All art buffs should put this on their calender as the Tokyo International Arts Festival 2008 will be held throughout March 2008. This year’s lined up will include artists from Argentina, Belgium and Switzerland among the other Japanese artist who will be showcasing their art during the month of March. Now, art is a pretty subjective topic where what’s art to one may not be art to another. But nonetheless, The Tokyo International Arts Festival is a much anticipated event.

Check out a cool video from the event from past years:

They’re grander than just kids knocking on doors asking for candies here. The video is from last year, this year’s Kawasaki’s Halloween’s Parade’s video is not up yet but a photo of the week in Metropolis showed variety and grand costumes better than it’s western counterparts ;)

TaikoDon’t miss out on the Tokyo International Taiko Contest this Aug 24-25. There will be over 3000 taiko drummers participating and some hailing as far as Sado island. Do look out for an 84 jazz musician turn taiko drummer at the competition. Word has it, he has some pretty interesting chords up his sleaves.

Check out the Aoyama Round Theater, Aug 24-25.

Gion Matsuri (祇園祭;, Gion Matsuri) is an annual festival that takes place in Kyoto and is said to be one of the most famous, if not the most famous festival in all of Japan. It spans the entire month of July and is crowned by the beautiful parade, the Yama-boko Junkō (山鉾巡行, Yama-boko Junkō?) on July 17th.

For 3 consecutive nights before the massive parade, known as Yoiyama (宵山), on July 16th, Yoiyoiyama (宵々山), on July 15th, and Yoiyoiyoiyama (宵々々山), on July 14th, Kyoto downtown is closed for pedestrian traffic only. The streets are lined with night stalls selling food such as BBQ chicken skewers, traditional Japanese sweets, taiyaki, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and many other culinary delights. Many Kyoto girls dressed in summer kimono walk around the area, carrying with them traditional purses and paper fans.

You can even catch a gold fish for good luck too!

During the Yoiyama eves leading up to the parade, some private houses in the old kimono-merchants district, open the genkan, or entryway, to the public, exhibiting some valuable family heirlooms, a customary event known as the Byobu Matsuri or the ‘Folding Screen Festival.’ This is a precious opportunity to visit and observe traditional Japanese residences of Kyoto.

This festival first originated as part of a purification ritual. In 869 CE the people were suffering from plague and pestilence which was thought to be a result of the rampaging deity Gozu Tenno. The emperor ordered that the people pray to the god of the Yasaka shrine, Susanoo-no-mikoto. Sixty-six stylized and decorated halberds, one for each province in Japan, were prepared and erected at Shinsen-en Garden (at the intersection of Oike Street and Omiya Street, Nakagyo Ward) along with the portable shrines (mikoshi) from Yasaka Shrine.

The month of July is coming so be prepared to join the month long festival where history and culture meet.

Hatsuyume is one of the strangest yet quaintest New Year traditions I’ve ever heard of. It’s the first dream that you have in the new year, and is said to fortell what kind of year lies ahead of you. January 2nd is also known as hatsuyume, as it’s the day after the first night of the year (given that most people don’t sleep on New Year’s Eve).

It is said that if you dream of Mt. Fuji, a hawk or an eggplant, you will have good fortune during the year. Why? Well, Mt. Fuji is Japan’s tallest mountain, hawks are intelligent and strong birds and eggplants, or nasubi (茄子) sounds like the word nasu (成す) which means acheiving something great.

Sweet dreams, 3yenners.

Link:
Wikipedia’s link on Hatsuyume

Aaah, Christmas. Japan’s third Valentine’s Day, after Valentine’s Day and White Day.

Like Taro mentioned, it seems like Christmas is all about dates and romance and….other things.

Japan is obviously not a Christian country. Official statistics say that 1% of the population is Christian (although I wonder, given the huge number of Mormons who’ve approached me in Japan, whether that’s an understatement). But Japan does have a national pasttime of taking things from other cultures, changing it til it suits them, then adopting it as their own. And Christmas is another victim.

Find yourself a girl (or boy), hold hands while you walk down snow-covered streets to look at the Christmas lights, enjoy the probably stupidly expensive piece of jewellery/lingerie you receive, and make sure you model it privately for the gift giver :P

Oh, and to expand a bit on Taro’s explanation of how to say “Merry Christmas” in Japanese, you guys should also know that very often, Merii Kurisumasu will be shortened to Meri Kuri!

Minna-san! Meri Kuri!

The Bon Festival (Obon) has just ended in Japan and we can breathe a little easier now that the smoke from incense has cleared away, heh. Obon is one of the three most important holiday periods in Japan, the other two being New Year and Golden Week. Technically it starts in July in the east of Japan and in August in the West, but it’s slowly migrated to August just about everywhere in Japan, as it coincides with the Lunar Calendar and summer holidays.

So, what is Obon? Basically it’s Buddhism’s answer to Mexico’s Day of the Dead festival. It is a Buddhist holiday where people take time to remember the dead. It is believed that the souls of the dead come back to their homes during this period. The smoke of fires and incense helps guide the spirits both to their homes then back to their graves (ohaka).

During this festival, you will notice many lanterns and smoke, but also dances (called bon odori) at temples. Anyone can participate in these dances, so if you’re feeling game, jump up on stage and copy what everyone else is doing.

Every part of Japan has their own Obon traditions. Some places have floating paper lanterns that they light up on the night of the 15th and then let drift down the river to the sea to guide the spirits back. Hanabi is also common. Perhaps the most famous Obon festival tradition is Gozan no Okuribi in Kyoto. On the night of August 16th, the culmination of the festival, five large kanji characters and icons that have been carved into the hillsides around Kyoto are set alight. It’s an amazing sight, if you can catch it. There are many vantage points around Kyoto but you can be sure it will be crowded everywhere.

Japan is very quiet during Obon. People will go back to their hometowns (like during New Year) and many businesses will be closed. If you are in Japan during this time, make sure you take the same precautions you would over New Year, particularly taking out cash from your bank accounts and organising any business beforehand.

Links:
Wikipedia’s article on Obon
Wikipedia’s article on Gozan no Okuribi
About.com’s article on Obon

It’s summer time in Japan right now. Freaking warm! Hot and humid and sticky. The cicadas go nuts, the rainy season dumps down on us, and in late July and August, the hanabi bloom.

Hanabi (hana 花: flower and bi 火: fire) means fireworks! It’s a summer institution in Japan. Everyone, men and women alike, dress up in yukata, which is a summer kimono and head out on hot summer nights to line the riverbanks or seashore. There, they watch literally thousands of fireworks explode in the night sky.

There’s no obvious story behind the fireworks, like there is in Hong Kong and China during Lunar New Year celebrations. The only announcements that you might get thanks to the corporate sponsors. Think of it as another hanami party.

That is, dress up, go out, get drunk, get crushed on the last train home. Rinse, repeat.