Chika
令和 – Reiwa Era
The Chief Cabinet Secretary just announced the name of new era. It will be Reiwa (令和: pronounce “ray-wa”). It means auspicious and peaceful. The Heisei period will continue until the 30th of April when the Emperor Akihito will abdicate the throne and the Reiwa period will start on the first of May. Please click here to read about Japanese imperial year.
平成 – Heisei Era
In Japan besides the Western Calendar (西暦) we often use Japanese imperial year (和暦). Currently the imperial year is Heisei (平成) 31 since Heisei started in 1989. We call this current era since 1989 Heisei Era or Heisei Period. The past few eras were changed after the emperor passed away, but our current emperor decided to abdicate the throne due to his age and health. He is now 85 and had a several surgeries, so he will abdicate on the 30th of April this year. For the past few eras the era name was decided after the emperor passed away, but this time the new era name will be discussed by the cabinet on the first of April and will be decided on the same day.
The photo is Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.
桜 – Cherry Blossoms 2019
It’s time for cherry blossoms again! In Tokyo it was already at its peak on 3/21/19 and in Washington DC blossoms will reach peak bloom on 4/1/19 according to the National Park Service.
Although cherry blossoms are not a floral emblem of Japan officially, cherry blossoms are strongly associated with Japan and Japanese culture.
ムーミン – Moomins
The anime Moomins is very popular in Japan. The original story “Moomins” was written by Tove Jansson from Finland. A Japanese production company created the anime series and released it in 1969, but Tove did not like the appearance of the characters of Moomins. She complained that the characters had become too round and cute. The production company changed the characters’ appearance to meet her liking, but then the Japanese viewers complained about the changes. Finally Tove told the production company that they may keep the appearance but that they must not release the series outside of Japan. Since 1969 the new TV series and Moomin movies have been being produced both in Japan and in Finland, and the Moomin character goods have remained popular in Japan for over 40 years.
菱餅 – Hishi Mochi
For hina-matsuri we display beautiful dolls and offer food and drink. Normally the drink is shirozake or Japanese white wine, and the food is hishi mochi. Typical hishi mochi is a diamond shaped rice cake that consists of three colored layers; pink, white, and light green. There are several different stories behind of the reason why it’s three-colored and diamond-shaped, but it’s summarized that the shape and colors are for good luck.
美人姫 – Bijin-Hime
Bijin-hime is the name of a special strawberry that is produced by a farm in Gifu, Japan. Bijin-hime literally means “beautiful princess”. Large sized bijin-hime can weigh over 100g a piece. The most expensive one sells for 50000 yen (approx $452.75 as of 2/15/19) per piece, NOT per box. Cheaper ones can be bought through a vending machine that operates 24 hours, and those vary in price and size from 6000 yen for 15 pieces to 10000 yen for a dozen. Originally I thought that selling one heart-shaped Ichigokoro strawberry for 5000 yen was absurd, but that is nothing compared to bijin-hime.
いちごころ – Ichigokoro
A farm in Yamaguchi, Japan has been producing and selling heart-shaped strawberries named Ichigokoro since 2016. They can produce only up to 100 of these special berries per day from mid-December through mid-May. When I checked the website in the middle of January, all the fresh strawberries were already sold out. The price for one largest (3L) ichigokoro, six middle-sized (M), or nine small (S) ones was the same: 5000 yen (approx $45.70 USD). The farm sells regular-shaped strawberries too, but those are all sold out as well. Currently (as of 1/30/19) only available items are phone cases and message cards.
豆まき – Bean Throwing
According to the lunisolar calendar, Setsubun for spring 2019 is on February 3rd.
People in ancient Japan believed that they got sick due to evil spirits when the seasons changed. Setsubun, which marks the transition between seasons, was a time when many fell ill. The bean-throwing ceremony, known as mamemaki, was first held at local shrines to ward off these evil spirits during Setsubun. Soon after, people started performing this ritual in their homes. During a mamemaki, an adult man (usually the father) dons a demon mask and runs through the house. Family members chase him, throwing soybeans and shouting, “Out with the demon and in with good fortune! (鬼は外、福は内)”.
昔々、季節の変わり目は邪気のせいで病気にかかるのだと思われていた。節分はちょうど季節の変わり目。病気になる人が多く、邪気をはらう行事として神社で豆まきが行われた。その後、豆まきは家庭でも行われるようになった。家庭での豆まきは普通父親などの大人の男性が鬼のお面をつけ、家の中を走り回る。家族は鬼に豆を投げながら「鬼は外、福は内」と叫ぶ。