Posted by Ginny
体育の日 (Taiiku no Hi) is Health and Sports Day in Japan. 体育の日 is held in October to commemorate the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. To avoid the summer rains, Health and Sports Day is held in October, which is a fairly sunny month in Japan. Usually 体育の日 is held the second Monday of October, so that people can enjoy a three day weekend. 体育の日 is a national holiday encouraging an active lifestyle, especially for kids. It’s a day where communities come together to hold various events that involve physical exercise.
The day usually starts with a parade that features the events that will take place. Some common events include, three legged races, relay running races, and obstacle course races like jumping through tires. After the parade the national anthem is played and families perform the radio taiso (ラジオ体操). Radio taiso (ラジオ体操) is a stretching/warm up exercise created by the Japanese government after World War II. The exercises are presided by a speaker over the radio with some music that accompanies the exercises. On Health and Sports Day a speaker with a microphone may replace the ラジオ体操.
My favorite event is the tsunahiki (綱引き) also known as the tug of war. This is where the whole community can participate and develop communal bonds. In fact, that’s probably one of the reasons why Health and Sports Day is so popular- people get a chance to socialize and create friendships through these activities. Although there is a competitive spirit to these games, there are also events emphasizing the importance of physical finesse rather than winning. For example there may be martial arts performances held by school clubs, where the focus is on form and discipline rather than winning a prize.
Towards the closing of the games public officials of the community usually give a speech thanking all the families that attended. Prizes are handed out and the winners are congradulated for their efforts. The great thing about Health and Sports Day is that everyone can participate in the events. Even senior citizens can participate in the traditional dances performed by each city. Young children are also taught these traditional dances in school, so provided you know the movements you could be moving to a synchronized dance with several dozen people. Health and Sports Day also allows everyone to get the physical exercise that modern day people sometimes lack; which is a good way to encourage an active lifestyle!
Posted by Ginny
May 5th is Kodomo no Hi (こどもの日). Kodomo no Hi (こどもの日) is Children’s Day. It’s part of the Golden Week (ゴールデンウィーク) holidays, which includes midori no hi (みどりの日) or Greenary Day, Kenpoo Kinenbi (憲法記念日) or Consitution Day, and Shoowa no hi (昭和の日) or Shoowa Day.
Originally, Kodomo no Hi (こどもの日) was called Tango no Sekku (端午の節句). Tango no Sekku (端午の節句) was known as Boy’s Day, but the government changed it to Children’s Day. On Children’s Day, parents buy their children gifts and spend quality time in a restaurant or at an amusement park. Sometimes parents just spend quality time at home with their children. The whole emphasis on this day is for parents to appreciate their children and for children to be praised and loved by their parents.
You’ll see a lot of homes that have fish streamers called Koinobori (鯉幟). The koinobori (鯉幟) fly in the wind and are held high by poles. The black colored streamers symbolize fathers, the red streamers symbolize the eldest son. If a family has more than one son, other than the eldest, the other sons are represented by either blue, green or purple streamers. The streamers also vary in size. The bigger the streamer, the older the person.
The reason why the streamers are called koinobori (鯉幟) is because koi (鯉) is a type of fish called a carp. Carps are thought to be one of the bigger fishes in Japan, and it symbolizes the parent’s wish to have strong and healthy children. On picnics and other outdoor activities, you may see people eat chimki (ちまき) which is a type of glutinous rice wrapped in a bamboo leaf. The bamboo leaf is just a covering. I just eat the rice, which is mixed with salt or vinegar.
Posted by Ginny
Midori no Hi (みどりの日) is Greenary Day. Greenary Day is kind of like Arbor Day or Earth Day and occurs every May 4th. It’s a day to respect nature and to spend time outdoors. People take family outings to public gardens and take a stroll in the fields. Of course, the majority of people just like to have the day off from work.
