Congratulations 20 year-olds, it’s Your Coming of Age in Japan

18.January.2016 | FEATURES

If you find yourself walking around any city in Japan during early January, you might come across a gaggle of young men and women wearing traditional Japanese clothes.

 

Unless you’ve somehow crossed paths with an Edo-era reenactment group, what you are seeing are a collection of newly minted 20 year-olds celebrating Japan’s annual Coming Of Age Day held on the second Monday of every January. Whether the sun is out or the ground is coated in several inches of snow, young adults across the country put on their finest duds and mark their arrival at being a grown up.

 

This national holiday – regardless of one’s age, most people across the island get the day off – has been observed for thousands of years. Historians peg the origins of Coming Of Age Day to the 700’s, when a burgeoning prince marked the end of his childhood by putting on fancy robes and getting a sweet new haircut. For a while, only royals indulged in these practices, but eventually common folks picked up the tradition as well.

 

History

 

For centuries, boys observed Coming Of Age Day at 15, while girls did it at 13. In 1876, though, the age of adulthood was declared to be 20. That number marks the point where young adults can legally do all sorts of things associated with grown-up-dom – they can vote, drink alcohol and smoke tobacco among other things. Of course, being fully-grown entails far more than casting ballots and getting hammered – Coming Of Age Day is ultimately more about recognizing that you are now a self-functioning individual, and the responsibilities that come with it.

 

Maybe that’s part of the reason why local government offices across the country hold the actual ceremony portion of the day. Anyone with a birthday between Apr. 2 of the previous year and the forthcoming Apr. 1 can attend – so you don’t have to be 20, per se, just close enough – can attend the morning event, which features officials giving speeches. On top of that, they hand out small presents to all of the newly crowned adults.

 

Shiki

 

Yet that’s just a molecule of what Coming Of Age Day is all about. It really revs up in the days before the second Monday, when young folks start renting out clothes and getting professional photos taken of them in their fancy attire. Women wear furisode, a type of kimono boasting wide sleeves, along with zori sandals. Men traditionally have put on darker kimono, but in modern times many now choose to wear nice suits for the day. This is big business for the kimono industry and shops that rent them out, with some going for the equivalent of $1000 – to rent for the day.

 

After all the photo taking and government ceremonies, what do fresh-faced adults go and do? They meet up with friends to celebrate Coming Of Age Day on their own, usually walking through the city while still in their nice clothes (hey, did you see the prices above, best make the most of it) and, later in the evening having a party with friends or family.

 

City

 

Chances are if you are walking around any populated area in Japan on the second Monday of January, you’ll come across some snazzy looking youth. But if you want to see them all congregated in one place, you are going to have to head down to a local government office.

 

As a general rule, the bigger the neighborhood, the bigger the celebration – some tiny town out in Chiba will have something going on, but you’ll see a lot more excitement hitting up the Shibuya neighborhood of Tokyo. Another good choice would be to go to a big temple, as many celebrating the day will head to one to pray for good fortune. In Tokyo, the famous Meiji-Jingu shrine near Harajuku is the top spot to take it all in.

 

Meiji-Shrine

 

You don’t even really have to be near any government outposts or temples to check it out – head to Shibuya, Shinjuku, Nakano or the downtown part of any big city and you will see dozens of people clad in colorful furisode from morning until the late afternoon. This, after all, is the start of thousands of young Japanese people’s adult lives – they are going to savor it.

 

 

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    @candy_tune 本日よりTikTok先行配信スタート😈❣️ CANDY TUNE『君もゾンビですか ゾンビですね』 みんなでハロウィンを盛り上げよー🧟❤️‍🩹 是非#君ゾン でたくさん投稿してね🍬 #きゃんちゅー#CANDYTUNE #君ゾン#君もゾンビですかゾンビですね #ハロウィン#Halloween ♬ 君もゾンビですか ゾンビですね – 1サビ ver. – CANDY TUNE

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