Let's get excited with a New Year quiz! General questions about the Japanese New Year

kite flying

During the Edo period, there was a time when kite flying was banned. This was because the growing number of people flying kites led to frequent accidents, such as injuries to passersby caused by kite strings and kites getting entangled with houses or power lines. Social issues were also noted, including people becoming so absorbed in play that they neglected work or study, and kite flying becoming a form of gambling. For these reasons, especially in the densely populated city of Edo, the shogunate prohibited kite flying.

Heian period

New Year’s greeting cards have a very long history. Although their origins are not entirely clear, they are said to have begun mainly in the Heian period, when people in aristocratic society exchanged letters to offer New Year’s greetings. Later, during the Edo period, the practice spread among the general populace.

fan

Following “First Mount Fuji, second hawk, third eggplant,” there is a saying that continues with “four folding fans, five tobacco, six blind biwa players.” The fan is said to symbolize prosperity of descendants and thriving business because its shape spreads out toward the end.

Edo period

It’s said that the origins of fukuwarai as a game date back to the Edo period. That said, it didn’t really become established as a New Year’s pastime until the mid-Meiji period and later.

the year 1949

New Year’s lottery postcards were first issued in Japan in 1949. Incidentally, it’s interesting that the idea was conceived by a private individual.

Good Fortune Tea

Daifuku-cha is a tea made with tea leaves, pickled plum (umeboshi), and tied kelp (musubi-kombu). It is a traditional New Year’s drink meant to pray for health and happiness throughout the year. This custom began in the Heian period and is said to have been drunk to quell epidemics.

the morning of January 1

The word “Gantan” refers to the morning of New Year’s Day and, strictly speaking, means the morning of January 1. It is often confused with “Ganjitsu” (New Year’s Day), but because the character “旦” in “Gantan” denotes morning, it originally refers not just to the date but to the morning hours. This reflects a Japanese custom that cherishes the special time of the morning on the first day of the new year, welcomed after staying up through New Year’s Eve.