Festivals

[aphrodite]

Every city, town and village in Japan has at least one matsuri (festival) a year. Matsuri fall into two broad categories - smaller matsuri in rural areas, usually held in spring or autumn and based around the rice-growing cycle; and extravagant matsuri held in large towns or cities, often in summer and with a lot of interpersonal activity. In the post-war period this division has become more pronounced with the big matsuri becoming 'events' and attracting TV cameras and tourists from around the country and the world. Matsuri have their origins in ancient Shinto rituals and beliefs. Important elements include purification, offerings to the gods - such as rice, sake or fruit - and contests or games held on the day. The latter can get out of hand, even to the point of violence, but this is considered part of letting one's hair down for the day. Most community matsuri have omikoshi, or portable shrines which are carried from house to house or shop to shop to bestow good fortune on all.

For the foreign visitor, a chance encounter with a small, local matsuri can be a good time to get some nice, intimate photos. But the big festivals are always full of spectacle and sure to provide some exciting photo opportunities.

Awa Odori Sapporo Snow Festival (Yuki Matsuri) - early February. Odori Park in Sapporo is the venue for an incredible array of huge and elaborate snow and ice sculptures. The festival is a major tourist attraction that brings millions of visitors from across Japan and abroad.

Kamakura Festival - February 15-16th. In Yokote City, Akita Prefecture, children build kamakura - small igloos with an altar to the Shinto water gods.

Hakata Dontaku Festival - May 3-4. Citizens dressed as the Seven Deities of Good Fortune parade the streets of the hakata district of Fukuoka.

Kanda Festival - mid-May (every odd-numbered year). Alternates with the Sanno Festival. About 200 omikoshi are paraded to honour the deities of the Kanda Shrine in Tokyo.

Sanja Festival - third weekend of May. About 100 omikoshi are paraded through the streets around Asakusa Shrine in Tokyo. There are also many geisha and other costumed participants.

Sanno Festival - June 10-16th (every even-numbered year). Alternates with the Kanda Festival. Honours the deities of the Hie Shrine in Tokyo. The main festival day is June 15.

Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival - July 1-15th. A major festival that welcomes the arrival of summer in the southern city of Fukuoka sees colorful kazari-yamakasa floats paraded through the streets. Huge excitement is generated when the kaki-yamakasa are raced in the Oiyama on the final day. The festival dates back to the 13th century when a priest was carried through the city spraying holy water along the way to rid the city of an epidemic.

Gion Festival - July 17th. The most significant festival in Japan. The most famous Gion Matsuri is the one sponsored by the Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto. Actually this is a one-month festival which reaches a climax on the 17th when there is a parade of giant wheeled floats called hoko or spears. These represent 66 tall spears erected in 869 in Kyoto as part of a ritual to protect the city from an epidemic. Each hoko carries a band of musicians who play a kind of music called gion-bayashi. Smaller yama or mountain floats carry life-size figures of famous people.

Tenjin Festival - July 24-25th. Together with Kyoto's Gion Matsuri and Tokyo's Kanda Matsuri, this festival in Osaka is considered one of the "big three" in Japan. It is thought to date back to the mid 10th century. The main events take place in the evening on the Okawa River, involving about 100 boats and with a fireworks display providing a spectacular backdrop.

Aomori Nebuta Festival - August 1-7th. Giant floats are paraded through the city of Aomori in the evening with musical accompaniment. On top of the floats are colorful, illuminated papier-mache nebuta, figures of warriors, kabuki actors or other famous people. On the last night, the nebuta are cast out to sea. This reflects the festival's origins whereby people threw paper images into the river to cast out fatigue, illness or bad luck - anything that might interfere with a successful harvest.

Awa Dance (Awa Odori) - August 12-15th. In the city of Tokushima, groups of dancers follow a route along the main streets doing a variation on the Bon Odori. There is also a smaller version of the dance in Nakano, Tokyo.

Nagasaki Suwa - October 7-9. Also known as O-kunchi, this festival features dragon dances and umbrella-topped floats.

