Omotesando, Tokyo is home of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade for Japan biggest city. This year’s parade is on March 14 and starts from Omotesando Hills; it runs from 2 p.m. till 4 p.m.

Tokyoites aren’t the only ones that think they have a little Irish in them. Other areas in Japan also hold parades and more.

In Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, parades will take place on land and the Horikawa River on March 14. The land parade starts at midday from Karakoro Plaza. Twenty green boats, will also depart Otemae Horikawa Boat Boarding Point at 11 a.m. and head to Karakoro Plaza. ( www.sanin-japan-ireland.org/festival).

In Yokohama, the parade runs from 1 p.m. till 4 p.m. on Motomachi Shopping Street on March 20, (www.inj-yokohama.com).

In Tsukuba, the parade starts at 3 p.m. in Tsukuba Center Plaza on March 27 (stptsfes.tsukuba.ch).

In Ise, people will parade along a 2-km course, starting at Ise Shrine Geku from midday and finishing at 4 p.m. on March 13 (isepaddysdayparade.googlepages.com).

In Kyoto, a mere 300 participants will march on Oike Dori from 2:30 p.m. till 4 p.m. on March 14 (www.inj-kansai.com).

Visit the Irish Network Japan at www.inj.or.jp for more information.

Photo by infomatique.

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“What is Moe Day?”

Moe (もえ・萌え): Literally means “to bud” and is a pun on the homonym “to burn”. It is used among otaku to mean getting fired up for budding young beauties. A character described as moe today is an amalgam of Lolicon and Bishoujo features. Most are infantile and bright and have massive, wet, dog-like eyes. They can seem almost animal-like, alien, or androgynous. The appeal of moe features relates to childlike purity, so it should come as no surprise that moe characteristics tend to be younger than Kawaii Bishoujo schoolgirls. The lolicon image is now considered too “real”, and too sexual, so moe is used instead to define a fantasy love or desire.

Whoa!!! But, why today?

Take a look at the Kanji for the word moe.

Now let’s break them down into their parts…

And now let’s write them out…

And there you have it October 10th is Moe Day! Happy Moe Day!

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This October 3rd in 2009 is Ju-goya (Full moon night). It is the day for Tsukimi. Tsukimi means watching the moon. People enjoy watching the moon and the feeling it gives on cool autumn nights.

This custom originally came from China, but has changed a little in Japan. Compared with Chinese Tsukimi, which is a big annual event, Japanese Tsukimi mainly is a day to enjoy watching the moon and just soaking in autumn.

How can we enjoy Tsukimi?

Usually, we put silver glasses, Tsukimi dango (Dumplings), aroids(potatoes type roots), edamame, chestnuts, sake, and so on…in a place from where you can see the moon at home. The reason why you put silver glasses is because they have the power to ward off evil spirits. And the reason for putting those foods in the moonlight is said to be in appreciation of the harvest and is in respect to nature.

During the Heian Period, noble people had a drinking spree and enjoyed writing poems about the moon. And they enjoyed not only watching the moon directly, but also watching it reflected in a pond and in the sake in their cups.

After you finish Tsukimi of Ju-goya on October 3rd, you also may enjoy another Tsukimi on October 30th. It is called Ju-sanya. You will be able to see the second most beautiful moon of the month on that night. It is good for luck with money and succees to pray for the moon on Ju-sanya.

So, if you have a deep appreciation for autumn or a drinking spree of your own and come up with some lyrical poems or not so lyrical poems…we would love to have you post them here in the comments section.

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The third Monday in September is Respect for the Aged Day or Respect for the Elderly Day.

It is a kind of like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. You go out of your way to be especially respectful to elderly people on this day.
It is something to celebrate that people in Japan can have long lives. In Japan, people celebrate their long lives at each juncture, such as Kanreki.

Kanreki means 60 years-old. The people who become Kanreki celebrate it by wearing a red Chanchanko (a padded sleeveless kimono jacket) and a red hood.

And there are more celebrating years such as Koki (70 years-old), Kiju (77 years-old), Sanju (80 years-old), Beiju (88 years-old), Sotsuju (90 years-old) and Hakuju (99 years-old).

There is no rule of celebrating those years on this day, but it is a good occasion to do so. And of course you can celebrate elderly people who are not of those ages, as well.

You may send a nice card to them or you can take them to a nice restaurant for dinner.

Here is a ranking of things to do.

1.Dinner together
2.Flowers
3.Anything to do with their grand children (if you are a grand child, lucky you)
4.Sweets
5.Saying thinks and Thank-you cards
6.Trips with their family
7.Clothes
8.Gift cards or money
9.Local goods
10.Accessories

Research done by goo (July 2009)
Photo by crschmidt

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I found this fan.

