Tomorrow is Bunka no Hi in Japan. It is a national holiday celebrating Japan’s culture. I think it is a wonderful way to enjoy many cultural and historical attributes of the country.

So what happens on Bunka no Hi?

The Imperial Palace in Tokyo holds a ceremony to present Order of Culture Awards.
The Emperor himself presents the awards.

There will also be traditional musical, tea ceremony and kimono wearing events!

Did you know that it was on this day in 1946 that the Japanese government announced its new constitution.

The ideals of the Constitution are love of peace and freedom – and to celebrate this, the holiday Bunka no Hi – a Day Appreciating Cultural Things was enacted.

Bunka no Hi

What will you do on Bunka no Hi?

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Do you wash your rice before you cook it?

Some say that the washing process is supposed to stop the rice sticking to the bottom of the rice cooker (which is due to the excessive amount of starch found in rice) – ie if you wash rice before cooking it, you can take out some of that starch and avoid it sticking.

Others say that rice used to be coated with talc!

And whilst those days are long gone, the custom of cleaning the rice still ‘sticks’ – excuse the pun!

Rice Washing

We always use to wash our rice before placing it in the rice cooker and pressing the start button, but more recently in Japan you can buy rice that doesn’t need to be ‘pre-washed’.

Or even better still, you buy a machine to wash the rice for you!

If the yesteryear Japan’s rice harvest is anything to go by, I can see why the culture of washing the rice was important!

Rice in Yesteryear Japan

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Tea Serving

Looking at the old karakuri ningyo from Japan you can see the inspiration for today’s state of the art Japanese robotics.

Karakuri from Inuyama near Nagoya

The karakuri ningyo is a mechanical or automated doll that was invented over two hundred years ago in Japan and used as a form of entertainment. Quite often the doll was used to serve tea.

The karakuri form of entertainment and service continues in this very innovative youtube clip. If you enjoy Ramen and robots … then this clip is for you. The karakuri doll delivers ramen with style!

Thanks to two great photographers Potarou and Tempusmaster for photos of karakuri ningyo.

The first time I saw a Karakuri Ningyo was in 1988 when the Japanese Government displayed one at an exhibit in Brisbane, Australia. I was not sure of the great significance of karakuri back then. But as time has passed, I have seen the enormous improvements in robotic technology and am amazed at the legacy of this mechanical doll.

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The Main Event with Gundam

Weddings can be both stressful and blissful days!

For many Japanese people, lowering the stress levels and increasing the chances of marital bliss is supposedly helped if you marry on a day that is lucky, rather than one that is unlucky.

A Wedding Venue at Tokyo Bay Sheraton Hotel

But how do you know what day is lucky and what day is unlucky?

Answer: There is a special calendar to help you work it out called the Rokuyo Calendar. This calendar no longer forms part of the official calendar system in Japan, but to keep tradition in check, most Japanese calendars mark the kanji symbols for lucky and unlucky days anyway.

Check out the small print for luck

The lucky day is called Taian in Japanese, whilst the unlucky day is known as Butsumetsu.

Because the unlucky days mean less business for the wedding companies, many Japanese businesses associated with weddings offer a cheaper deal on that day. So if you are not superstitious and want to work within a budget – a Butsumetsu Deal could be the one for you.

Lucky, Unlucky and Combination

To complicate the matters slightly – there are not only good and bad luck days but combination days when there is good luck in the morning and bad luck in the afternoon. It gets confusing!

So with the anime wedding of the year at the feet of Gundam on Tuesday night – I wondered whether the couple or company organising the event were superstitious? Was it a lucky or not a lucky Gundam wedding?

It appears that August 25th was a day when there was bad luck in the morning but good luck in the afternoon. So given that the wedding was an evening affair – looks like the story will be a good luck one!

Gundam is happy because Luck is in the Air!

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Japanese culture is strongly influenced by the seasons.

Foods, dress, customs and language rely heavily on seasonal parameters.

One of my favourite examples of seasons influencing contemporary and convenient Japan are the sour orange Kit Kats produced as limited editions and highlighted by shibuya246 through a series called ‘conbini monday’ (Referring of course to the convenience stores with the word conbini).

Magnificent colours representing January

Incorporating the seasons is a fantastic consumer tool. Traditionally, however, the change of the seasons has helped the Japanese culture develop with rich heritage.

Typically, the Japanese seasons provides the ability to find interest and joy in the detail of little things that can often seem quite ordinary.

One of these seemingly ordinary items that Japanese seasons dictate, are hair ornaments or kanzashi. See xVivienx on flickr for a wonderful photostream. She has also opened up an online site discussing how to make a kanzashi for each month of the calendar year.

Fantastic Gallery of Kanzashi

Currently in the summer season and month of August, the ornaments that Japanese women traditionally wear to suit the kimono would be a starburst of spines, silver colours for younger girls and for senior ladies, perhaps light pink and turquoise.

August Kanzashi

Beautiful shot and fantastic headpiece

I love this kanzashi – tsuru or a crane. I would have thought this kanzashi was particularly relevant for new year seasons? I will have to find out.

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There are a lot of Jizo statues around Japan. They are particularly prominent around intersection of roads and paths.