[aphrodite]

[aphrodite]

A picture of the Awa Dance Festival

[aphrodite]

Aomori Nebuta Festival Floatback



Tenjin Matsuri (festival)

[aphrodite]

Although the word matsuri is always translated as 'festival', some festivals and holidays are more correctly included in the nenchu gyoji or annual events originally observed by the Imperial court. These observances are mostly of Chinese or Buddhist origin but as most Japanese don't really consider their religious significance, they also don't distinguish them from matsuri. The dates of some holidays, such as Adult's Day in January, have been moved to a fixed Monday in order to have guaranteed three-day weekends. The government made some changes in 2000 in an effort to stimulate the sluggish economy. Some of the more important days are: New Year's Day, Adult's Day (Seijin no Hi), Doll Festival (Hina Matsuri) on March 3rd, Golden Week in May, Bon Festival (Obon) on July 13-15th (August in some areas) and New Year's Eve. The birthday of the current emperor is always a national holiday, as is the birthday of the late Emperor Showa.

Mother and daughter at Shichi-go-san The New Year and Obon are the biggest events in the annual calendar. Families are expected to gather at the family home - no matter how scattered the members may be - to honour their ancestors. On the night of New Year's Eve or the next day, they visit their local shrine (in Tokyo, the number of visitors to Meiji Shrine alone is in the millions). But there are usually no wild New Year countdown celebrations. In recent years, Christmas has become a big - at least in the commercial sense - event. Couples usually try to get together for a date on Christmas Eve.

At Obon, the souls of the dead are said to return and so people visit and clean the family grave and light a path to the house. Although Obon is traditionally in July, most people take their annual summer 'Obon' vacation in August, making it the busiest and most expensive holiday season.

Seijin no Hi celebrates people coming of age at 20. On the second Monday of January (until 2000, it was January 15th), 20-year olds dress up and visit a shrine or attend a municipal ceremony to honour their reaching adulthood. It is a good opportunity to see hordes of young people in their finest traditional dress. Many young men wear kimono too but the majority tend to go for suits these days. Recent years have seen the day often marred by rowdy behavior and a general lack of respect for the formal aspects of the day.

Setsubun on February 3rd or 4th marks the beginning of spring. The word literally means "the spliting of the seasons". People throw beans at someone wearing a mask and representing a demon and chant 'Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi' or 'Out with the demons, in with good luck!' Often celebrities visit major shrines to throw out beans and other goodies to large crowds.

The focal point for the Hina Matsuri or Doll Festival is a display of dolls representing the emperor, empress and their court in formal dress. Most homes with young girls will have a display, from simple dolls and cards to elaborate setups costing hundreds of thousands of yen. Children's Day is actually a celebration for boys, corresponding to the Doll Festival for girls. Warrior dolls or mock samurai armor are displyed and koinobori or carp streamers are flown by families with boys (the carp is considered a symbol of success). On both days a special meal is eaten. Children's Day falls during the Golden Week holiday, which along with New Year and Obon is one of the busiest holiday periods throughout the country, with millions of Japanese also traveling abroad.

Tanabata Festival on July or August 7th was originally a celebration based on a Chinese legend. The stars representing the Weaver Princess (Vega) and the Cowherd (Altair) were lovers who could only meet on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. Its proximity to Obon meant that it became neglected in some areas but adopted by others. Sendai, for example, has a famous Tanabata Festival on August 7th. .

7-5-3 Festival (Shichi-go-san) on November 15th, 7 and 3-year old girls and 5-year old boys (Shichi-go-san is Japanese for the numbers 7,5 and 3) are dressed up in their best kimono - although these days suits are more common for the boys - and brought to the shrine to pray for their future. Originally, this ritual was based on the fact that Japanese believe certain ages to be prone to bad luck. Children were not considered fully formed until age seven. This event is also one of several times a year when photo studios make their biggest profits as parents and grandparents splash out lots of money for family albums.





