Setsubun: Maiko Hairstyles

Beautiful and charming Tsunemomo of Gion Higashi sporting a special hairstyle for the Setsubun mamemaki, or bean throwing, ceremony at Yasaka Shrine.

The classic wareshinobu hairstyle of a young maiko on the left is worn during a her first three years of service, until her coming of age ceremony.

Left: Ofuku, worn by maiko from the time of their coming of age ceremony until they are ready to turn their collars and become geiko. Far right: Wareshinobu.

Konomi, close up, is accompanied by Maori, who's wears her own hair styled just as Meiji period schoolgirls once did as part of her Setsubun obake, or costume.

Left: Umemodoki / Osomemage hairstyle. Right: It's a mystery!

Maiko of the Gion Kobu district make their way to the main stage of Yasaka Shrine to participate in the mamemaki, or bean throwing ceremony.


Setsubun festivities at Yasaka Shrine, including dances by Miyagawa-cho, Gion Kobu, and Gion Higashi. Thanks to ericity for uploading it to YouTube!

Unfortunately I was not able to attend the Setsubun festivities this year, but I look forward to shooing away devils and ushering in good fortune next year in Kyoto! Oni wa soto! Fuku ha uchi! If you'd like to Learn more about Setsubun, check out my posts from last year.

New Year's Greetings in Miyagawa-cho

Peter Macintosh of Kyoto Sights and Nights has uploaded a video of the "Shin Aisatsu" New Year's greetings in Kyoto's t Miyagawa-cho district. Thank you, Peter! I wish I could have been there!

Nengajo: Japanese New Year's Cards

A brilliant up and coming graphic designer in Tokyo, Yuki Nakano designed this nengajo to welcome 2008: The Year of the Rat. The design of most nengajo includes the junishi, or Oriental zodiac animal, of the New Year.

Oshogatsu, or New Year's, is a very special time in Japan—a time for people return to their ancestral homes, spend time with their families and get in touch with their roots. Perhaps the most honored and celebrated of the Japanese holidays, Oshogatsu is a three-day event beginning with Omisoka (New Year's Eve) and lasting through the first three days of the year. Many people wear traditional clothing, like kimono, and play traditional games, such as uta garuta. Preparations begin long in advance as people clean their homes from top to bottom (known as Osouji), prepare Osechi ryori (traditional New Year's food eaten during the forst three days of the new year), and write nengajo, or New Year's greetings.

These days, many people use designs including photos of themselves or their families on their nengajo.

Much like the Christmas cards exchanged in the US and abroad, nengajo are an important part of Japan's New Year's festivities. Now an established tradition, the exchange of these New Year's greetings began in 1873, when postcards were first introduced to Japan. Today, the average family sends over a hundred nengajo to family, friends and colleagues, and businesses mail them to all their customers.

New Year's is a time for wafuku (traditional Japanese clothing) and Osechi ryori, traditional Japanese New Year's food.

Like many Japanese traditions, there is a specific nengajo etiquette code that has no equal in Western culture. While Christmas cards arrive anytime from Thanksgiving to New Year's, nengajo are expected to be delivered on January 1st, not a day before or after. Domestic mail usually only takes a day or two to be delivered, but nengajo can be posted early in special temporary mail boxes to ensure they arrive on time. Every card put into these boxes between December 15th and December 25th gets a special postmark and is delivered promptly on New Year' Day. Waiting for your bundle of postal love (they literally arrive bound together) and reading the flood of New Year’s wishes on January 1st is a cherished holiday tradition, similar to waiting for presents and opening them on Christmas.

When a surprise nengajo arrives from someone you have forgotten, it is always acceptable to send your greetings on January 6, reminding them to take care in the cold weather (寒中お見舞いもしあげます: kanchu omimai moshiagemasu). If someone you know has recently lost a loved one, you should not send a nengajo in observance of the family's mourning.