The idea is that the ‘correct’ path should be chosen and Jizo is there to help you make your decision. The Jizo is seen as a protector of travellers.

Its a Jizo!

They often wear red bibs like these ones.

The Jizo is a special statue for women that are pregnant. It is also considered an important symbol for those whose children have died. That is why sometimes the statues of Jizo wear tiny children’s clothing or bibs. It is also why jizo’s sometimes have toys or other gifts beside them.

Jizo are also considered helpful when children are suffering from a serious illness. It is thought that prayers to o-jizo- sama can help aid speedy recoveries.

Welcome, welcome

I have particularly noticed the importance of the Jizo in Miyazaki’s anime as well. I love that scene where Mei is lost and she rests next to a line of Jizo statues.

Here they are in a line outside a shop dedicated to the anime art of Hayao Miyazaki.

Protecting children and travellers

Funny Jizo – really funny – now lets go and shop!

This is a little clip showing how to make a Jizo out of clay – easy!

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It is hot and perfect weather for the Uchiwa!
These hand-held fans abound in Japan during the summer months. They are a great tool for a sales pitch. They are also a practical way of cooling off during the oppressive heat of July and August.

Old Japan making Uchiwa

The uchiwa has been a popular cultural item for centuries in Japan. Hence it is wonderful to look through the photo collection of Okinawa Soba and find these young girls hard at work making uchiwa. The photo was taken about 90 years ago.

What changes we have seen since then, but the basic uchiwa is still good!

Today, of course, like anything technology has caught up and you can make your own uchiwa at home with the ease of a computer and printer! Easy! Take a look at this site – in Japanese but the message is clear …. you can print your designs out and stick them onto a plastic frame. Perfect!

Make your own uchi wa

This photo by digitalbear is an interesting capture of the modern day cyber promoting uchiwa.

Combining old and new cultures on an uchiwa – Way to go!

Custom Made

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A few years ago I took the kids to Europa Park in Germany and one of the standout events was the jousting tournament. Re-creating history in live shows is a great way of teaching the kids about the past.

Action on the gee gees

Similarly in Japan, in July you can step back in time with horses and heroes, at the festival of Soma Nomaoi. Held in Fukushima, this is a great festival that lasts for three days.

Wow - I guess this guy hasnt seen the hairdresser in a while

Visiting Fukushima and the ‘Soma Nomaoi’ Festival is a wonderful way of experiencing a 1,000 year old tradition, which embodies the code of the samurai.

Tradition, Tradition

This is a photo of mine from 2001 at Europa Park – Take a look at the comparison – Europe and Japan, both with a strong history of ancient armour and horses.

Jousting Fun in Germany

This tournament in Germany was also a lot of fun to watch – unlike Soma Nomaoi, however, this particular jousting experience is available to observers throughout the year.

Why is the festival in Fukushima called Soma Nomaoi?
The word ‘Soma’ refers to the clan of people in this prefecture. The Soma had a reputation for excellent horses. The word ‘Nomaoi’ refers to the horses – specifically ‘wild horse chasing.’

Take a look at this piece of video from youtube. It gives a great insight into this year’s Soma Nomaoi event.

Thank you flickr and youtube, as well as a great blog posting by samuraidave for information on this festival.

Soma Nomaoi is an event that we will put on our ‘to do’ list for 2010.

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In Japan, the festival known as shichi-go-san is held annually on November 15. It celebrates three and seven year old girls and five year old boys. These numbers are seen traditionally to be lucky numbers and it is a practise that has continued since the Heian Period – 794-1185. The family visit a shrine or a temple and pray for health and happiness for their child.

In modern day Japan, it is lovely to see the traditions being kept alive. Its special to see the children being paraded at the shrines in kimono or hakama. The day is not a national holiday but rather observed on the nearest weekend.

After the visit to the shrine the parents buy chitose-ame or sweets/candy- for the children. The candy is shaped like a stick and comes in a bag that carries illustrations of cranes and turtles. These animals symbolise longevity in Japan.

What is so special is that we still have photos of our great-grandma, Sadako dressed in kimono at the age of three.

Sadako Toyoshima lived in Hiroshima. This is her in 1908 standing in front of her house waiting to go to the shrine. Her parents must have also expressed the wish that she led a long and prosperous life. Luckily, Sadako did.

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One of my favourite elements of Japanese culture is the embodiment of manga and anime. I am always amazed at the association with and value placed on these characters. Personally, I have collected much cute memorabilia/brick-a-brac or merchandise and as a consumer continue to be influenced by the clever branding that personifies stuffed toys to a level that makes you want to include them in your family!!

I am not the only one! Even the current Japanese PM Mr. Aso is well known for his enjoyment of Japanese manga/cartoons and anime. Mr. Aso has even suggested that a museum be made to exhibit anime, manga films and other forms of culture!

From a page in Sen to Chihiro

My all-time favourite Japanese anime is that created by Hayao Miyazaki. Co-founder and Director of the Studio Ghibli. And with that I was one of the first to line up to visit the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka when it opened in 2001.

The storylines developed by Miyazaki and his team, as well as the infusion of Japanese culture and attention to character detail is inspiring. No doubt my collection of characters goods as well as the assortment of Ghibli DVDs and books will continue to grow.

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