The full list of national holidays is as follows:

January 1 - New Year's Day (Ganjitsu)
The second Monday in January - Adult's Day (Seijin-no hi)
February 11 - National Founding Day (Kenkoku Kinen-no hi)
March 20 or 21 - Vernal Equinox (Shunbun-no hi)
April 29 - Greenery Day (Midori-no hi). To be renamed Showa Day from 2007
May 3 - Constitution Memorial Day (Kenpou Kinenbi)
May 4 - National People's Day (Kokumin-no Kyuujitsu). To be renamed Greenery Day from 2007
May 5 - Children's Day (Kodomo-no hi)
July 20 - Marine Day (Umi-no hi)
The third Monday in September - Respect-for-the-Aged Day (Keirou-no hi)
September 23 or 24 - Autumnal Equinox (Shuubun-no hi)
The second Monday in October - Health/Sports Day (Taiiku-no hi)
November 3 - Culture Day (Bunka-no hi)
November 23 - Labor Thanksgiving Day (Kinrou Kansha-no hi)
December 23 - Emperor's Birthday (Tennou Tanjoubi)

When a national holiday falls on Sunday, the next Monday becomes a holiday

[aphrodite]

Sashimi and sushi
These two dishes are often thought to be one and the same. Sashimi consists of thin slices of raw fish or other seafood served with spicy Japanese horseradish (wasabi) and shoyu while sushi consists of the same, served on vinegared rice, but also includes cooked seafood, vegetables and egg. Another form of sushi is norimaki, or sushi roll, in which the filling is rolled in rice with a covering of nori. Cheap sushi is available at supermarkets or at kaiten-zushi restaurants, where customers sit at a counter and choose what they want from a conveyor belt.

Domburimono
These dishes consist of a bowl (domburi) of rice covered with one of a variety of toppings such as boiled beef (gyudon), chicken and egg (oyakodon), deep-fried shrimp (tendon) or deep-fried pork cutlet and egg (katsudon). They are often eaten as part of a reasonably priced 'lunch set', with miso soup and pickles.

Tempura
Seafood or vegetables dipped in batter and deep-fried, tempura is served with a dipping sauce and daikon. The word 'tempura' comes from the Portuguese 'tempero' (gravy or sauce) and this dish dates from the mid-16th century, when Portuguese and Spanish culture was first introduced to Japan. Tempura can be served with a side bowl of rice and soup or on a bowl of rice (tendon) or noodles (tempura udon, tempura soba).

Sukiyaki
This is a savoury stew of vegetables and beef cooked in a large nabe and dipped in a bowl of beaten raw egg. The vegetables usually used are green onion, shiitake mushrooms and chrysanthemum leaves (shungiku). Also added are tofu and gelatinous noodles (shirataki) and the ingredients are cooked in a sauce made of soy sauce, sugar and sweet cooking sake (mirin).

Shabushabu
For this dish, diners dip paper-thin slices of beef in a pot of boiling water and stock for a few seconds and then dip the cooked beef in sesame sauce (goma dare) before eating. Later, vegetables such as enoki mushrooms and Chinese cabbage, tofu and shirataki are added. When cooked, these are dipped in a soy and citrus sauce (ponzu). After the beef and vegetables have been finished, udon can be added to the pot and eaten with the broth. Other flavorings used include crushed garlic, chives and daikon. Economical (for those with a big appetite) all-you-can-eat meals are common in Shabushabu restaurants.

Okonomiyaki
This can best be described as a savory Japanese pancake. Chopped vegetables and meat or seafood are mixed with batter and cooked on a griddle. Like a pancake, the okonomiyaki is flipped over and cooked on both sides. It is then topped with a special sauce and mayonnaise and sprinkled with nori and dried fish flakes (katsuobushi). Variations include adding a fried egg or soba.

Yakitori
Yakitori itself means broiled chicken. Various cuts of chicken, including heart, liver and cartilage are cooked on skewers over a charcoal grill. Also cooked this way at yakitori restaurants (yakitoriya) are an assortment of vegetables such as green peppers (piman), garlic cloves (ninniku) and onions (negi). They are flavored using either a tangy sauce (tare) or salt (shio). The menu will usually contain a variety of other foods as well. Yakitoriya are usually laid-back places where the food is a snack to accompany drinking.