I smiled when I saw it. It was like a pun.

The Japanese writing on the fan, 祭,is the kanji for matsuri, which means festival.

Since now is around the time for many summer festivals, I figured that the fan was probably dropped on the ground after a festival.

I remembered a Japanese expression I learned sometime back,

ato no matsuri, which means ‘after the festival.’

It’s used like the English expression “after the fact”.

To give an example of how this expression can be used, I want to tell you something about Eel Day.

Do you know about this unofficial national holiday? It is on a day in July, once a year, where many people eat eel for extra stamina in the summer. It happened to be this past Sunday, July 19. People wait on lines in some stores to buy eel that is grilled with a sweet soy sauce.

When I spoke to the editors of this site about posting something about this funny holiday, I realized that by the time it got here on the post, it would be too late. I abandoned the idea, for the reason that it would be after the fact.

Since I had just found the fan, it occurred to me that the two could work together. Eel Day, ato no matsuri.

Now that you know about both the expression, and the holiday, please don’t let it slip by for next year.

Happy Belated Eel Day to All!

And, there’s still time to enjoy a summer festival.

Enjoy!

JGY

Story by JGY from AIKAWARAZU LIFE IN JAPAN

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by cytech Irimame to be thrown to cast out the evil Oni.

The Setusbun is coming…it’s the changing of the seasons and it’s celebrated every year as part of the spring festival(haru matsuri). Demons and Oni alike will soon be running scared. It’s going to be a terrible time for them as the ritual cleansing of evil from the past year will soon be upon them. It’s also going to be a horrible time for all their lurking friends as we drive away the disease-bringing evil spirits for another year to come. The ritual for all of this uproar and dread for the demons is at the heart of Setsubun and is called the mamemaki. It’s a messy family ritual full of chants and well, soybeans.

Mamemaki is preformed by the toshiotoko(年男) of the household. The toshiotoko is the male in the family who happens to have been born on the corresponding animal year on the Chinese zodiac, or the male head of the household, if there isn’t a corresponding member. He is to be feared. Roasted soybeans called irimame are thrown out the door or at a member of the family wearing an Oni demon mask, while the throwers are chanting “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!”. Which means something like, “Demons be gone or out! Let Luck in!” The beans are supposed to purify the home by driving the evil spirits out that might bring misfortune and bad health with them. And that’s not all there is also the eating of soybeans, specifically one for every year of your life with one extra bean for luck for the coming year.

Setsubun is also sometimes referred to as the Lunar New Years’ Eve and will be celebrated Feb 2nd at midnight through the 3rd. So party till you drop all your beans! Happy Setsubun!

Setsubun Soybeans - Irimame

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Christmas as a holiday in Japan is a bit different than Christmas in the west. It’s a day for the kiddies and presents, if they are not an adolescent and still believe in Santa Claus. Otherwise, no presents! Why? Because Santa is the only one that brings presents, so once you stop believing in him that party is over. However it is common in Japan to give Christmas presents.

Hoteiosho is a priest or a God who closely resembles our Santa Claus. Hoteiosho is depicted as a kind old man carrying a huge pack in which he brings presents to local houses for the children. Children think he has eyes in the back of his head, so they behave at their best in case he is around.

There is no traditional ham or plum pudding on the Christmas table in Japan. It’s not a family holiday. It is a day spent giving to others especially doing nice things for those that are ill in hospitals.

And it’s not Christmas day that is the big day in Japan! It’s Christmas eve – more later. But that shouldn’t be too much of a surprise in a land where only 1 per cent of the people are of the Christian faith or belief.

The Christmas holiday is mostly for couples with Christmas Eve being the big day and a huge date night. Christmas Eve is the time for boyfriends and girlfriends to get together, exchange gifts and spend a romantic dinner and evening together much like Valentine’s day is celebrated in the west. Advertisements appear for special Christmas Eve and Christmas day hotel and restaurant dinners and shows, generally with a strong romantic theme. So if you have ever felt lonely at Christmas don’t come to Japan for the holiday. There is literally a desperate scramble here to get a date for the Christmas holidays that borders on the pathetic. There are reports that single women don’t even like to talk about the holiday. So if you want to make one of them happy and ask them out you may not get turned down. Just bring a strawberry cake with you as it seems to be the traditional food of choice.

It’s hard to get a reservation at most nice restaurants in Tokyo on the night of Christmas Eve. Most are booked so be sure to get your reservations early and get that table. You wouldn’t want to be out in the cold with your date.

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