All About Japanese New Year: Celebrating Shōgatsu Authentically

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Every country celebrates with their own fun traditions on New Years. In the United States, people gather in Times Square to see the ball drop, or they set off fireworks in their neighborhoods. Brazilians hit the beach dressed in white. In Denmark, people leap into the New Year by jumping off their chairs at midnight to avoid bad luck! And Japan has their own New Year’s traditions too.

The Japanese New Year is called shōgatsu or oshōgatsu. Eating delicious food, visiting shrines and temples, and watching the sun rise on the new year are all among the many traditions Japan passionately observes. If you’re hoping to ring in the New Year in Japan, be sure to sign up for a Rosetta Stone subscription so you can communicate well wishes in Japanese!

When is Japanese New Year?

The Japanese New Year follows the Gregorian calendar, like most of the world does, so shōgatsu falls on January 1st with December 31st considered New Year’s Eve. However, the festivities extend to January 3rd in Japan, so all three days are public holidays!

Together, the days are referred to as sanganichi. Japanese families gather, visit loved ones, and enjoy their days off over the entire span of the Japanese New Year holiday.

Before 1873, Japan typically celebrated the new year according to the lunar calendar, similar to the Chinese. But when they adopted the Gregorian calendar of the western hemisphere, they shifted their celebrations to January 1-3.

>> Does Japan celebrate Lunar New Year? Find out here!

How does Japan celebrate New Years?

New Years in Japan is full of events both fun and ceremonial alike. Children receive otoshidama (gifts of money in red and white envelopes) from adult family members. Colorful kites are flown in a game called takoage, and a card game called karuta is also popular. 

While the United States watches events like “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” Japan has “NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen.” Kouhaku (meaning red and white) is a song contest held on New Year’s Eve and people tune in to watch the competition as a popular New Years tradition in Japan.

Have you noticed a color theme? Red and white are important colors in Japanese culture and you will find them everywhere—especially around New Years. White is considered a sacred color, and red is thought to scare evil spirits away. Given that shōgatsu is the most important holiday in Japan, these colors feature prominently in decorations, food, and clothing.

Japanese people have several New Years traditions that you can learn about and join in if you’re traveling here over the holidays. They might be helpful to know if you have friends who invite you to a traditional celebration wherever you live, too.

Clearing out the old

Just like you might participate in annual spring cleaning, Japanese people start the new year fresh by cleaning the house over the last few days of the year. Known as ōsōji (big cleaning), the entire household comes together to deep clean the home. This particular cleaning also focuses on areas of the home that may not be regularly cleaned, like walls and windows.

Traditionally, cleaning the house at shōgatsu serves to purify the home to welcome the Shinto deity of the New Year: Toshigami. This god is said to visit homes in the New Year to bestow health and good luck for the year ahead. The front door is also decorated with shimekazari, which are decorations made of straw ropes, to welcome the deity.

Joining in hatsumode

Families make time to visit one or more of the sacred shrines or temples during the three days that celebrate a new year. You’ll hear this practice called hatsumode. Sometimes the shrines are overwhelmed with crowds on January 1st, so you might plan to go on the 2nd or 3rd. While there, be sure to buy good luck fortunes called omikuji. If the fortune isn’t good, then make sure to tie it onto a tree at the shrine to keep the bad luck from following you home!

Greeting the sunrise on New Years

Hatsuhinode (first sunrise) is exactly as the name implies: being awake just as dawn breaks on January 1st to welcome the New Year. This Japanese tradition dates back hundreds of years ago when it was customary for all Japanese people to pray to the goddess of the sun, Amaterasu, on the first day of the year.

Japanese people often greet the first sunrise at home, famous landmarks, and picturesque landscapes. Mount Takao and Mount Fuji are two popular places to celebrate the New Year sunrise, though it’s more challenging to climb them in the winter. If you’re wanting to join in, you can look at heading to Tokyo Tower, which has limited occupancy, but the views from the top on any day are breathtaking.

Ringing the Joya-no-Kane bell

On the evening of December 31st, bells ring across the entire country of Japan. The Joya-no-Kane is a ritual held at Buddhist temples where a large bell is rung 107 times on New Year’s Eve and then once at midnight to ring 108 times in total. 

This number is tied to the 108 worldly desires warned against in Buddhist teachings. By ringing the bell for each one, it’s believed that people are cleansed from the problems of the previous year to start anew.

Todaiji Temple in Nara and Chion’in in Kyoto are famous locations to watch Joya-no-Kane due to the sheer size of the bells used. The bell at Chion’in weighs over 70 tons and takes 17 monks working together to ring! Visiting these to join in New Year’s traditions in Japan will leave you with resounding memories.