Of course, if you are a card-carrying gaijin, you are theoretically exempt from all of these rules. Why not surprise your friends and colleagues with your astounding nengajo knowledge and skill? The same gracious people that praise your ability to use chopsticks and poor attempts at speaking Japanese will be thrilled with the thoughtful consideration and effort, regardless of when your nengajo arrives.

Hand drawn by one of my students, this was the first nengajo I recieved in Japan.

Happy New Year, everyone! ☆明けましておめでとう☆

An Aya Uto Christmas: Silent Night and Christmas Cake

"Super Idol" singer and actress Aya Ueto sings Silent Night for a Softbank cell phone commerical. Don't miss the classic Japanese Christmas cake at the end!





As an American raised in a predominantly ethnic Italian influenced family, I had never heard of "Christmas cake" before traveling to Japan. I'm interested in knowing which cultures celebrate Christmas with cake. Please share your traditions with us in the comment section!

Tsukimi Burger!? 月見バーガー

If you doubted the depth of the moon-viewing rabbit roots in Japanese culture, here's absolute proof. Leave it to culture-conscious Makudo to cash in on, I mean, celebrate even the most obscure of Japanese traditions! The autumn Mac comes in both regular tsukimi and tsukimi cheese. The advertisment reads:

"Back again this year,

The Moon-Viewing Burger.

A trembling egg

Awakens the autumn appetite!

The full-bodied cheese tsukimi

Is popular, too!"

"Oishisou!" You say, "But what's up with the flying rabbits?

According to tradition, the lunar hare was said to descend to Earth around the time of the three-day moon, and return home when the moon was full.

The Rabbit in the Moon

A little seasonal purikura for your moon-viewing enjoyment. Notice the NOVA rabbit in the lower right-hand corner gazing wistfully at the moon, as if longing to return home after ripping-off unsuspecting Japanese and gaijin alike, getting caught, and going bankrupt.

I'm sure that anyone interested in Japanese culture has noticed the prevalence of rabbits and moons in both popular and traditional culture. They're everywhere, from anime (Sailor Moon's Tsukino Usagi, which can be translated as 'Moon Rabbit') to traditonal sweets. Japanese people will happily point to the legend of the mochi-making rabbitt on the moon as the origin of their cultural obsession, even though most of them will readily admit that they've never been able to see it. (Perhaps the image at the right will give you the upper hand!)

Japan is not alone in its moon-rabbit maddness, which seems to have spread through Asia with the advent of Buddhism. Originating in India, the legend struck a chord in certain cultures, slowly shaping itself in the image of each as it spread to China before ultimately being transmitted to Japan. The custom of moon-viewing itself has roots in China's traditional mind-autumn celebration, when the people treated themselves to moon cakes, but when the custom was transmitted to Japan, mochi ( sweet, pounded rice cakes) quickly took their place. The Chinese believed the rabbit in the moon was busy mixing the Elixer of Immortality, a reflection of the long history and influence of Chinese medicine. In Japan, where no such tradition existed, they envisioned a rabbit making mochi much as they did-- pounding it with mallets until is reached its smooth, sticky perfection. This process, called mochitsuki　(餅つき), lent itself nicely to a clever play on words, which can also mean full moon　(望月).

"Moon Rabbit" mochi

The story goes that in a previous existences as a boddhisattva, Shakyamuni (the Buddha) taught his followers about a wise rabbit who lived in a forest with three of his friends: the monkey, the fox, and the otter. The reincarnation of a bodhisattva himself, the rabbit posessed a wisdom that would surely lead him to enlightenment. In the afternoon, the friends went about their buisness alone, but in the evenings they gathered together to hear the rabbit speak about life and morality. On the day of the full moon, the rabbit proposed that instead of eating alone, they gather their food together and distribute it among the hungry. His three friends agreed.

Sugary tsukimi wagashi, Japanese sweets shaped as bunnies, tsukimi dango moon-viewing rice dumplings), chestnuts, mushrooms, fall flowers and of course, the full moon veiled in pampass grass.

