mission.japan

Coming of Age

Monday, January 08, 2007

For the last sixty years, Coming of Age Day has been a national holiday in Japan. While originally celebrated on the 15th of January, several years ago it was changed to the second Monday in January (today).

The various allotment of adult rights—voting, buying alcohol, and so forth—all come at 20 years of age in Japan. So naturally turning 20 is a big deal. In Japan big deals go hand-in-hand with holidays and extravagant celebrations. Coming of Age Day (or seijin no hi in Japanese) finds those fortunate youngsters who have reached (or will reach) adulthood in the current school year at prefectural, municipal, or local festivities to commemorate the occasion.

The outfit of choice for women is an elaborate kimono. From what I understand most kimono are designed so that the help of an assistant is necessary to correctly fold, tuck, and tie the various fabrics in place. You’d think it would be fairly secure, but as it turns out it naturally loosens after several hours. Thus at large ceremonies like the Okayama prefectural ceremony yesterday, some people were hired to readjust loose kimono to their original tightness. How do I know? A little bird (that goes by the name of Chie and comes to my Monday night English class) told me—she happened to be one of the kimono-adjusters yesterday.

Comments

David Schaab wrote on January 09:

Strikethrough? Anyway, is there a signicance of 20 beyond the first year past teens? I have never understood the infatuation in the states with 21 but sure do understand relative to the teens versus young adults!

Derek Schaab wrote on January 10:

Yeah, that’s what I get for not previewing. I wanted an em dash in there, but Txp thought I wanted a strikethrough instead.

I don’t quite follow your question, so maybe if you could rephrase it for me…

David Schaab wrote on January 10:

Just curious – I remember writing a paper many years ago about age – at the time 21 was the age for voting, drinking, etc. but the military was 18. I never came across anything in society that was magical about 21 that answered why 21. Is there something in Japanese culture that explains why 20 and not 18, for example.

Derek Schaab wrote on January 11:

I don’t recall any reasons for why it’s 20 in Japan. But the fact that 20 is somehow special is reflected in the language. Normally you form an age by adding the -sai suffix to the number, like English does with “years old”. “20 years old” doesn’t follow this rule, so instead of nijuusai, it’s hatachi. So I imagine 20 has been regarded as a special age for a while, considering this particular linguistic quirk. (I could just as easily be way off base, too.)

David Schaab wrote on January 12:

Interesting – I actually wrote (this was back in my teens so watch the old-timer jokes) that 20 makes more sense than 21 because we leave the societal designation of teens. I think part of my writing, if I recall, was to be different from those advocating 18. I wrote this back in high school and just recalling pieces. You may be closer than you imagine.