Transcript NTCA Seminar on Japan Winter 06

NTCA Seminar on Japan
Winter 06
Mari Noda
The Ohio State University
January 24, 2006
[email protected]
Sources
• Wikipedia (free encyclopedia)
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
– http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/メインページ
• What’s What in Japan’s Diet, Government,
and Public Agencies (1989, The Japan Times,
ISBN4-7890-0444-9)
• http://www.lib.duke.edu/ias/eac/ministries.htm
Significant Days of the Year
•
•
•
•
National Holidays
Cultural days
Historical days (related to WW II)
Commercial days (Giving & receiving culture)
– Valentines Day
– White Day
– Mid-year/Year-end gift giving (Otyûgen / Oseibo)
National Holidays
Established in 1948 to celebrate, express
gratitude, or to commemorate together to
nurture beautiful traditions, better society, and
prosperous lives.
14 National Holidays
New Year’s Day (January 1)
Coming of the Age Day (2nd Monday in Jan.)
National Foundation Day (February 11)
Spring Equinox (~March 21)
Greenery Day (April 29)
Constitution Day (May 3)
Children’s Day (May 4)
Ocean Day (3rd Monday in July)
Respect for the Aged Day (3rd Monday in Sept.)
Autumn Equinox Day (~Sept. 23)
Health and Sports Day (2nd Monday in Oct.)
Culture Day (November 3)
Labor Thanksgiving Day (November 23)
Emperor’s Birthday (December 23)
New Year’s Day
(o)shôgatsu
• Beginning of the year
• Religious, imperial holiday --> a familycommunity-based celebration -->
commercialized holiday?
• Gantan (1/1) --- XX-zome (1/2) --Sanganiti (3 days, 1-3rd) --- Nanakusa
(1/7) --- Kagami-biraki (~1/11) --- Matsuno-uti (~1/15) ---
New Year’s Day activities
New Year’s Tradition
Coming of the Age Day
Seijin no Hi
• Established in 1948 (Jan 15h), amended in
2000 (Happy Monday Act)
• Celebrate the attainment of full rights and
responsibilities as a member of society
• Age=20
– Consumption of alcoholic beverages and tobacco
– Rights to vote
• Concept of maturity?
National Foundation Day
Kenkoku Kinen no Hi
• Established in 1966
• Not the day of national foundation, but
the day to celebrate the national
foundation.
• Cf. Kigensetsu (celebrated 1873-1948)
Spring Equinox
Shunbun no Hi
• Celebrate nature and cherish all living
beings.
Golden Week
• Multiple holidays (4/29-5/3-5/5) +
pleasant weather = travel boom
• The 2005 change in the holiday law:
(Substitute holiday+In-between day) -->
4/29-5/3-5/4-5/5
Greenery Day
Midori no Hi
• Established in 1948 as the (Showa)
emperor’s birthday. Renamed after his death
in 1989.
• To consider environmental issues, nature
preservation, and community greening.
– The Kyoto Protocol
– Recycling
– Energy conservation
• 2005 law to make 4/29 the Showa Day and
May 4th the Greenery Day, effective, 2007.
Kyoto Protocol
Constitution Day
Kenpo Kinenbi
• Current Constitution, came into effect
on May 3, 1947.
• 2005 Survey by the Asahi Shimbun:
51% opposed to Article 9.
Constitution of Japan
• The constitution guarantees equality before
the law and outlaws discrimination based on
"political, economic or social relations" or
"race, creed, sex, social status or family
origin" (Article 14). The right to vote cannot
be denied on the grounds of "race, creed,
sex, social status, family origin, education,
property or income" (Article 44). Equality
between the sexes is explicitly guaranteed in
relation to marriage (Article 24) and childhood
education (Article 26).
Appoint
Chief Justice
Emperor:
Symbol of State
Supreme Court
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF ( Uncompressed) decompr essor
are needed to see this picture.
Prime Minister
Election
The Cabinet
Audit
Citizen
The Diet
Children’s Day
Kodomo no Hi
• To respect children’s
personalities, wish
for their happiness,
and to thank
mothers.
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Ocean Day
Umi no Hi
• Established in 1996 as July 20,
changed in 2003 to the 3rd Monday in
July.
• To thank the gifts of the ocean and to
hope for the prosperity of Japan, a
seafaring nation.
Respect for the Aged Day
Keiro no Hi
•
•
•
•
Established in 1966
Aging nation
Baby boomers
Declining birth rate
Autumn Equinox Day
Shûbun no Hi
• To worship/honor the ancestors and
remember the deceased.
Health and Sports Day
Taiiku no Hi
• Established in 1966, October 10th
• Amended in 2000, 2nd Monday in
October.
Culture Day
Bunka no Hi
• To love freedom and peace and
encourage cultural activities.
• Based on the proclamation of the
Japanese Constitution (11/3/1946)
Labor Thanksgiving Day
Kinrokansya no HI
• To respect labor, celebrate productivity
and express gratitude to each other
• Based on celebration of harvest in the
Imperial Household.
Emperor’s Birthday
Tennô Tanjôbi
• Birthdays of recent emperors
– Meiji = November 3
– Taisho=August 31
– Showa = April 29
– Heisei = December 23
The Imperial Household
Cultural Days
•
•
•
•
•
•
Setsubun (around February 3rd)
Doll’s Festival Hinamatsuri (March 3rd)
Star Festival Tanabata (July 7th)
Obon (July/August 15th)
Moon Festival Jûgo-ya (~9/15)
Seven-Five-Three Shiti-Go-San (November
15th)
– Auspicious numbers
• New Year’s Eve Ômisoka (12/31)
Historical Days
• the days Atomic Bomb was dropped in
Hiroshima (8/6/45), Nagasaki (8/9/45)
• End of WW II (8/15/45)
Commercial
Holidays/Events
•
•
•
•
•
•
Valentine’s Day
White Day
Mother’s Day
Father’s Day
Christmas
Ochugen / Oseibo