Father’s Day was started in the U.S., but in Japan we celebrate it as well on the same day (please click here for more details). In Japan we say “お父さん、ありがとう (thank you, Dad)”, “父の日ありがとう (thank you on Father’s Day)” or “いつもありがとう (thank you always)” instead of “Happy Father’s Day (父の日おめでとう)”. Additionally, in Japan we only celebrate our own fathers and only our own fathers. Wives normally don’t celebrate husbands on Father’s Day, siblings don’t celebrate their brothers who have a child, and friends don’t celebrate men who have a child.
Just like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day was started in the U.S. In 1910 Sonora Smart Dodd sent white roses to her father to thank him for raising her by himself. She strongly felt that fathers should be recognized as well as mothers. She asked her church to hold a celebration on her father’s birthday which was in June. This was the origin of Father’s Day. Just like Mother’s Day, this tradition reached Japan and we started celebrating Father’s Day, and just like Mother’s Day the symbol of Father’s Day in Japan is roses. However, I think we often give more manly gifts instead of flowers.
Mother’s Day actually started in West Virginia. When the person named Ann Jarvis, who was a social activist during the American Civil War, passed away, her daughter donated 500 carnations to the church in West Virginia for the mother’s funeral attendees. This was the origin of Mother’s Day. This tradition reached Japan and we started celebrating Mother’s Day. Interestingly, in Japan we kept the ritual of sending carnations and almost always give carnations to our mothers instead of any other flowers, whereas in the U.S. roses are much more mainstream on Mother’s Day.
In the language of flowers white carnations mean “respect”, red ones mean “mother’s love” and pink ones mean “gratitude”. However, yellow ones mean “jealousy” and “disrespect”, so you may want to avoid yellow ones as a gift. lol
This video is about a candy craftsman, Shinri Tezuka, who owns a traditional style candy shop, Ameshin, in Asakusa, Tokyo. Unlike most craftsmen, he is self-taught and did not have a master to imitate as he was learning. Although he is only 27 years old in this video, his skill is already amazing. Candy art in Japan started during the Edo period (1603-1868). In this video he says “making candy art an important part of Japanese culture is my job”. Way to go, Tezuka Sensei!!! Currently he has nine pupils.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