This whole day originated from the desire to name it after the late Emperor Shoowa (昭和天皇). However, the Emperor isn’t so popular in other countries, so the Japanese government felt it would be best just to name it Greenary Day. Supposedly the Emperor loved plants and so the day is supposed to indirectly refer to the Emperor.
Well turns out that the government decided to name a day after the Emperor, and just added Greenary Day for Golden Week. Golden Week or gooluden uiiku (ゴールデンウィーク) is sometimes called Oogata renkyuu (大型連休) or Oogun Shuukan (黄金週間). Golden Week (ゴールデンウィーク) describes a string of holidays that provide people the opportunity to travel or take a vacation from work.
Golden Week (ゴールデンウィーク) is a busy time in Japan. Many of the flights are booked and filled to capacity. If you do manage to get a ticket around this time, it’s going to be way more expensive than any other normal time of the year. One piece of advice I can give you, is that it’s a good idea to book a flight early. That way you don’t have to compete for a seat and pay outrageous prices for it.
Posted by Ginny
May 3rd is Kenpoo Kinenbi (憲法記念日) or Constitution Day in Japan. Kenpoo Kinenbi (憲法記念日) honors the 1947 Constitution of Japan. The Constitution of Japan is a legal document that guarantees certain fundamental rights to the Japanese people. The Constitution is called the Peace Constitution or Heiwa Kenpoo (平和憲法). It’s a constitution set up after WWII and it enabled Japan to move into a democratic form of government.
There are a total of 11 articles in the constitution. The three most important articles (in my opinion) are the first three. The first article states that the emperor of Japan is only a figure head and cannot be worshipped as a god. Although it’s true that the Japanese royal family has no official governing power, they are still respected as royalty and while perhaps not worshipped, they certaintly are given a lot of respect.
The second article has to do with the disarmament of weapons and the promise to never engage in war. This is also another controversial article because Japan has participated in several wars, namely the Korean war, the Iraq war and others. Of course Japan has never declared war on any nation since the 1947 constitution, but it hasn’t exactly been neutral, if you know what I mean. Just because Japan’s involvement in these wars are minor doesn’t really ignore the fact that they are technically going against the constitution. The general consensus among the people of Japan is anti-war in any form so there’s that complication as well.
Lastly the third article lists the rights of every citizen in Japan. Things like the prohibition of slavery, right to fair trial, freedom of speech etc, are all in there. It’s a lot similar to the U.S. Bill of Rights and that shouldn’t be a surprise. The Constitution was influenced by the U.S., as they were the victors of the war.
In sum, Kenpoo Kinenbi (憲法記念日) is a day to reflect on Japan’s progress towards a democratic nation. It’s also a day when people take tours around the National Diet Building. The National Diet Building is called kokkai gijidoo (国会議事堂) and located in Tokyo. It’s a stunning building. I recommend you go see it!
Posted by Ginny
Today is Shoowa no Hi (昭和の日) or Shoowa Day. The now deceased emperor was officially called Shoowa Tennoo (昭和天皇) or Emperor Shoowa. You may have known him as Emperor Hirohito (裕仁). Although the day is named after the Emperor, it’s more of a day to remember the people who died in the war.
Emperor Shoowa (昭和天皇) is a controvercial figure. Some people find him responsible for the war crimes committed during the war, while other scholars view him as taking a passive role in the war. Some find him a traitor to his country for his unconditional surrender to the U.S., while others support him and the royal family with unconditional support.
The Emperor’s reign is also controvercial as well. He lived in a time when Japan was suffering from a financial and political crisis. He himself was almost assassinated, and of course there was the issue of war. In addition to that, the post war era of Japan was an era of rapid industrialization and the rise of an economic power to be reckoned with. His reign combined both the highs and the lows.
On January 7th 1989, the Emperor passed away from cancer. At his funeral, leaders from all over the world paid their respects to the emperor. Love him or hate him, he was an important figure in Japanese history. Important enough to have a day named after him.
