Holidays in Japan

In Japan there are sixteen public holidays ( Japanese 祝 日 , shukujitsu ) per year, which are set out in the State Law on the Holidays of the People ( 国民 の 祝 日 に 関 す る 法律 , kokumin no shukujitsu ni kansuru hōritsu ) of July 20, 1948. As in Germany, some of these holidays are movable holidays ( 移動 祝 日 , idō shukujitsu ), but most holidays are linked to a fixed date.

If a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is a day off ( 振 (り) 替 (え) 休 日 , furikae kyūjitsu , dt. " Postponed holiday"). Every single day that falls between two public holidays is also a day off ( 国民 の 休 日 , kokumin no kyūjitsu , dt. " Day of rest for citizens").

A total of 16 days per year are public holidays in Japan (up to 2015 there were 15); this means that Japan has the most public holidays in an industrialized country.

In addition to the public holidays, there are also a large number of regional commemorative days and feast days ( matsuri ) in Japan . Before the public holidays were regulated by Japanese law, a distinction was made between shukujitsu ( 祝 日 ), generally for public holiday, and saijitsu ( 祭日 ), the religious holiday or regional custom ( matsuri ).

Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar on October 14, 1873 with a notice from the cabinet . Until then, the time measurement was based on the lunisolar calendar . Until the revision by the 1948 law, the holidays were referred to as shukusaijitsu ( 祝 祭日 ).

List of public holidays ( 国民 の 祝 日 )

January

• New Year ( 元日 ganjitsu , 元旦 gantan or 新年 shinnen ): January 1st
  On Japanese New Year's Day there is traditionally a family dinner with special dishes that have symbolic meanings, such as long buckwheat noodles for a long life.
  In addition, a visit to a Shinto shrine ( hatsumōde ) is usually on the program. However, especially in front of large and popular shrines, you have to accept crowds and crowds. In front of Japanese shrines (whose buildings you do not enter) coins are sacrificed by throwing them into a wooden box set up for them. In some places a second or larger one is set up especially for this day to collect all the money. In the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo , the area of ​​a three-room apartment is even lined with plastic tarpaulin, as the rush is particularly high there. At midnight, when the fireworks start in Europe , the rain starts here. After the visitors have waited for hours in the courtyard of the shrine, a bell is struck at midnight. Then everyone throws coins within reach of the money box, especially those for 5 yen , as these are seen as particularly good luck. On this day you can also see many Japanese people in traditional kimono on the streets. The following days are still considered public holidays, and thus New Year is one of the three main holiday times in Japan, next to the “Golden Week” around May 1st and O-bon in August. Almost all companies and authorities make of 29 December and 3 or 5 January closing . Almost all shops will be closed on January 1st.
  The houses and cars are also decorated for this holiday. Bundles of bamboo, golden paper birds and shrine-like rice paper are very popular. A new zodiac sign begins with the New Year , which in Japan only changes annually. That is why pictures and statues of the new animal are very popular, the animal is also the main motif on the New Year's cards sent to all friends.
• Age of consent ( 成人 の 日seijin no hi ): On the second Monday in January (until 1999 on January 15th, public holiday since 1948) On this day you will see many 20-year-olds (more precisely all those who are twenty years old in this calendar year in kimono on the way to the town hall, where a ceremony to celebrate the coming of age will take place. For many young Japanese women, this is the only occasion besides the wedding on which a kimono is put on.

February

• Anniversary of the founding of the state ( 建国 記念 の 日 kenkoku kinen no hi ): February 11; national holiday from 1873 to 1948 (under the name 紀元 節 kigensetsu ) and again since 1966. In addition to the emperor's birthday, a national holiday
• Birthday of the emperor ( 天皇 誕生 日 tennō tanjōbi ): February 23 (birthday of the current emperor Naruhito , public holiday since 2020)
  The birthday of every incumbent emperor, the tennō , is a public holiday for the duration of his reign, but is occasionally also after his resignation still retained (see Shōwa no hi in April and Bunka no Hi in November). From 1989 to 2018, this day was celebrated on December 23, the birthday of Emperor Akihito . There was no such holiday in 2019, as Akihito abdicated on April 30th, i.e. before his birthday, and Naruhito's birthday at the beginning of his reign was already over. On the birthday of the current Tenno, part of the inner courtyard of the Imperial Palace will be opened to the general public and the Emperor will give a traditional address from the balcony of the Chōwaden Palace. In addition to the anniversary of the founding of the state, the emperor's birthday is a national holiday .

March

• The beginning of spring ( 春分 の 日 shunbun no hi ): around March 21st.
  The beginning of spring coincides approximately with the cherry blossom ( sakura ), which is an important event in Japan and is discussed in the media for days. The beginning of spring itself is no reason to celebrate, but as soon as the Japanese cherry trees bloom in the parks, depending on the weather, sooner or later, the hanami season begins. For the duration of flowering (which only lasts a few days for this tree species), you can meet friends and colleagues under the trees in the evening, have a picnic with lots of sake and sushi and sometimes the karaoke machine. The cherry blossom season moves from south to north across Japan within a few weeks.

April

• Shōwa day ( 昭和 の 日 Shōwa no hi ): April 29th
  From 1927 to 1988, the birthday of the Shōwa emperor ( Hirohito ) was celebrated on this day . In 1989, the year he died, April 29th became Green Day ( み ど り の 日 midori no hi ). In 2007, this was moved to May 4th, which was often also off work due to the kokumin-no-kyūjitsu regulation, and April 29th to commemorate the Shōwa emperor. On April 29, the so-called Golden Week begins , which lasts until May 5 and includes three other holidays. Many working Japanese take vacation during this period, and many companies and authorities close.

