the preparations for New Year and Christmas

The 12th month was very important to prepare for welcoming the deity of the year at the beginning of a year.

The preparations for New Year's festivities are started on December 8th in Tokyo, December 13th in Kyoto.

On this day, ancient people cut down the woods for New Year's festivities such as firewoods and pine decorations(門松, kadomatsu) to which the deity goes down from the sky.

The 13th day of the 12th month was the day of the ogre(鬼の日, oni no hi) according to the calendar that was used until the early part of the Edo Period (around the 17th century). The day was regarded as an ideal day for everything except a wedding.

At Gion in Kyoto, Geiko and maiko pay their devoirs to their masters with kagami-mochi (a round rice-cake offered to the deity) and make courtesy visits to ochaya where they entertain customers on December 13th.

A kitchen knife and a daikon radish(大根) are placed on a cutting board.
There are a carrot(人参, ninjin), Welsh onion(葱, negi), red turnip(赤蕪, akakabu), Chinese cabbage(白菜, hakusai) in a basket for winnowing rice.

Yuki-usagi(雪兎:snow rabbit)

Narcissus(水仙) is protected from snow by a straw shelter or a woven mat.
Trees are wrapped with straws or woven mats to protect them from snow or chilliness in many parts of Japan.

At Kenroku-en(兼六園) in Kanazawa, ropes or wires are placed around trees to protect them from the snow from November 1st to mid-December. Its release is scheduled for March 15th.

These pictures were taken on March 14th in 2005.
 
写真：日本列島お国自慢

photos: Nihon-rettou Okuni Jiman (Japanese version only)

People used to pound rice with a pestle(杵, kine) in a mortar(臼, usu) at home at the end of a year, but few people do it now.
We see rabbit pounding steamed rice on the moon surface.

Many people came to engage in festive activities on Christmas Eve after World War ll, although most of them were not Christians.

Some people says a confectionery package maker started selling paper Christmas boots that contained candies around 1947.

We sometimes have snow in Tokyo around the end of December, but there isn't enough snow yet to make a snowman.

In the past, butter cakes were popular and whipped cream cakes were less common.

Leaf-viewing and Shichi Go San

In the Heian period, noblemen in Kyoto enjoyed leaf-viewing.

An imperial autumn-leaves viewing party named Momiji no Ga(紅葉賀)  is described in the 7th chapter of "The Tale of Genji".  Musicians perform a variety of music on the boats. A large dragon's head or a bird's neck was attached to their bows. Selected dancers give performances. Hikaru Genji performs a dance named seigaiha(青海波) wearing colored leaves (and a chrysanthemum) in his hair.

Even now we can see the dance in the gagaku performance. Gagaku(雅楽) is Japanese traditional music and dance.

This year's foliage season will be from mid November to early December in Kyoto. Many good spots for viewing autumn leaves in Kyoto will be full of visitors.

Tsuzumi(鼓:Japanese hand drum) and yokobue(横笛:a Japanese transverse flute made of bamboo)

Kougou(香合:incense container) in the shape of kaki

six-panel folding screen with a painting of colored maple leaves

Shichi Go San(七五三:The Seven-Five-Three Festival) is a traditional event to celebrate children's growth and pray for their future good health. It's an ancient event and came to be held on the 15th day of the 11th month in the early Edo Period.
On November 15th, 3-year-old boys and girls, 5-year-old boys and 7-year-old girls in formal dress such as kimono are taken by parents to a shrine. It comes from the ancient three events of obitoki(帯解) for 7-year-old girls, hakamagi(袴着) for 5-year-old boys and kamioki(髪置) for 3-year-old boys and girls.

Obitoki was a custom done by the families of commoners. From this day, 7-year-old girls started to put on obi(sash) in place of cloth bands .  Fathers visited to the guardian deity of their birthplace hoisting their daughter on to their shoulders.

Hakamagi was a custom done by the families of warriors.
Kamioki was a event that 3-year-old boys and girls grew their hair out from this day. Mothers visited the guardian deity with their childen in their arms.

We can see chidren in formal dress on weekends around November 15th. I gradually became uncomfortable with securely-tied obi(belt) when I was a child and visited a shrine.

Chitose-ame(千歳飴) is a stick of red or white hard candy in a bag with a painting of auspicious symbols such as "crane and turtle" and "pine, bamboo and ume".
Chitose-ame literally means thousand year candy and its length symbolizes long life.  It contains rice and malt. It is made using malt to break down rice starch into sugar.

There are hand-rolled sushi on the table.

Ringo-ame(リンゴ飴:apple coated with sugar), Takoyaki(たこ焼き:octopus dumpling) and Wata-ame(綿飴:cotton candy) are sold from stands at a festival.

a pair of zori(草履:Japanese sandals) are placed on the step-stone.

Autumn festivals and athletic meetings

The 10th month in the lunar calendar(corresponding to November in the solar calendar) was named Kanna-zuki(神無月), when all of Shinto deities gather at Izumo-taisha (出雲大社, Izumo Grand Shrine) in Shimane Prefecture. Now many harvest festivals are held in October.  Most Japanese summer festivals derive from the Star Festival or the Bon Festival, and most autumn festivals are held to give thanks to deities for a good harvest in shrines.