The monkey climbed trees to gather mangos, the fox gathered the leftovers the workers had left in their feilds, and the otter caught fish in the river. Since the rabbit ate grass, he didn't really have to go out of his way to get food, but he knew that no human would want to eat grass. "If someone hungry comes to beg for food, I will offer them my body. I'm sure lots of people would like to eat rabbit meat!" Then he told everyone what he decided.

Hearing this, the King of Heaven was suprised. To test their sincerity, he disguised himself as a lowly beggar and visited each of them, pleading for food. The monkey, the fox and the otter all happily offered not only part of their foods, but all they had gathered. Pleased, he went to the rabbit. "Might you have some food for a poor beggar?" He asked.

"I understand," the rabbit said. 'I'll give you something delicious. Please, make a fire." With his supernatural powers, the King of Heaven made a roaring fire right before his eyes. The rabbit immediately jumped in, but it was not hot. "You're fire is powerful, but it's not even hot enough to singe a single strand of my hair!" he exclaimed.

"You know, wise man, I am no beggar. I came down from heaven to test the sincerity of your words. Doing good deeds is very important. You're deeds will not be forgotten." Wringing the mountain, he used its ink to paint the shape of a rabbit on the moon, a memorial to the rabbit's goodness for all generations.

Otsukimi: Honorable Moon Viewing: お月見

Incredible image courtesy of Flickr's Tumpaksinen. It's visual haiku!

After a seemingly endless summer of humid heat and hazy skies, the first full moon to grace a cool, clear, autumn night can be a magnificent sight, especially in the right surroundings. Otsukimi, or "Honorable Moon-Viewing", has been celebrated in Japan since the beginning of the 10th century.

Long ago, the people of ancient Japan had a deep, emotional attachment to the ever-changing moon, a mystical heavenly body that measured their lives in times and seasons. The full moon was considered the most beautiful of all, and the most beautiful of all full moons was mid-Autumn's Chushu no Meigetsu, the Harvest moon, traditionally rising on the 15th evening of the 8th month (according to Japan's old lunar calendar).

The custom of holding banquets to admire the moon became common during Japan's Golden Era, the Heian Period (794-1192). Imperial aristocrats enjoyed elegant, moon-lit parties called Mizuki and Tsuki-no-utage, composing waka (31-syllable Japanese poems), listening to noble court music, and drinking sacred sake aboard leisure boats from which they watched the moon’s reflection in the moving water.

Marked with decorations of Japanese pampas grass and offerings of rice dumplings, taro, chestnuts, soybeans, and sake, today’s moon viewing parties are held to enjoy good times with friends and family. In the past, farmers made offerings of pampas grass and bush clover to the full moon to ensure a good harvest. Now a small arrangement of susuki, hagi (pampas grass and bush clover), and the seven fall flowers are offered in hopes that wishes will come true.

Uh-oh, She's Reminiscing, Ya'll...

Even without the help of these autumn talismans, many a wish can come true beneath a Harvest Moon. During my first year as a JET, I sat alone on the dry bank of a freshly harvested rice field in Higashino, where my evening walks often led me through narrow streets spotted with traditional houses, surrounded on all sides by rice fields, silhoutted foothills and far-off mountains. I admired the moon, recalling, as I often did during my experience in Japan, one of my favorite Thoreau quotes: "Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake". I tried to drink it all in, fully aware that my time in Japan would be beautiful but breif, yet sure that it would be with me forever.

In my second year, I watched Autumn's first full moon rise over Cambodia's Tonle Sap, only to see it melt away the next morning as the sun rose over Angkor Wat.

Ironically, I was so busy planning lessons during my last Otsukimi in Japan that I barely had a chance to enjoy it, something that speaks volumes about my final year there. I remember catching sight of it as I drove home from the grocery store, wishing for the time and peace of mind to truely enjoy it as I once had.

Thankfully, I was granted both this year as I watched the moon grow gradually from a sliver of silver in the obsidian sky to a hauntingly pale, celestial apparition shrouded in veils of cloud and night. It finally revealed itself during a moon-lit roadtrip from Nebraska to Minnesota, bobbing bashfully along the shadowy ridges of birch, maple, and pine before sailing out to open skies. Reflected in 10,000 lakes, close enough to the horizon to seem colossal, it's etheral impermanence filled the night with a lonely beauty too perfect for words.

