It is customary to deliver two separate banzai cheers at weddings. The first, “Shinro shimpu, banzai!” means “long life and happiness to the bride and groom.” The second banzai is: “Raihin shoku, banzai!" or, more politely, “Raihin no minasama, banzai!” This banzai cheer means “Long life and happiness to all the guests!” In Hawaii, these wedding banzai cheers are often given as a special toast, with participants raising their glasses with each shout of “banzai!”

 

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Birthdays and Rites of Passage
According to Japanese beliefs, certain years of age are considered unlucky or even dangerous, while others are perceived to be auspicious and worthy of celebration. Special ceremonies and rituals are thus practiced in order to drive away bad luck and/or to bring in good luck during these critical ages. It is for this reason that the following years are recognized in Japanese customs:

What is Shichi Go San?
Shichi Go San, or the “Seven-Five-Three” Festival, is observed on November 15th of every year. On this day, five-year-old boys, along with three- and seven-year-old girls, are dressed in kimonos and blessed by a Shinto priest for their continued health and well-being. It was originally believed that children of these particular ages were especially prone to bad luck. The Shinto blessing and prayers were thus thought to provide divine protection for children at the critical points in their formative years. The observance has come to be regarded as a momentous rite of passage, as it represents the child’s elevation to “little men” and “little women.”

What is Kanreki?
For men, the 60th birthday is called kanreki, the recognition of his “second infancy.” The Japanese characters in the word kanreki literally mean “return” and “calendar.” The traditional calendar, which was based on the Chinese calendar, was organized on 60-year cycles. The cycle of life returns to its starting point in 60 years, and as such, kanreki celebrates that point in a man’s life when his personal calendar has returned to the calendar sign under which he was born.

Traditionally, friends and relatives are invited for a celebratory feast on one’s 60th birthday. It is customary for the celebrant to be given a red hood and wear a red vest. These clothes are usually worn by babies and thus symbolize the celebrant’s return to his birth.

Other birthday years celebrated by both men and women:

What is Ga No Iwai?
Ga no iwai (also known as toshiiwai) is a Japanese rite of passage celebrated at various ages to pray for long life. This tradition was brought to Japan from China, and originally was celebrated once every ten years beginning when one turned 40 according to the traditional Japanese method of calculating age. Since the sixteenth century, ga no iwai has come to be celebrated beginning when one turns 60 (kanreki), and subsequently at ages 70 (koki), 77 (kiju), 80 (sanju), 88 (beiju), 90 (sotsuju), and 99 (hakuju).

What is Kiju?
The celebration of one’s 77th birthday is an example of ga no iwai. Age 77 is the “joyous year,” and to live until that age is indeed fortunate. The Japanese characters for kiju literally mean “joy” and “long life.”

What is Beiju?
The celebration of one’s 88th birthday, known as beiju or “yone-no-iwai,” became popular since the Japanese characters for “88,” when written together, resemble the character for “rice” (yone, also read as bei).

From the very beginning of history, rice was respected by the people, for it was their food, their life, their very livelihood and happiness. An integral and fundamental part of Japanese society, rice symbolized purity and goodness. Thus the 88th birthday is celebrated as a happy and joyous occasion. ^ back to top

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New Year's Eve

The celebration of the Japanese New Year involves many traditions, customs and rituals that hold special symbolic meanings. The New Year itself represents a time to conclude activities of the passing year and a time to start anew. There are parties to attend – bonen kai (end of the Year celebration) and shinnen kai (New Year’s celebration) – that are both symbolic of putting behind the past and starting with a new outlook for the coming year.

In Hawai‘i, the Japanese celebrate the New Year with traditional customs, as well as with customs adopted from other ethnic traditions. The burning of firecrackers to chase away evil spirits, the playing card games that set the tone for a good or bad year, the feasting on specially prepared foods for good fortune, and temple visits to cleanse one’s spirit are among the activities that many families enjoy. The following are some of the traditional Japanese New Year’s customs and their special meanings.

What is Hatsumode?
Hatsumode, first temple or shrine visit of the year, is one of the most important traditions for the Japanese family. At the Shinto shrines, visitors arrive from midnight on through the morning to express gratitude for blessings of the past and to pray for guidance and protections for the New Year. Priests bless visitors with white paper streamers attached to wooden purification wands. The wands are waved over visitors for purification and blessing. Visitors also receive ofuda (talisman) which consists of a thin strip of wood wrapped in paper with the name of a kami (god) written on it. It is replaced annually at the New Year and is posted near the door of a house or office building for good fortune and protection. Omamori (amulets) are also given to shrine visitors during the New Year. The omamori is similar to a good luck charm and is kept for protection and good fortune.

In Buddhist temples, the sounding of bells signifies the end of the passing year and start of the New Year. Bells are rung 108 times on New Year’s Eve. Each ring represents a temptation for mankind to conquer with the last ring sounded at the stroke of midnight.

Special New Year’s Foods
Special foods are also important to the Japanese New Year’s celebration. Osechi ryori or traditional New Year’s foods are symbolic of good fortune, long life, good health and success. A Japanese New Year’s feast may include ozoni (a mochi soup) for strength and prosperity, otoso or ocha with umeboshi (sake or Japanese rice wine with herbs or tea with preserved plum) for good health, kazunoko (herring roe) for fertility, kuromame (black beans with chestnuts) for good health and success, kobumaki (seaweed stuffed with chicken, pork or fish tied with gourd strips) for happiness, kurikinton (mashed sweet potato and chestnuts) for good fortune, renkon (lotus root sliced crosswise) as a symbol of the wheel of life, and konbu (seaweed) for long life. It is believed that eating these special foods at the New Year will bring one good fortune during the year.

Mochitsuki
Mochi (pounded rice cake) is always part of the Japanese New Year’s celebration. It is often times that entire families gather to prepare, shape and fill the mochi. Traditional mochitsuki (mochi pounding) involves the steaming of mochi rice which would be pounded with a usu (mortar) and kine (pestle or wooden mallet) until it reached a white pasty consistency. The pasty rice would then be shaped into round pieces or mochi which literally means “round rice.” Today, mochi is usually purchased from confectionery shops or the market. New electronic mochi-making machines that steam and “pound” the mochi are also popular with many local families.

Kagamimochi
The traditional new year kagamimochi, or mirror mochi, display originated from Shinto story of Amaterasuomikami (Sun Goddess) who hid in a cave and made the world dark. The people prayed to a mirror, which symbolized the Goddess, for her return. Her reappearance caused great joy and happiness for the people as the skies opened with brightness.