It is said that several festivals such as Okunchi Festival in Nagasaki(長崎おくんち) come from Chouyo-no-sekku(重陽の節句), which is one of the five season-related celebrations and was celebrated on the 9th day of the 9th month in the lunar calendar(corresponding to October in the solar calendar).

miniature mikoshi(神輿, portable shrine)

This hanging scroll shows tree sparrows with wing spread flocking to ears of rice. I remember rice paddies used to be put up sparkling tapes or nets to warn away sparrows. I haven't seen them recently.
It is presumed that the number of tree sparrows in Japan has dropped by 50 to 80 percent compared to 1990.
Tree sparrow nests in a narrow gap such as a space between roof tiles and a roof, but less houses have tiled roofs due to earthquake countermeasures. There is decreased green space where tree sparrow can feed itself.

Kikkoudou(橘香堂) in Kurashiki(倉敷) of Okayama Prefecture started selling a confection named murasuzume(むらすゞめ) which was modeled after a tree sparrow with wing spread in 1877.
The confection has distinctive appearance due to using ammonium carbonate.

Kichou(几帳) is a partition that a cut of silk cloth is hung on a wooden bar. It was used at aristocrats' houses and we can also buy now.

Tokkuri(徳利:sake bottle) and choko(猪口:small sake cup),  a meal set on a small dining table



Health and Sports Day (体育の日) is a national holiday in Japan.  The day was designated in 1966 to commemorate the opening day of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
It was held on October 10th, but the day was moved to the second Monday in October in 2000.  The day was chosen for the Tokyo Olympics because October 10th is what meteorologists call a “singular fine day" in Japan.
Most schools and organizations used to hold their athletic meetings on October 10th. Many companies used to hold it and I took part in it.

The poster says Koube elementary school hold athletic meetings on October 10th.

There are a gym uniform,a red cap and headband on tatami mats.
"Red and White" often means opposing two groups in games. It is said that it comes from the battles between the two clans of Genji and Heike. The Minamoto clan(源氏, Genji) flew white flags and the Taira clan(平氏, Heike) did red ones.

Soy sauce and a broken egg and its shell are placed on the table.
Tamago-kake-gohan(卵かけごはん) is a meal composed of a raw egg mixed with white rice, often seasoned with soy sauce. Recently we can buy a special soy sauce for tamago-kake-gohan at supermarkets.
The expiration date of eggs in Japan shows the date suitable for eating raw.
pieces of rolled egg(卵焼き, tamagoyaki) and sausages in the shape of octopus(たこさんウィンナー, tako-san wiener) are served on a plate. Both of them were popular dishes for children's boxed lunch in Japan. You can make tako-san wiener by frying sausage with some lengthwise cuts.

In the center of the table and in rice balls, there are umeboshi(梅干:pickled ume). The tartness of the pickled ume stimulates the appetite and prevents food poisoning, so people often place them in rice balls and boxed lunches.

The clinical tests at three hospitals including Jikei University School of Medicine demonstrated that ume extract reverses liver damage.
Shoichi Adachi(足立正一), who is a developer of drug about the immune system, tested some ume ingredients to see how they affect oral sarcoma of his dog. He gave the dog milk laced with ume extract, and cancer cells in his dog became necrotic. I watched the report on the NHK TV program named "asaichi". However, demonstration experiments about it are not held.

Rice balls(にぎり or おむすび, onigiri or omusubi)

A woven basket contains triangular rice balls with a sheet of dried laver wrapped in a bamboo sheath. Making rice ball and hand-rolled sushi(にぎり寿司, nigiri-zushi) are not as simple as it seems.
Rice balls keep their shape better when being held with a hand, but they unravel when entering a mouth. There is a knack in making them.

Rice cooker of old sort

Mercurochrome, commonly known as akachin(赤チン), was always kept in the first-aid box.

Moon Viewing

Moon Viewing is held on the 15th day of the 8th month in the lunar calendar(corresponding to September 22nd of this year in the Gregorian calendar).

Moon Viewing derives from the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, but we celebrate it in a different way. It is also called Imomeigetsu (芋名月) or "Potato harvest moon".


Many Japanese enjoy the full moon and offer it foods such as rice dumplings called Tsukimi dango(月見団子), taro, edamame, chestnut, kaki persimmon, kinukatsugi(衣被, steamed unpeeled taro) and flowers such as susuki(薄:Japanese pampas grass), hagi(萩:bush clover or Japanese clover), ominaeshi(女郎花:Patrinia scabiosifolia).
In the Edo Period, some sophisticated people enjoyed to see the moon from the top of a many‐storied building and Some held a banquet on board a ship.

People enjoyed to hear suzumushi singing. We can buy artificially-bred suzumushi (鈴虫: Japanese bell cricket, Homoeogryllus japonicus).


susuki(薄:Japanese pampas grass)















ominaeshi(女郎花:Patrinia scabiosifolia)















hagi(萩:bush clover or Japanese clover)

photos:「季節の花 ３００」Kisetsu no Hana 300
http://www.hana300.com (Japanese version only)






Tsukimi dango(月見団子):
In kyoto, oval-shaped(taro-shaped) dumplings wrapped with adzuki bean paste are offered.













kinukatsugi(衣被):







Geppei(月餅):
Chinese people eat mooncakes(月餅) with their families or friends on this day. They customarily offer mooncakes to familiar persons or people who have helped them.