[jasonbvr]

Rock solid postings, oh goddess of love. Now I just need to start making a must see and do list while I am here.

[aphrodite]

Originally Posted by jasonbvr

Rock solid postings, oh goddess of love. Now I just need to start making a must see and do list while I am here.

lol alrighty then

[aphrodite]

With the industrialization of Japan in the 19th century came the development of the so-called 'dual structure' (niju kozo). Large corporations provided lifetime employment, seniority wage systems and company-based unions to create stable working conditions which would attract the best employees. These corporations thrived by utilizing small and medium-sized companies in the zaibatsu or financial and industrial combines. An entire zaibatsu was under the control of the family running the parent holding company. The big four zaibatsu were Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo and Yasuda, names still prominent today. Others include Nissan, Nomura and Furukawa (which included today's Fujitsu Ltd). Price discrimination against outside companies was common practice. They also exercised a lot of political influence through cash payment to parties and politicians. The smaller companies were at the mercy of the parent corporations and therefore less stable and attractive to employees. They tended to hire more women and unskilled workers, including foreigners. This trend continues to play a part in the Japanese economy.



Following World War II, holding companies and the zaibatsu system were abolished but companies remained loosely affiliated in keiretsu business groupings. As corporate funds came more from bank loans than shareholder equity, the kinyu keiretsu (a group of companies supported by the same bank; for example, the Sumitomo keiretsu) remained powerful, although lending between different keiretsu was much more common than under the old system. Following the Occupation (1945~52) and the Korean War (1950~53), Japan entered a period of unprecedented economic growth, known as the 'economic miracle'. By 1968, Japan had passed West Germany to become the No.2 market economy in the world. The government concentrated on developing, in turn, the textile, steel, shipbuilding, chemical and automobile industries. Factors such as the oil crises of 1973 and 1978, privitisation of the railways and telecommunications systems in the 80's and strengthening of the yen against the dollar affected the economy to varying degrees but it remained strong until the early 90's. Heavy foreign investment peaked at the end of the 80's with such prominent purchases as the Rockefeller Center in New York, CBS Records and Columbia Pictures.

Radical social changes also took place. Between 1950 and 1970, the number of people living in cities increased from 38 to 72 percent. Pollution became a serious problem that was largely ignored until the late 1960's. Universal social welfare was only introduced in 1970. But despite the changes and economic growth, the distribution of income remained even and no underclass developed.

The changing economic dynamics and deregulation of the 90's have had a profound effect on the financial system in Japan as well as distribution and employment trends. The discovery of payments by banks and securities firms to corporate racketeers forced regulators to impose severe punishments and led to the collapse of Yamaichi Securities, one of the 'Big Four' securities companies, in the mid-90's.

Major banks merged, went bankrupt or were bought by foreign companies. Late 2000 - early 2001 saw the formation of four so-called 'megabank' groups. Mizuho Holdings, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, United Financial of Japan (UFJ) Group Holdings, and Mitsubishi-Tokyo Financial Group. UFJ and MTFG later merged to form MTUFG, meaning Japan's financial base was now built on three major banking groups.

Foreign businesses and investment have become more and more prominent, such as the partnership between Nissan and Renault or the acquisition of the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan (now Shinsei Bank) by Ripplewood Holdings. Deregulation allowed insurance companies, for example, to move into areas previously closed to them and encouraged increased competition. One of the most surprising developments has been the alignment of companies from previously exclusive keiretsu groups. More and more people are doing part-time work, changing jobs or starting their own companies. Unemployment figures have become an object of concern but even the record high unemployment rate of 4.9 percent in 1999 was relatively low, given that the economy had been weak for a decade. A major problem for the future, and one that is shared by other developed countries, is Japan's rapidly aging population.

The last couple of years have a seen a few tentative signs of an economic recovery. Land prices in some areas, especially the major city centers, have shown increases. Employment has crept back up, though Japan now has a whole new "underclass" of part-time workers, described with words such as "arubaito" and "freeter".

