New Year (o-shōgatsu) is the most important celebration of the year in Japan. Until the adoption of the western calendar in the late 19th century, Japan followed the Chinese solilunar calendar, but the New Year is now celebrated over the first three days of January.
December is always busy with bōnenkai (literally ‘forget the year parties’) and preparations: a fresh start in the New Year requires old business to be finished in the old one and thorough cleaning of homes, schools and businesses.
Gifts (o-seibo) are sent to thank people for their help or business over the last year; department stores do good business in selling and delivering specially packaged items of food and drink. Intute has catalogued a PhD thesis on the relationship between gift giving and social relationships in Japan, particularly the importance of wrapping. New Year’s postcards (nengajō) are also sent to friends, colleagues and work contacts, but, whereas Christmas cards should arrive before 25 December, nengajō are supposed to arrive on 1 January, although up to a few days later is acceptable. The postcards are specially marked and extra staff are employed by the Post Office to deliver on New Year’s Day. While traditional seasonal symbols such as the kadomatsu (pine and bamboo decoration) or plum blossom, or the animal of the new year in the Chinese zodiac (2008 will be the year of the rat) are perennial favourites, cartoon characters are also popular among young people, and many people design their own cards including a family photo. The Post Office also runs a very popular lottery with numbers on the cards it sells.
Kadomatsu Kyoto JPN 001.jpg from Wikimedia, distributed under a creative commons license.
As with festivals all over the world, food is an essential part of the celebrations. Families traditionally gather together on 31 December (Ōmisoka) and eat toshikoshi soba (’year crossing’ buckwheat noodles) for longevity and good luck in the coming year, while the special dishes to be eaten over New Year (o-sechi ryōri) are prepared beforehand so no cooking has to be done. Nowadays, many people buy o-sechi ryōri ready made. The food is beautifully presented in stacked lacquer boxes and many of the dishes have symbolic associations with good health or good fortune.
Japanese_Osechi_ryouri.jpg from Wikimedia, distributed under a creative commons license.
There are many traditions associated with the New Year – seeing the first sunrise from a mountain or beach is one, but the first visit of the year to a Shinto shrine and/or Buddhist temple (hatsumōde) is the most important. My most memorable New Year ever was spent with friends and thousands of others on a cold clear night in Nara, one of the ancient capitals of Japan: shuffling slowly along stone slabbed and stepped pathways lit by stone lanterns; listening for the temples tolling their bells 108 times (joya no kane) to purge the listeners of the 108 human sins; gasping at the sight of the serene face of the 15m high Great Buddha through specially openend shutters of the great hall of the Tōdaiji temple complex. Here’s a short video of visits to several shrines and temples in Tokyo at New Year; and among the many stunning images on photographer Frantisek Staud’s website are these photos of hatsumōde.
Intute has catalogued some excellent academic resources on Shinto and Buddhism in Japan, including one website with around a thousand images of Buddhist and Shinto statues, stone lanterns, rock gardens and other aspects of Japanese shrines and temples.
Tags: General Arts and Humanities, Other Lang Lit Historical and Cultural Studies
