By: Mika Matsumura, GVJCI Social Media and Marketing Intern
In Japan, a person officially becomes an adult at the age of 20. To welcome these new adults into society, Japan celebrates Coming-of-Age Day or Seijin no Hi. This holiday is celebrated every year on the second Monday of January (January 11, 2021 this year). Before 1999, Seijin no Hi, used to be celebrated on January 15th. This day is also sometimes called Adult Day and honors young Japanese who turned 20 at any point in the 12 months since the start of April in the last year. At this age, they are able to legally drive, consume alcohol, smoke, and gamble. The voting age changed in 2015 from 20 to 18. In 1876, the age of adulthood was set, but in 2018 the government enacted a bill that will lower the age from 20 to 18 and will take effect in 2022. However, they cannot participate in adult activities until 20 still. There are several theories of the origins of this holiday and some date back as far as the 700s. The official holiday began in 1946 in Saitama (currently, Warabi City) to encourage hope for younger generations after World War II.
Most women wear a beautiful and elaborate kimono or furisode, a long-sleeved kimono for unmarried young women. The cost of owning a kimono can well be over a thousand dollars, thus many rentals are available. Many also wear a fake fur scarf/stole, wear traditional zori sandals, and get their hair & makeup done. Men usually choose to wear a traditional men's kimono with hakama (loose trousers with many pleats in the front) or Western formal attire. Local governments usually have a ceremony called Shijin Shiki to honor the new adults. Tokyo ceremonies at the Shinjuku and Shibuya are some of the largest and enjoy lots of media coverage. Attendees and their families will be present for these ceremonies around 11:30 AM for photos and the speech. Many families will also go to their local shrine to pray for health and success.
Sources & Photos From:
https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-51091877
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/japan/articles/everything-you-need-to-know-about-japans-coming-of-age-day/
Other Sources:
https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/japan/coming-of-age-day
https://www.japanvisitor.com/japanese-festivals/adults-day
https://savvytokyo.com/seijin-no-hi-celebrating-japanese-youths-rite-passage/
https://jw-webmagazine.com/seijin-no-hi-the-celebration-of-coming-of-age-in-japan/
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