Visiting the Imperial Palace

Did you know Japan has a royal family? They reside in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, and on New Year’s Eve, the grounds of the Imperial Palace are partially opened to the public. The emperor and other members of the imperial family will make appearances throughout the day, too.

If you attend, you can sign the greeting book available outside the Imperial Household Agency building. Be aware that you will have to go through security and cameras aren’t allowed, but the experience is truly unique and a memorable thing to do in Japan at New Years. You’ll want to make sure you’re well versed on Japanese honorifics before you go!

Japanese New Year food to try

What is a holiday without traditional food to go with it? Food plays a special role in the Japanese New Year, each dish packed with flavor and symbolism. Traditional Japanese food is an experience on its own, but at New Years, you’ll find even more meaning behind what you eat.

Toshikoshi soba

The majority of Japanese people eat soba (noodles made of buckwheat) on New Year’s Eve. The importance of the noodles being soba is more important than how they are prepared, but this hearty dish can be served warm or cold. 

The Japanese culture associates many traits and beliefs to certain foods, and soba is no exception. Buckwheat is a hardy plant, which promotes resilience. Noodles are generally long, and are therefore a symbol of longevity. They break easily when you bite them, just as the troubles of the past are broken off as the new year begins.

Mochi soup (ozōni)

While preparation varies by region, all ozōni consists of soup and mochi (rice cake). The Kanto region (Tokyo area) favors a clear miso soup flavored with a bonito-based stock. The Kansai region (Kyoto area) prefers a white miso soup and a konbu-based stock. Optional toppings for this traditional Japanese New Year food range from leafy vegetables to mushrooms to seafood. 

Eating ozōni can be something of a challenge for the uninitiated due to the warmth of the soup which makes the already-sticky mochi even more stretchy. If you have the chance to try it yourself, make sure to take small bites.

Mochi has long been a staple of New Year celebrations. Kagamimochi (mirror rice cakes) can be seen in New Year’s displays across the country. Watching the process of making mochi (mochitsuki, or “mochi-pounding”) is a time-honored New Year’s tradition that you’ll really enjoy.

Osechi

Osechi ryōri is the centerpiece of the New Year’s culinary traditions. It refers to all New Year foods, including the two above, but the term particularly calls to mind the food in beautifully arranged bentō boxes. You’ll see a wide variety of foods divied up in small portions within a two- or three-tiered lacquered bentō box. Each dish has its own symbolic meaning, and the red and white theme comes back in many of them.

Popular main dishes include:

• Pickled carrots and daikon (kōhaku namasu)
• Simmered vegetables (nishime)
• Sweet rolled omelet (datemaki)
• Konbu rolls (konbumaki)
• Candied chestnut and sweet potato mash (kuri kinton)
• Red and white fish cakes (kōhaku kamaboko)
• Pounded burdock root (tataki gobō)
• Candied sardines (tazukuri)
• Herring roe (kazunoko)
• Black soybeans (kuromame)

How do you say ‘Happy New Year’ in Japanese?

The expression you use depends on which day you are wishing another person a happy New Year. This is because the terms hold different cultural meanings before and after the New Year holiday. 

If you are expressing your well wishes in the last days of the year, use these statements for how to say Happy New Year in Japanese. 

These could be used when greeting neighbors or coworkers, especially at a bōnenkai (forget the year party). The first phrase in particular is important, as it expresses gratitude for your relationship with the other person. It sounds strange to the ears of a native English speaker, but it’s an important cultural sentiment you’ll want to get right.

Once the new year begins, the phrases change.

If you only remember one expression for the new year, take note of the first one! It is the most versatile and acceptable for whomever you are talking to. The third expression is a reflection of the first expression in the previous table: you are hoping your relationship will continue to be good.In other contexts, you may see oshōgatsu instead of shōgatsu.

They have the same meaning, but the difference is a matter of politeness. The prefix “o-” denotes a level of respect to the word and makes the speaker sound slightly more formal. For example, in restaurants, this is sometimes added to the word sushi to make osushi. Both are acceptable, but lean toward oshōgatsu if you are trying to be extra polite.

>> Learn more about the Japanese alphabets!

Explore Japan with Rosetta Stone

Ready to celebrate the New Year? From enjoying hatsuhinode (first sunrise) to feasting on osechi, there are so many traditions to look forward to on Japanese New Year—one of many Japanese holidays worth getting to know. And while you plan to join in the festivities, don’t forget that the Rosetta Stone app is the perfect way to learn Japanese quickly! You’ll start with the alphabet and writing systems, and quickly progress to have great pronunciation of basic words and phrases!