New Year (shogatsu or oshogatsu) is the most important holiday in Japan. Most businesses will shut down from Thursday, Jan. 1 through Saturday, Jan. 3, and families typically gather to spend the days together.
Years are traditionally viewed as completely separate, with each new year providing a fresh start.
Consequently, all duties are supposed to be completed by the end of the year, while bonenkai (year-forgetting) parties are held with the purpose of leaving the old year’s worries and troubles behind.
Various hongwanji across Kaua‘i hold year-end cleanups for a fresh start in the new year.
At the beginning of the year, people express appreciation to the gods and ancestral spirits, and pray for a rich harvest in the new year.
Because of this, the New Year’s holidays are for the Japanese people the most important of all annual celebrations. Many people at this time draw up plans and make new resolutions for the coming year.
Homes and entrance gates are decorated with ornaments made of pine, bamboo and plum trees, and clothes and houses are cleaned.
Traditionally, the New Year’s holidays, known as shogatsu or oshogatsu, are a time for thanking the gods (kami) who oversee the harvests, and welcoming ancestors’ spirits to protect families.
The custom of displaying kadomatsu (decorations of pine branches and bamboo put up at both sides of the entrances to houses) and shime-kazari (straw rope decorations) is to welcome gods and spirits.
Today, New Year’s eve, toshikoshi soba (buckwheat noodles), symbolizing longevity, are served. A more recent custom is watching the music show “Kohaku uta Gassen,” a highly popular television program featuring many of Japan’s most famous J-pop and enka singers in enthusiastic performances.
The custom of eating toshikoshi soba on New Year’s Eve became widespread in the Edo Period (1603-1867). It started when a goldsmith, at the time of the general house-cleaning on New Year’s eve, gathered the gold dust that had scattered around in his workplace with kneaded soba dumplings, then burned these dumplings to ashes on a brazier (hibachi) and collected the gold dust left behind.
Thus, it is said that soba collects money, and the practice came about of eating soba on New Year’s eve. Now, however, because soba is fine and long, it is eaten with the wish for long life.
On New Year’s eve, the temples around Japan ring their ceremonial bells 108 times. Teaching of Buddhism says that human beings are plagued by 108 sins, so 108 bells purify these sins.
After the sound of the final bells, the New Year comes and the world is renewed. People feel that new life is started.
Jan. 1 is a very auspicious day, best started by viewing the new year’s first sunrise (hatsu-hinode), and traditionally believed to be representative for the whole year that has just commenced.
Therefore, the day is supposed to be full of joy and free of stress and anger, while everything should be clean and no work should be done.
It is a tradition to visit a shrine or temple during shogatsu (hatsumode). The most popular temples and shrines, such as Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine, attract several million people during the three days.
A very popular custom is the sending of New Year’s cards, which are specially marked to be delivered on Jan. 1. It is not uncommon for one person to send out several dozen cards to friends, relatives and co-workers.
Various kinds of special dishes are served during shogatsu. They include osechi ryori, otoso (sweetened rice wine) and ozoni (a soup with mochi).
Japanese New Year’s food is called osechi-ryori, and consists of many different kinds of dishes.
It’s a Japanese tradition to eat osechi-ryori throughout the New Year’s holidays, or through Jan. 3. Traditionally, people finish cooking osechi dishes by New Year’s eve so they have food for a couple days without cooking.
Most of the dishes can last a few days in the refrigerator or at cool room temperature. Colorful osechi-ryori dishes are packed in layers of lacquer boxes, called jubako.
Osechi ryori was eaten for the first time 650 years ago, and the osechi served today was eaten for the first time 300 years ago.
Zoni, the soup served with rice cakes, traditionally made from duck stock, goes back as far as the Muromacahi period (14th century). It originally referred to the foods offered to the god of the New Year.
The food was cooked together and then shared by the whole family. However, during the Edo era, zoni became so popular that it was eaten every day.
Each dish and type of food in osechi has meaning, such as good health, fertility, good harvest, happiness, long life, and so on.
Bamboo in Chinese is pronounced as setsu. Setsu refer to the node or joint of the bamboo, stands for virtue, fidelity, or constancy. Japanese white radish (daikon) symbolizes long life.
Kamaboko, a fish paste roll on a board, is served in Japan usually red or pink on the inside, surrounded by white paste. It symbolizes sunrise.
Lobster symbolize old age because of their crooked backs, and is eaten to wish old age to all dear friends. Others say that the lobster together with bitter orange hung onto the front door during New Year means “luck to you in growth on land, and strength on sea.”
Namazu traditionally is vinegary fish, mixed with radish and carrots, and cut into thin strips. It implies celebration, and is one of the oldest known dishes in Japan.
It differs from namasu (pickled daikon and carrots). Other dishes are ebi-no-saka-mushi (sake steamed shrimp), date-maki (rolled sweet omelet), kobumaki (rolled kelp with fish), kurikinton (sweet mashed sweet potato with chestnuts), kuromame (sweet black beans), kinpira gobo (braised burdock strips).
There are also a few games traditionally played on New Year, however, their popularity has decreased in recent times. Hanetsuki (Japanese badminton), takoage (kite flying), and karuta (a card game) are some of them.