May

• Constitutional Remembrance Day ( 憲法 記念 日 kenpō kinenbi ): May 3rd. Public holiday since 1948.
• Day of Green ( み ど り の 日 midori no hi ): May 4th May
  4th was not a public holiday in itself until 2006, but was regularly kokumin no kyūjitsu . In 2007, Environment Day was moved from April 29 to May 4 and April 29 to Shōwa Day.
• Child's Day ( こ ど も の 日 kodomo no hi ): May 5th
  On Children's Day, carp- shaped flags are hung in front of every house with offspring, the so-called Koinobori . There is a big black one for the father, a red one for the mother and a blue one for each son, often in different sizes, depending on age. Originally the day was called Tango no sekku ( 端午 の 節 句 ) and was a festival day exclusively for boys. In 1948, however, the meaning of the day changed to one when happiness and health are wished for children.

July

• Day of the Sea ( 海 の 日 umi no hi ): On the 3rd Monday of July. This public holiday was only introduced in 1996 to break up the long holiday-free period between May and September. (Until 2002, it was celebrated on July 20th.)

August

• Mountain Day ( 山 の 日 yama no hi ): August 11th. This holiday, which is intended to give the opportunity to get closer to the mountains and give thanks, was introduced in April 2014 by the national holiday law. It took place for the first time in 2016.

September

• Day of Honoring the Elderly ( 敬老 の 日 keirō no hi ): On the third Monday in September (until 2002 on September 15). This day has been a public holiday since 1966.
• Beginning of autumn ( 秋分 の 日shūbun no hi ): Around September 22nd.

October

• Sports Day ( 体育 の 日 taiiku no hi ): On the second Monday in October (until 1999 on October 10th, anniversary of the beginning of the XVIII Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo 1964). Public holiday since 1966.
  On this day, many schools and kindergartens in Japan hold sports festivals.

November

• Day of Culture ( 文化 の 日 bunka no hi ): November 3rd (from 1927 to 1947, commemoration day for the birthday of Emperor Meiji )
• Labor Thanksgiving Day ( 勤 労 感謝 の 日kinrō kansha no hi literally Labor Thanksgiving Day): November 23rd. Public holiday since 1948.

Other holidays

• Setsubun ( 節 分 ): February 3rd
  According to the lunar calendar , spring ( 立春 , risshun ) begins on this day , although it is the coldest time in Japan. Traditionally, the head of the family tosses beans inside and outside the house and calls out fuku wa uchi, oni wa soto. ( 「福 は 内 、 鬼 は 外。」 , Eng. "Luck in! Evil spirits out!"). Windows and doors are open. Then you eat the beans, one for each year of life. Many temples and shrines (especially the Kannon temples) have festivals on the day when beans are thrown.

Doll festival

• Girls' Festival ( 雛 祭 , hinamatsuri ): March 3rd
  . Dolls ( 人形 , ningyō ) in historical kimonos are exhibited. This holiday is dedicated to girls. According to superstition, the dolls absorb evil spirits and thus protect their owners. The origin of the holiday lies in nagashibina ( 流 し 雛 , dt. "Drifting dolls"), on this day paper figures are placed in a boat in the river, which then takes the evil spirits with them. Amazake ( 甘 酒 , dt. "Sweet sake") is traditionally drunk at this festival .
• Irei no hi ( 慰 霊 の 日 ): Memorial day in Okinawa Prefecture , which commemorates the end of the Battle of Okinawa on June 23, 1945.
• Star Festival (" Tanabata "): Every year on July 7th, the Star Festival is celebrated, which goes back to a Chinese fable of the cowherd and the weaver princess. On this day, wishes are written on pieces of paper and hung on bamboo branches. In some places the branches are dumped on the river and set on fire. (More on this here .)
• O-bon ( お 盆 , obon ): August 13th
  Buddhist memorial day for the deceased. Many Japanese travel to their hometowns to do this, most companies take a few days of company holidays, which include around four to seven days around August 13th. Authorities and public institutions remain open, however, as there is a strict separation of religion and state in Japan and they therefore have to ignore religious holidays.
• Seven-five-three ( 七五 三 , shichi go san ): November 15th
  On this day, it is common for parents of three or seven year old girls and five year old boys to go with them to the Shinto shrine to ensure their health, safety and a happy future to pray. In some parts of the country the three-year-old boys also come along. The children are formally dressed and formal photos are taken; you also buy special sweets and give them to relatives and friends afterwards. The custom originated in the past to thank the local god for the survival of the child, given the high child mortality rate at that time . Today, however, larger, better-known shrines are often sought out a little further away instead of the local one.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Eleanor Warnock, Eric Pfanner: New holiday should lure Japanese out of the office. May 22, 2014, accessed June 4, 2014 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} 衆議院 議員 矢 山 有 作 君 提出 天皇 誕生 日 を 日本 の ナ シ ョ ナ ル ・ デ ー と し て い る こ と に 関 す る 質問 に 対 す る 答 弁 書 (Japanese), accessed May 1, 2017
3. ↑ ８ 月 １１ 日 は 「山 の 日」 、 法 改正 案 が 成立 祝 日 は 年 間 １６ 日 に . (No longer available online.) Sankei News, May 23, 2014, archived from the original on May 23, 2014 ; Retrieved May 26, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.