季節の行事 — 正月から年末まで日本の年中行事

Japan's annual events are a culture in which ancient imperial court events, Shinto, Buddhism, and Chinese-origin calendrical practices have fused over long years to take root in the daily life of every household and region. From Shogatsu (New Year) to Omisoka (New Year's Eve), the events repeated together with the transition of the four seasons have shaped the very time-sensibility of the Japanese people.

Shogatsu is positioned at the peak of Japanese annual events. By the end of December, households finish their big cleaning, decorate with kadomatsu gate pine, shimenawa sacred rope, and kagamimochi mirror mochi, and complete preparations to welcome the year god. On New Year's Day morning, families gather around osechi cuisine and savor toso New Year's sake and zoni soup. Each osechi item carries a meaning of luck — black beans for "working diligently" (a pun on "mame"), herring roe for "descendant prosperity," and kombu for "joy" (a pun on "yorokobu") — each one embedded with a wish.

On New Year's Day or during the first three days of the New Year, many people go out for "hatsumode" — the first shrine or temple visit of the year. Meiji Shrine (Tokyo), Naritasan Shinshoji Temple (Chiba), Kawasaki Daishi (Kanagawa), and Fushimi Inari Taisha (Kyoto) are visited by millions of worshippers each year, who pray for a year of good health, household safety, and business prosperity. On January 7th, people eat seven-herb rice porridge to rest stomachs tired from the New Year feasts.

Setsubun on February 3rd (sometimes the 2nd) falls on the day before "Risshun" (the calendrical start of spring) and means the seasonal transition from winter to spring. At home, people scatter beans (roasted soybeans) while chanting "Demons out, luck in" to drive away misfortune. It is said that eating one bean for each year of your age plus one allows you to spend the year in good health. In recent years, the Kansai-origin "eho maki" custom has spread nationwide, and the practice of eating one entire thick sushi roll in silence while facing the year's lucky direction has become established.

The Doll Festival on March 3rd is a sekku praying for the healthy growth of girls; families display Hina dolls and offer chirashi sushi, clear clam soup, hishimochi diamond rice cake, and hina arare. Tango no Sekku on May 5th is the sekku for boys; families display helmets and carp streamers and eat kashiwa mochi or chimaki. After the war, Tango no Sekku was also enacted as the national holiday "Children's Day."

Tanabata on July 7th originates from the once-yearly tryst of Orihime and Hikoboshi, and there is a custom of writing wishes on tanzaku strips and hanging them on bamboo grass. It is also familiar as an annual event at kindergartens and elementary schools. During Obon in August (or July depending on the region), ancestral spirits are believed to return home; people light Obon lanterns, burn welcoming and sending-off fires, and visit graves. A return-home rush occurs nationwide, and many companies set an "Obon holiday."

On the "fifteenth night" of the 8th month of the old calendar (mid-September to early October on the new calendar), tsukimi (moon viewing) is held. Also called the "harvest moon," people offer tsukimi dango, susuki grass, and taro on the veranda, gazing at the full moon and giving thanks for the autumn harvest. The third Monday of September is "Respect for the Aged Day," and around September 23rd is "Autumn Equinox Day" — national holidays continue.

Shichi-Go-San on November 15th is an event celebrating the growth of children at ages 3, 5, and 7. Boys at ages 3 and 5 and girls at ages 3 and 7 wear kimono and worship at Shinto shrines, giving thanks for their healthy growth thus far and praying that they continue to grow healthily. The sight of children with thousand-year candy — symbolizing longevity — lined up on shrine grounds is a seasonal feature of early winter.

December 31st, Omisoka, has concentrated within it events that conclude the year. At home, families eat year-crossing soba, embedding meanings of "longevity" and "cutting away misfortune" into the long, thin noodles. Around 11 PM, "New Year's Eve bells" are rung at temples nationwide; the sound of 108 bell strikes is said to symbolize human earthly desires and to purify the heart for the new year. On TV, NHK's Kohaku Uta Gassen has long been loved as a national program, and many households have made it standard to cross over the year as a family while watching the singing battle.

National holidays are set by the National Holidays Law (enacted 1948), and currently 16 days are designated annually. They include New Year's Day (1/1), Coming-of-Age Day (second Monday of January), National Foundation Day (2/11), Emperor's Birthday (2/23), Vernal Equinox Day (late March), Showa Day (4/29), Constitution Day (5/3), Greenery Day (5/4), Children's Day (5/5), Marine Day (third Monday of July), Mountain Day (8/11), Respect for the Aged Day, Autumn Equinox Day, Sports Day (second Monday of October), Culture Day (11/3), and Labor Thanksgiving Day (11/23).