Learn About Japan
Celebrating the Year of the Rabbit in Japan!
For Japan, both the fiscal and academic years begin in the spring: a time of renewal and new growth in nature made all the more splendid by the treasured and highly anticipated arrival of cherry blossom season. However, Japan also embraces the ushering in of a New Year according to the Gregorian calendar as well. As December draws to a close, the season for Bōnenkai (forgetting the past year) parties swing into high gear as people gather with co-workers & friends to say good-bye to the previous year in order to clean the slate figuratively and literally for the arrival of a new year to come. The last few days in December can be quite hectic as households are scrubbed down from top to bottom – this custom is referred to as “ōsōji” literally the “big cleaning”. As well as preparations are made for the elaborate feast served on New Year’s Day.
In contrast to lively and often raucous revelry embraced by Americans when ushering in the New Year with noise makers and fireworks, New Year’s Eve is much more solemn and contemplative in Japan, and is usually celebrated with family, typically at home. If you live near a temple or in rural community, a familiar sound which pierces the dark, winter night is the deep, rich tone of the local temple bell. The joyano-kane or the “night watch bell” is struck 108 times; as each toll is said to represent the 108 earthly desires believed to plague humans. With each strike of the bell, it is said that the evil accumulated from the past year is released, so that the New Year can be welcomed with a clean slate. Somehow, the echo of the bell seems to hang in the cold winter night’s air a little longer than usual, giving those listening, a chance to pause and reflect on what has passed and what is yet to come.
Great emphasis is placed on the particular zodiac animal for the New Year. 2011 celebrates the Rabbit and all over Japan, you will find images of rabbits featured in advertising, art, foods and decorations. Everywhere you look there will be rabbits! Even in the moon! In popular western culture, we see a face in the full moon. Some cultures see a crab, but in Japan, they see a rabbit pounding mochi (rice cakes) with a large wooden mallet called kizuchi. Eating mochi in a special soup dish called zoni on New Year’s Day happens to be a favorite tradition, but caution must be taken when eating mochi, especially by young children and the elderly, as it is extremely chewy and can pose a choking hazard if not eaten carefully in small bites.
The rabbit is said to be the luckiest of the zodiac animals. Thus those born in the Year of the Rabbit are likewise supposed to be lucky, happy, good company, virtuous and diplomatic! Do you know anyone born in the Year of the Rabbit? Do they have these qualities? Rabbits have a long history in Japanese culture and can be seen in ancient art such as the famous scroll, Chōju-Jinbutsu-Giga* ("Birds and Animals Play Human"). Rabbits have even been incorporated into fearsome samurai helmets or kabuto*. Various images are popular, adorning fabric patterns, dishware and, recently, items for bento (traditional Japanese boxed lunches), like toothpicks & hardboiled egg molds! There will definitely be a huge variety of rabbit-themed products in Japan this year!
*For pictures of the Chōju-Jinbutsu-Giga & the rabbit-themed kabuto – visit: http://web-japan.org/nipponia/nipponia40/en/feature/feature08.html
Other New Year’s related traditions in Japan:
- Toshikoshi Soba - Though more solemn, the New Year’s Celebration is extremely festive, especially when it comes to the special cuisine, associated with this holiday! In addition to literally “ringing out” the old year, it is also a tradition to eat buckwheat noodles on New Year’s Eve called “toshikoshi soba” or Year Bridging Buckwheat Noodles. Usually served hot, soba noodles are typically quite long, thus represent a long life. In addition to being quite tasty, being made from buckwheat, they are healthy and good for cleansing your digestive system!
- Otoshidama– children receive small envelopes, usually with gifts of money called otoshidama
- Nengajō – New Year’s greeting cards – these postcards are sent with the intent of arriving on New Year’s Day, throughout Japan. If you send them by the designated post office deadline, they are guaranteed to arrive on January 1st. There is even a nationwide lottery tied into this tradition as you can purchase special cards with pre-printed numbers, so with each greeting you send, you are also sending a chance for the recipient to win a prize! Homemade nengajō are also gaining in popularity to add an extra personal touch to the New Year’s greeting. Find out more: http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/calendar/december/nengajo.html, http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/manga/0712/
- Osechi-ryōri : - Traditionally, the days leading up to the New Year, especially December 31st, were spent preparing exquisite and extremely labor intensive dishes, which are as pleasing to the eyes as they are to the palate. Ideally people could relax and enjoy the New Year together with their families as all the food was prepared the day before.
Now that you know a little bit more about the New Year’s Holiday in Japan, let us know about how you celebrate the New Year! If you found the links in this article interesting, be sure to re-visit these sites in the future to learn more about Japan!
Web Japan
http://web-japan.org/index.html
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/index.html (For Children)
For even more links, visit our Homepage: http://www.seattle.us.emb-japan.go.jp/links/others.htm