The Japanese are fond of designating certain days to commemorate random things, and every time I get in my car it greets me and tells me that today is Mandarin Orange Day or something like that. Often these special days are decided by Japanese phonetics — for example, the number four can be pronounced yo, so it’s somewhat logical that April 4 be declared “Yo-yo Day.” It turns out that September 6 is Imouto no Hi, or Younger Sister’s Day, first established by manga-ka (manga artist) Kunio Hatada. It’s a day to do something special for your younger sister, if you have one, and reflect on the nice things she does for you, like cooking you omelet-rice with a ketchup heart drawn on top, or waking you up every morning before running off to school with a piece of toast in her mouth. The genre of imouto chara — younger sister, or characters in similar roles — have become a major meme in anime these days, and a vehicle for moe stories like I Can’t Believe My Younger Sister Is This Cute and and My Little Sister is Among Them! In case you were wondering, younger brother’s day, older brother’s day and older sister’s day also exist, on March 6, June 6 and December 6, respectively.
Thursday is Imouto no Hi, a day to celebrate younger sisters. Is that creepy?
