>>> Item number 23266 from WRITERS LOG9401A --- (106 records) ---- <<< Date: Sat, 1 Jan 1994 18:35:01 JST Reply-To: WRITERS Sender: WRITERS From: Mike Barker Subject: BACKGROUND: Japanese New Year [since some of you may not know it - I live in Japan, have been here for over seven years.] 1994 is going to be a dog. Actually, it is just the year of the dog. The good thing is that while most Japanese have a flash association of my family name with a Japanese word that means fool or idiot, they don't have the slightest idea that it is related to dogs. Dogs, after all, go "wan, wan, wan" - they don't bark. The New Year celebration is the big holiday here. Dec. 31 is a day off, and at least Monday, the 3rd. Some offices and stores stretch the holiday out an extra day or two beyond that. It is largely a "year turning" type of celebration. During December, many office workers spend most evenings at bonenkai (end of the old year parties). They are easy to recognize as they sit in the office, complaining about how hungover they are from the last few parties, and griping about tonight, tomorrow night, and even later parties. But those are largely over. Thursday, Dec. 30, some offices have a quick speech and party in the morning (I find it amazing to watch people drinking beer and osake - what you would call saki, or rice wine - early in the morning, but almost everyone does). Then skip the rest of the day, heading home. [incidentally, sake just means alcoholic drinks of any kind. Osake - honorable alcohol - is the clear product of rice that everyone knows. Be careful if someone offers you one of the "one-cup" deals you can buy from vending machines - that is vile stuff, more suitable for lubricating machines judging by the taste. The hot or cold stuff served in restaurants and other places isn't particularly outstanding to my taste, but at least it is drinkable. And, of course, it is alcohol, which seems to be the main purpose most people have for drinking it.] During December, and especially during this last week, most people clean house. Traditionally, you have your shoji (the paper sliding doors) redone, clean, and otherwise make the whole house shine. Very few people really do the whole thing, but there are still some vestiges of this around. And, of course, you cook. The traditional notion was that you would visit neighbors, family, friends, etc. during the first few days of the new year, and people still do this quite a bit. During that visit, just about everyone offers various cold buffet type foods - just a quick snack with the family to keep your strength up! BTW - the first time you meet someone after the new year, you tell them "Akemashite Omedito Gozaimasu. Kotoshi mo douzo uroshiku." Roughly, "(It) is begun (opening - growing bright!). (polite form) Congratulations. This year, again, please help me." In essence, this polite phrase, repeated again and again, reaffirms the polite fictions of Japanese life, including the notion that I (snivelling inferior that I am) depend on you (my superior) at all times. So we congratulate our superiors on starting the New Year so well, and beg for their continuing help. Of course, not many people bother to think about what they are saying. It's ritual, embedded by repetition, more than deeply felt expression. T.V. specials, visits to friends, the yearly "Tora-san" movie, at least one visit to a temple for a New Year blessing - it's not a commercial holiday, especially (although plenty of food is sold in preparation for the four day break), but it is very much a time when Japanese people renew their relationships with family and friends. For the movie buffs - Tora-san is a bit of a scamp, with a traditional shopkeeper's family - such as existed maybe in the 50's - and there is always a new one released during this season. The series title is "Otoko wa tsurai" - A man's life is hard? I'm not sure if there will be a New Year if they quit making this movie:-) We're on something in the 20's in the series! We drove by a local brewery (part of Asahi - well known brand) and saw cases of beer stacked over two stories high, like a small set of houses, sitting in the parking lot ready for delivery during this period. Apparently the demand is so high during this five-day period that they get ahead, and put the extra stock out in the parking lot, ready for the drivers to load and deliver. New Year's eve, every channel carries interminable specials. The national channel has the Red-White battle - bunch of stars busily performing and competing in a friendly way. Other channels carry all sorts of shows, leading up to the midnight bell-ringing in temples everywhere, with the devout (or something) in huge crowds. Nowadays, on the first they chase the New Year celebrations around the world, bringing us Time's Square and all the others as they occur. Of course, on the 4th, I have to go in to the office for a morning visit to the temple (just a quick exchange of ornaments for the shrine in the computer room and a short blessing by the Shinto priest), a hopefully short speech about working hard in the New Year, a round of toasts, and then sneak out and home by noon, probably. One of the few times when we see lots of office women in kimono running around. Bit scattered and probably not enough details for you, but that's a quick sketch of the Japanese New Year. tink