Somewhere over Minnesota, September 27th, 2007

It was a great night. It's good to be back.

Gion's Hassaku "Uniform": 祇園の八朔の正装

Kosen emerges from a narrow, covered alleyway as she returns to her okiya.


Kotoha and Yasuha headed back to their okiya after a long morning of visits beneath the brutal summer sun.


Kosen and Koyuki slip through a noren, carefully stepping into the street with her black laquered okobo. Kosen wears the typical susuki kanzashi ( Japanese Pampas Grass hair ornament).

While many maiko wear kanzashi (hair ornaments) based on summer grasses, Mameteru wears a rare asagao, or Morning Glory, perfectly complimenting the flowery theme of her kimono.


Teruyuki also wears the asagao, but as a senior maiko her hair is ornamented with only a single, large blossom.

Kotoha wears another rare kanzashi.

Mameteru lifts a festive noren as she leaves a teahouse.

Because it is a very formal occasion, maiko leave three tapered prongs of skin bare on their painted white necks, as opposed to the usual two. This is called sanbonashi, or "three legs". Lower ranking maiko wear their hair in the wareshinobu style, characterized by the mage, or top knot, woven through with a peice of silk and topped with a special ornament called a kanko dome.

Senior maiko wear the Yakko Shimada hairstyle.

The difference is easily observable, as seen above.

The shimmering silver kanzsahi sparkle in the sunlight.

Hassaku in Gion : Continued! 祇園の八朔

A smiling Suzuha, Gion's most successful geiko. Yes, that's right! More images from Hassaku, my final day in Kyoto, with the promise of still more images to come. What can I say? I am a picture-taking machine! (^_<)

What makes Hassaku so special? Most people would say it's the special sort of "uniform" many maiko and geiko wear for the occasion: Formal black, silk gauze kimono adorned with the family crest of their respective okiya. It is possible, however, to see many senior geiko dressed in lovely, subtley colorful kimono looking every bit as beautiful making their Hassaku visits.


Why? It's true that independent geiko own all of their own kimono, but before earning their indepen- dence, they rely on the collection of the okiya. Since these special silk gauze kimono can only be worn once a year, even independent geiko choose to rent them from the okiya.

In some okiya, however, there are many maiko and geiko. When a large family of maiko and geiko must make their Hassaku greetings together, there may not be enough of these special kimono for them all. In these cases, the most senior geiko gives up her claim on the kimono so that one of her juniors may wear it.

A large family of maiko, led by the geiko Takamaru. The senior maiko, Takahiro (left), holds the umbrella for her big sister as the two youngest maiko wait respectfully. A Shikomi, a young girl "in training" to make her debut as a maiko, closes the door behind them.

In order of rank, from geiko (right) to shikomi (left), the family bows to show their respect. The lower the rank, the deeper the bow.

Having paid their respects, Takamaru leads the girls to their next stop


Another lovely smile: Takamaru.

Hassaku in Gion : 祇園の八朔

The geiko Takamaru leads a young new maiko celebrating her first Hassaku.

The changing of seasons has long been observed and celebrated with festivals and sacred rites throughout the world. In ancient Japan, these celebrations and rituals, important for strengthening the bonds between gods and men, as well as among the farmers, were woven with the seasonal rhythms of growing rice, a sacred act on which their lives depended and their culture flourished. From planting to polishing, the roots of the agragarian culture penetrated every aspect of their lives, measured by and dedicated to the cultivation of okome, "honorable rice", the foundation of Japanese culture as we know it today.

A family of geiko and maiko cross the street according to rank, with senior geiko at the front the most junior maiko following behind.

So what does rice have to do with Hassaku? According to Japan's old lunar calender, the first day of a the new month, when the moon was not yet visible, was called tsuitachi 朔 or saku. As the first day of the eight month approached, the brilliant green rice filds began to ripen and bear fruit. With harvest near, the peasant farmers offered these first fruits to their patrons in a show of gratitude with hope for a good harvest.