[aphrodite]

The Japanese make a lot of the fact that they have four distinct seasons - as if it was something unique to their country. Actually, the fact that the archipelago covers several climatic zones and is caught between the Asian continent and the Pacific does cause dramatic mood swings in the weather. Cold, dry winters and hot, humid summers can be found all over the world but there are certain seasonal treats that only Japan can offer and others that have their own local twist.

The snows of winter are eagerly awaited by skiers and snowboarders, who fill popular resorts such as Hakuba and Naeba and parade the latest fashions on the slopes. Winter sports have become hugely popular in recent years and the 1998 Winter Olympics held in Nagano were hugely successful. The Yuki Matsuri (snow festival) held in Sapporo every February attracts thousands of tourists from Japan and abroad. The chilly weather takes it toll on the nation's health and it's common to see people wearing white gauze masks over their mouths. The masks are not to protect the wearer but rather to prevent others from catching the cold - very considerate.

In spring, one of the best-loved symbols of Japan makes a dramatic sweep across the country. Sakura (cherry blossoms) bloom usually from the end of March through April in a kind of wave starting in southern Kyushu and working its way northeast. News reports keep the populace up to date on the best places to enjoy hanami (lit. flower viewing). The hanami tradition has been popular since the Heian Period (794~1185) and is a good example of the Japanese view of beauty in nature. The undeniable beauty of the delicate pink flowers is offset by a sense of melancholy at their all-too-brief appearance. This is often compared to our own short time spent on the earth. This mixture of feelings is best expressed when completely drunk, of course. And so every year, hundreds of thousands of Japanese of all ages gather beneath the pink blooms, sing karaoke, dance and drink till they fall over. Ironically, one popular hanami spot in Tokyo is the Aoyama Bochi (cemetery). Those resting under the rows of tombstones are almost forgotten as they are sprinkled with falling blossoms and the ocassional spilled beer. See our hanami page for more.

Though not counted as one of the four seasons, there is enough rain in June for it to be called tsuyu (the rainy season). Ajisai (hydrangea) blooms turn a pale lilac and then a deep blue as the rain continues to fall. Japanese people seem to have a bit of a rain phobia at the best of times, judging from how quick they are to use their umbrellas, but at this time of year, trying to manoeuvre through thousands of the things is a life-threatening experience. And no sooner has the rain showed signs of easing than the thermometer and hydrometer go through the roof and the hot, humid summer is underway.

In summer, temperatures get to the mid-30's in most areas and the humidity can be unbearable. Only Hokkaido is spared the worst of the extremes. At the weekend, people flock in their thousands to the beaches or to the relative cool of the mountains. Summer is also the season of matsuri (festivals) and hanabi (fireworks). The biggest festival of the year, Obon is held in August (July in some areas). The annual hanabi taikai (fireworks display) held on the Sumida River in Tokyo is hugely popular, drawing over a million and a half people every year. Started in 1733 by rival firework makers Tamaya and Kagiya, the dramatic and exhilarating explosions still draw excited shouts of 'Tamaya!' and 'Kagiya!' from the crowd. Although schools are on vacation in July and August, high school baseball teams are busy vying for a chance to represent their prefecture at the baseball championship held at Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture. The event is eagerly followed by the whole country.

The end of summer and beginning of autumn sees the arrival from the Pacific of typhoons, tropical storms equivalent to hurricanes in the West. Most typhoons hit the Kyushu region first and then proceed across the country, wreaking havoc. Some of the worst typhoons have killed thousands of people. A typhoon was also responsible for sinking the fleet of the invading Mongols in the 13th century, earning itself the name kamikaze (divine wind). September is the time for tsukimi (moon viewing). Like hanami, it is a tradition dating from the Heian Period although it is not as popular today. As the weather cools in October and November, leaves begin to change color and suddenly the landscape is a dramatic palette of red, brown, orange, yellow and green. The koyo (red leaves) of late autumn are an often breathtaking sight, especially against a backdrop of Mt Fuji or a temple in Kyoto.