Christmas is behind us, the Nakatomi Plaza hostages are all rescued, and it’s time to say goodbye to another year. 2021 was a challenging year for all of us, as we struggled to get past the COVID crisis and deal with the recovering economy, which caused inflation and disruptions getting some of the products we needed. Let’s look at six things Japanese people do at year end to prepare themselves to cross into a new year!
Six Things the Japanese Do at Year End
First, they have a 忘年会 bounen-kai or a Year-End Party, though the word actually means Forget-the-Year Party. This can either be an informal gathering among friends who want to eat and drink and talk about what was good or bad about the year, or a formal event held by companies, clubs or other organizations to thank members for their hard work all year long, and help cement everyone’s connection to the group. As you can imagine, getting together in large groups isn’t easy to do during COVID, and the restaurant industry has been hard hit by the limits placed on gatherings like this.
What kind of year was 2021 for you? Tell us in the comments below!
They Write New Year’s Cards
The end of December is so busy time for Japanese people that the old word for December (師走 Shiwasu) has come to mean “that busy-as-hell time at year end.” One reason people are so busy is, they have to prepare New Year’s Cards and get them in the mail in time for them to be delivered to everyone in the morning on January 1. It’s great to go on Pixiv and see all the beautiful illustrations our favorite artists have prepared. (Image source)
2022 is the Year of the Tiger, to prepare to see a lot of tiger-themed art in a few days!
They Do Year-End Cleaning
One of my favorite things about the end of the year is the excuse to engage in 大掃除 o-souji or “big cleaning.” Vacuuming, washing windows, and getting ready to face the new year with a house that’s spic-and-span really helps us feel good mentally. Companies do this big cleaning, too, and every year the staff of J-List cleans our company from top to bottom, throwing out old junk so we can enter the new year with a clean slate.
One of the biggest trends in Japan this year has been danshari, massively decluttering the home in order to live a simpler and happier life, and my wife loves to watch TV shows about people with hoarding problems who are unable to throw old clothes away, who get help from professional de-clutterers.
They Wish Others a Happy New Year
Between Christmas and the coming of New Year’s, the end of December is a very festive time in Japan, and everyone wishes the people they know a happy crossing into the new year by saying yoi o-toshi wo, literally “have a happy new year.” After January 1st arrives, they switch to akemashite omedetou gozaimasu, literally “congratulations on opening a new year.”
They Eat Soba Noodles for Long Life
Japanese are among the longest-lived people in the world, and the reason for this is often discussed. Could it be their diet, their more slender body types, or their tendency to maintain healthy social relationships into their silver years? Or could it be because they eat soba noodles on December 31st, which are said to extend your life because the noodles are long?
Yes, that’s surely the reason.
They Watch Interesting Year End TV, Including the Kohaku Song Battle Program
You can’t end the year in Japan without watching Kohaku Uta Gassen, a “song battle” between all the top male singers who were active in that year, who try to defeat a team of the top female performers. Basically, every famous song from that year is performed, it’s a great way to keep up with trends. If you want to want to watch Kouhaku from outside Japan, check NHK’s English programming site on how to do this.
(Normally one of the top stars on the female team is singer Seiko Matsuda, though she won’t be appearing on Japan’s most famous stage this year due to the tragic death of her daughter, voice actress, and stage performer Sayaka Kanda, two weeks ago.)
They Go to a Shrine to Pray for Good Luck in the New Year
One of the most important things that Japanese people do is visit a Shinto shrine to pray for good luck in the new year after January 1st arrives, which is called hatsumoude or the first prayer of the new year. While this is usually done during the day on January 1st, some intrepid people go out into the freezing cold as soon as midnight arrives, so they can pay their respects to the Shinto gods as soon as possible. As in all things, there are “Shinto shrine otakus” who love making this pilgrimage at beautiful shrines all around Japan. When I spent New Year’s in Tokyo a couple years ago, I was able to visit Meiji Shrine with them, and it was very festive and fun.
(Note that nobody actually believes the Shinto gods are real. It’s just a fun cultural thing to do in the context of being in Japan.)
Thanks for reading this post about things Japanese people do a year end. We hope you have a safe and enjoyable crossing into 2022. Thank you for all your warm support of our company this year, and yoi o-toshi wo!
J-List’s sister company J18 Publishing has had a great year, thanks to the kind support of our great customers, and we’ve brought out more uncensored + fully translated hentai manga and doujinshi than we thought possible. See the newest work on the site now, The Hall Monitor on S.L.U.T. Duty, which we know you will love!
