Umineko no Naku Koro ni, sazae-san episode 1981, 2442, 4842, 5928, 6047)

  • What it is: A star festival that evolved from a Chinese folk legend about two stars who were said to be lovers but could meet only once in the heavens during the year.  Named Tanabata after a weaving maiden from a Japanese legend, Orihime, who was believed to make clothes for the gods.

  • What you do:  People write wishes and romantic aspirations on long narrow strips of colored paper and hang them on bamboo branches along with other small ornaments for the week leading up to July 7th.  On the 7th these branches, filled with the wishes, will be given to local shrines to be ceremonially burned.

  • What people think about it:  This is a sweet festival that most people observe but it means little in the day to day lives.  It is not a public holiday and no one receives time off but many people do this at home to celebrate and even local stores will have a place where people can put their wishes.  Even starbucks had one!

  • Anime that shows this:

• Children’s Day (kobo-chan episode 23, Chibi maruko-san, episode 70, Sazae-san, episode 6020)

  • What it is: Placed right at the May end of the Golden Week holidays in Japan childrens day is literally that, a day for kids and celebrating the happiness and future of children.

  • What you do:  Many supermarkets and local stores will have fun events for children to participate in.  Even the Train Stations had some put on by the conductors and official rail staff.  Activities include the normal: coloring, give aways, bag tosses.  To things that are really really Japanese like catching the fish with a paper net.  This is also the holiday where people hang the colorful Koi/Fish wind socks.

What people think about it:  Most adults have a nostalgia for children’s day I feel.  It’s also kind of sad being at the end of Golden Week!