The custom caught on, and soon even samurai families and members of the imperial court began offering the "first fruits" to those they felt indebted to as a way of expressing their gratitude. This festival, held on the first day of the eighth month, or Hassaku, became known as "Tanomi" (　田 ta , or rice field, の no, showing possesion, and 実 mi, fruit ), the "Fruit of the Rice Feilds". A play on words, "Tanomi" (頼み), meaning request or favor, also served as a petition to the gods for a good harvest.

In Gion Kobu, Hassaku is a lot like a New Year's. In the heat of the summer, robed in the most formal black kimono, young geiko and maiko visit the teahouses, teachers, senior geiko and establishments they depend upon to express their gratitude for their support and beg their favor in the future.

A group of geiko greet each other with a bow as they make their Hassaku rounds.

More photos coming soon!

Kodomo No Hi

For Kodomo No Hi (Children's Day), families raise colorful carp-shaped "Koinobori" flags, one for each member of the family. The largest carp flag represents the father, followed by the mother and smaller carp to represent children.

For the past month, brilliant, boldly-colored carp flags have flickered in the fresh, baby-blue skies with every breath of spring. In Japan, carp are famous for fighting their way upstream and leaping over waterfalls to get to their spawning areas, making them a symbol of the famous fighting spirit, valiant efforts, and success.　Like rainbows fluttering over the slowly flooding rice feilds, koinobori are raised in the hope that young boys in Japan will grow up with the same admirable qualities. Samurai helmets and warrior dolls gaurd the windows of traditional shops and entrances of homes blessed with sons, inspiring boys throught the land of the rising sun to be strong and brave.

May is the month of purple flowers, with irises and wisteria crowning the countryside with kingly purples and violets. The iris, or shoubu, is another famous symbol of Kodomo no Hi. In Japanese, shoubu means both iris and military spirit (although the Chinese characters are different), and because the shape of the leaves resemble swords, they are used to decorate the samurai style Go Gatsu Ningyo (5th Month dolls).

Kashiwa mochi and irises. Image by att.japan

No holiday would be complete without its special treats, and Kodomo no Hi is no exception. Children are treated to kashiwa-mochi, a sweet rice cake filled with even sweeter bean paste and wrapped in an oak leaf. Chimaki, a sticky sweet cake wrapped in bamboo leaves, is also very popular.

Summer is here! Happy Kodomo No Hi (^-^)/

Geisha: Disney Style

Geisha dressed up as Princess Arora, Snow White and Cinderella for their Setsubun engagements. Thanks to my friend for hooking me up with this picture to share with all of you! m(- -)m

Obake

Two geiko dressed as a town girl and man from the Edo period.

Risshun Setsubun, the parting of winter and spring, was traditionally somthing like a New Year's Eve and Halloween combined. To start the new year off right, Japanese people performed a number of rituals to cleanse the old year of evil and misfortune, and keep it away in the year to come. People even dressed up in costumes to trick the evil spirits into thinking they were someone, or something, else.

This tradition carries on in the hanamachi, or geiko districts, of Kyoto. Once a year, geisha dress up in costumes and entertain their customers as Disney Princesses, Playboy Bunnies, samurai...Whatever they wish.

A feudal princess and samurai.


Remember Mamechika? Here she is as a geiko (purple kimono), enjoying Setsubun with her boombox (^-^)/

Geiko dressed in white wedding kimono.

More Scenes from Setsubun

The maiko of Gion Higashi, in order of rank: Masayo, Tsunemomo, Umeha, Kanoaki, Miharu.

A priest summons the maiko of Gion Higashi (one of Kyoto's five hanamachi, or geiko entertainment districts) to the stage of Yasaka Shrine to be blessed before the mamemaki (bean-throwing) ceremony.

Before the mamemaki ceremony, Gion's Taiko group takes the stage.

Mission Mamemaki accomplished! The girls make their exit.

The mix of ancient tradition and ultra-modern technology: This is Japan!