traditional / culture
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.
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。
千羽鶴 – Senbazuru
Senbazuru literally means 1000 orizuru, but it does not have to be exactly 1000. It just means to make many of them as a wish for the speedy recovery of a sick or injured person. Most people in Japan can make orizuru without instruction. We learn how to make them in school as a part of normal school activities (usually in elementary school). When a student gets hospitalized, classmates and teachers get together and make senbazuru for the student.
勤労感謝の日 – Labor Thanksgiving Day
This is the first time that I will talk about “勤労感謝の日” or “Labor Thanksgiving Day”. This day, November 23rd, is a national holiday in Japan. All Japanese people probably know about this holiday, but interestingly many of them misunderstand the real meaning of this holiday. Let me explain. The name “勤労感謝の日” sounds like it is the day to thank workers. In elementary school we wrote thank you letters to the local police officers. For this reason, I never thought about it deeply before, but today I finally realized that this day is actually the Japanese Thanksgiving Day. This holiday reminds us to be grateful for having a job, and to appreciate all the things that are produced by jobs, such as food, products, services, events, entertainments, etc. If I ever told you that there is no Thanksgiving in Japan, then I am sorry, I was wrong. November 23rd is Thanksgiving in Japan.
折鶴 – Orizuru
Crane is not the national bird of Japan, but it is often shown as an image of Japan together with cherry blossoms and Mt. Fuji. Orizuru is a paper crane that is made from origami. Almost all Japanese people can make orizuru without looking at the instructions. I think most of us make it as a school activity. If you love Japan and you think you know a lot about Japan, then you should definitely know how to make orizuru (^_<)～☆
I offer origami classes. Please contact me for details.
SCETA Japan Center
4500 Lehigh Rd, College Park, MD
mail@LearnJapan.co
202-656-6085
文化の日 – Culture Day
The 3rd of November is a national holiday in Japan. It is called “Bunka No Hi” or “Culture Day”. This day is dedicated to freedom & peace in Japan and to promote Japanese culture. November 3rd is the birthday of the Meiji emperor (11/3/1852) and is also the day that Japan’s revised constitution was officially announced (11/3/1946). It has been a national holiday since 1948. On this day the entry fee for many museums is either free or discounted and many places hold a special event that is related to Japanese art, music, films, etc.
日本のお金 – Money
The official unit of Japanese currency is the yen. One dollar is equivalent to 112 yen as of 10/10/18. The idea of Japanese currency was greatly influenced by China. In China certain type of shells were used as currency before coins were invented. Today, as in the past, some Japanese coins have a hole in the middle, and it is believed that this is a remainder of those shells that also had openings (see the photo). In Japan today there are six types of coins (1, 5, 10, 50, 100, & 500 yen) and 4 types of bills (1,000, 2,000, 5,000, and 10,000 yen). The bill for 2000-yen is not common, but you may come across one from time to time, I guess it is just like the two-dollar bill in the U.S.
お月見 – Otsukimi 2018
Traditionally Otsukimi or the moon-viewing event is held on August 15th based on the old lunar calendar. But it actually falls on different dates depending on the year since we use the solar calendar now. This year, 2018, Otsukimi falls on September 24th. The full moon is actually the 25th. Obviously, the lunar calendar is based on the moon, so 15th of each month is supposed to be the full moon. However, the calendar is not perfect, and in some months a 1~2 day gap can occur.
万華鏡 – Kaleidoscope