Katsura Rikyu(桂離宮), which was built in the 17th century in Kyoto, has a large moon-viewing facility named Geppa-ro(月波楼). Aristocrats used to enjoy to view the full moon and its reflection on the surface of the water.

Amaterasu-Omikami(天照大神) is the goddess of the Sun and an imperial ancestor. Her younger brother Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto(月読命) is the god of the moon and controlls the night. He came to be enshrined as the god of agriculture because his observation of phases of the moon leads to making calendar that is important for agriculture. Ancient people associated wax and wane of the moon with repeated rebirth, and the moon came to symbolize rebirth and immortality.


My mother went shopping at a mall with a shopping bag like this in my childfood. There are a dish with cooking chopsticks linked by a piece of string, a case of eggs and a coin purse on the low dining table.



The tea ceremony for moon-viewing is held from evening while the host and guests are waiting for the moonrise.

furosaki-byoubu(風炉先屏風): Two-panel folding screen placed behind furo(風炉).
furo(風炉): charcoal water heater for the tea ceremony. It's used from early May to late October.
chagama(茶釜):kettle for the tea ceremony
MIzusashi(水指):tea ceremony water jar
Kensui(建水):wastewater receptacle, Hishaku(柄杓:a long-handled bamboo ladle)


Natsume(棗):jujube-shaped tea case
chawan(茶碗):tea ceremony bowl, chashaku(茶杓):tea scoop, chasen(茶筅):bamboo whisk






tabako-bon(煙草盆,tobacco tray):
Tabako-bon was said to be brought to Japan from Europe as a tea utensil In the early 17th century. It's a smoking kit including a charcoal fire container, cigarette butt container and a pipe. Feudal lords started to use it and it spread to commoners.

Summer vacation and the Bon festival

I tend to be in poor health because of the use of air conditioners, so I sleep without the air conditioner on. I can't get to sleep from consecutive hot summer nights.

The month of August is summer vacation and is also the month for the dead in Japan.
The Bon festival is a Buddhist festival held from August 13th to 16th. In many areas, the festival is held according to the lunar calendar. The souls of the dead are believed to return to their families during the festival.














Bon Festival lantern is a landmark for the spirits of ancestors, who use lanterns as landmarks to find their ways home. At the first Bon Festival following the death of a family member, the family hang an unpatterned white lantern outside and Bon Festival lanterns are sent from the family's relatives or people close to the member as offerings to the member.








Hanging scroll with a painting of lotuses and waterfowls is placed in the alcove.
We associate lotus with Buddhism. We can see lotuses planted in the soil of the pond at Many Buddhist temples. Lotus is also reagarded as a symbol of purity because it produces beautiful flowers in spite of growing from mud.







This is a pig-shaped burner for mosquito coil(mosquito-repellent incense, 蚊取り線香). Mosquito coils used to be made from pyrethrums, but most of them are done from pyrethroid that is a synthetic chemical compound now. Recently, the coils made from pyrethrums have been brought back as naturally-derived products.

Many companies offer fans(団扇, uchiwa) as an advertising medium, displaying company names and product names on them.
















Suika(西瓜:watermelon)

My grandmother used to chill the watermelon in well water.
This is a watermelon-shaped confection. Its red flesh is made of yokan(hard bean paste jelly).















Kakigouri(かき氷) is a Japanese dessert made from shaved ice flavored with syrup. When I was a child, I made it with a household snow cone maker.
Sei Shonagon (清少納言, c.966-1017) referred to shaved ice with boiled down ivy sap in the metallic bowl as sophisticated taste in her book, "The Pillow Book (枕草子, makura no soushi)".




Most boys are fond of catching beetles or stag beetles, but urban boys have few chances to catch them. So we can buy their larvae and adults to raise them at pet shops or Internet shopping sites.

Himawari(向日葵:sunflower) is a typical summer flower even in Japan.






Furin(風鈴：wind bell)














Sudare(簾:bamboo blind)








Radio taisou(ラジオ体操:radio physical exercises)
It was first broadcast on NHK radio in 1928. The exercises are designed to improve people's strength and health.
Students practice exercise to the music on the radio in parks or squares early morning during summer vacation. After the exercises, they get stamp marks for their attendance on the cards.






bottle rocket, pinwheel(ねずみ花火) and sparkling firework(線香花火)



We can buy a set of household fireworks including hand-held fireworks, bottle rockets, pinwheels(ねずみ花火) and sparkling fireworks(線香花火) at convenience stores or supermarkets.
In childhood, we set off fireworks with our parents outside the house during summer. Young people often do it on the beach.
Anyone can buy and sell household fireworks without a license.
Sparkling fireworks in Japan are unspectacular, but they are very popular among adults who see life's fleetingness in burning sparkling fireworks.
However, most of sparkling fireworks are made in China now.