2009

The first occurrence of the long autumn holiday period known as Silver Week was in 2009. In 1985, the Public Holiday Law was revised so that a weekday sandwiched between national holidays would become a holiday. In September 2009, for the first time since the revision, there was a single weekday between Respect for the Aged Day and the Autumnal Equinox Day, and because it connected to the preceding weekend, it created a five-day holiday. When Respect for the Aged Day and the Autumnal Equinox Day are separated by one weekday, the system that turns that weekday into a holiday combines with adjacent weekends to produce up to a five-day break. Silver Week has appeared every few years since then, but it does not occur annually; it’s an unusual holiday period that depends on how the calendar falls.

September

Silver Week refers to a string of consecutive holidays that occurs when Respect for the Aged Day (the third Monday of September) and the Autumnal Equinox Day line up favorably. Unlike Golden Week in May, it does not necessarily form a long weekend every year, but in years like 2009 and 2015 it became an extended holiday period and drew attention.

the 2000s

The term “Silver Week” came into widespread use starting in September 2009, when a long autumn holiday period was established. The first extended autumn holiday was widely covered by the media, and the term “Silver Week” became familiar to the public. Although the phrase itself existed earlier with a different meaning, it only began to refer to the consecutive holidays in September from the 2000s onward.

1950s

The term “Silver Week” was coined in Japan’s film industry in the 1950s to boost publicity by capitalizing on the excitement of the autumn holiday period. It didn’t catch on with the general public at the time, but regained attention in the 2000s when national holidays lined up to create a longer break. Thus, the origin of the term is surprisingly old—it was conceived long before it became widely used.

Publicity in the film industry

Silver Week is said to have originated in the 1950s, when the film industry began using the term to promote movie attendance during the large autumn holiday period. Much like Golden Week, they wanted to position the extended holidays as an opportunity to go to the movies, hence the use of “silver.” Although the timing of the autumn holidays now varies each year depending on how the public holidays line up, the name took hold thanks to this marketing strategy by the film industry.

Golden Week

While the long holiday in spring is called Golden Week, the autumn holiday period is called Silver Week. The name uses “silver” as a counterpart to “gold.” Terms like “Bronze Week” or “Diamond Week” do not actually exist.

It is determined based on the day when the Sun astronomically passes the autumnal equinox point.

Autumnal Equinox Day is based on the day when the sun is at the autumnal equinox point. For that reason, it falls on either September 22, 23, or 24 each year, with the date determined by astronomical calculations. The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan announces this date. Therefore, it is not simply fixed as September 23 every year; instead, the date changes annually based on scientific grounds.