Seijin no hi
The Coming of Age Day ( Jap. 成人の日 ) is a public holiday in Japan . The new adults are celebrated on the second Monday in January . According to Section 4 of the Japanese Civil Code, the age of majority is reached at the age of 20.
For the young people who have their 20th birthday between April 2nd of the previous year and April 1st of the present year, a ceremony, the seijin-shiki ( 成人 式 ), is held on that day , in which they accept responsibility that awaits them in their future life. The mayor of the city and other incumbents usually give a speech.
For the ceremony the Japanese women dress in very beautiful and expensive traditional kimonos , while the men nowadays appear almost exclusively in black suits. Kimonos can only be seen here and there.
The Seijin no Hi was officially introduced in 1948.
