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In Japan, communities go all out for the Japanese New Year celebrations—especially when it comes to decorations. New Year’s decorations in Japan are unique because they have both cultural and religious significance that date back hundreds of years. No matter where you are in the world, welcoming shōgatsu (正月, Japanese New Year) traditions to your home for the New Year brings a little bit of their culture to you.
Learning the Japanese language alongside Japanese culture can help you foster even more appreciation for these New Year traditions. Rosetta Stone offers lessons, learning tools, and more to help you explore Japan through language. Part of that journey can include making your own Japanese New Year decorations to bring a little luck!
Popular Japanese New Years decorations you can make at home
Out of all the Japanese holidays, shōgatsu is the most important holiday. People all around the world greet the new year together, but in Japan, it is also intrinsically tied to Shinto, which is the Japanese indigenous religion. On this day, Japanese people welcome the Shinto deity of the New Year, toshigami (年神, year god).
Japanese New Year decorations primarily have their roots in Shinto traditions. The majority of Japanese people consider themselves to not be religious or adherents to any particular faith, but Shintoism and Buddhism have had such a profound impact on Japan’s historical traditions that they are practically synonymous with its culture.
There are three decorations most commonly found in Japan around New Year’s: kadomatsu, kagami-mochi, and shime-kazari.
>> Find out how to treat Japanese traditions with respect. Learn more about being polite in Japan.
Kadomatsu (門松)
As the name implies, kadomatsu (門松, gate pine) are arrangements of pine and bamboo placed outside of doorways. You can spot them hanging or sitting outside people’s homes and businesses. This decoration is intended as a place to stay for toshigami during the New Year period to bring good fortune to those living in the home or working at that business.
Kadomatsu are made of three components: pine, bamboo, and plum blossoms. Each component has a connection to resilience and the ability to endure hardship and are seen as a sign of good fortune for the New Year.
Pine is a symbol of courage and longevity in Japan, just as pine trees are strong in many environmental conditions. Bamboo is another sturdy plant, making it a symbol of strength and prosperity. Plum blossoms bloom in the cold months of early spring, showing the ability to prosper despite harsh conditions. You could make your own arrangement and bring a little good luck to your coming new year, too!
Kagami-mochi (鏡餅)
Kagami-mochi (鏡餅, mirror rice cake) is a three-tier stack made of two large round mochi with a Japanese orange called a daidai (橙) resting on top. The name daidai is a homophone with the word for “over generations” (written with the characters 代々), and is a symbol of well wishes for generations to come.
Historically, Japanese mirrors are round and have been used in Shinto ceremonies for centuries. The mirror has many meanings, including showing a reflection of our inner selves. In Japanese mythology, the sun goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami was encouraged to come out of the cave she was hiding in by placing a mirror on the ground outside. When she emerged, she brought the light of the sun back to the world. For kagami-mochi specifically, the mirror represents new light for the New Year.
Making your own kagami-mochi at home is easy! You can make your own mochi from scratch or purchase pre-made ones from a local Asian food market.
- Set down two square sheets of paper.
- Place two perfectly round mochi cakes on top of each other, with the bottom one larger than the top one. It’s just like building a snowman!
- Finally, put a daidai on top (it should be smaller than the upper mochi). If you can’t get a daidai, a mandarin orange will work just as well.
- Display the completed kagami-mochi in the living room, kitchen, or main entrance of the home.
Once the New Year celebrations have passed, you can finally eat it as a dessert or in a soup.
Shime-kazari (しめ飾り)
A shime-kazari (しめ飾り or 注連飾り, sacred straw decoration) is a wreath-like adornment put above the door to the entrance of a building (such as a home or business). Depending on the region, details of its arrangement vary slightly, but the most important components are the shimenawa (注連縄, sacred straw rope), pine, and daidai.
A shimenawa is a symbol found in many sacred Shinto sites. They are used for purification purposes like ceremonies or worship. They can be small, such as the ones used in shime-kazari, or massive, such as the one found at the Izumo-taisha shrine in Shimane prefecture. It’s over 40 feet long and weighs about 4.5 tons!
To make your own shime-kazari, you will need the three objects above at a minimum. Once you have them, though, the construction is straightforward. You can either tie the pine sprigs and daidai to the shime-kazari with cords or string, or even use a hot glue gun.
Other symbolic items and good luck charms you can add include:
- Pinecones
- Shide (紙垂 or 四手), which are traditional folded streams of paper used in Shinto
- Paper cranes, which are symbols of good fortune and healing
- Seasonal flowers, such as plum blossoms (ume or 梅)
When does Japan begin decorating for New Years?
Traditionally, Japan begins decorating for New Year’s on December 13th, but this is fairly flexible. This is called matsu-mukae (松迎え, greeting the pine). You will notice this refers to the same kind of pine in kadomatsu, which uses real pine wood.
Christmas decorations can also be found everywhere in the country up to December 25th, though largely in a secular fashion to commemorate the holiday season. It is also acceptable for New Year’s decorations to go up right after Christmas, when the Christmas decorations are put away for the year. This option leaves only a few days before the New Year to decorate for shōgatsu.
If a person decides to wait until after Christmas to start setting up the kadomatsu and putting the shime-kazari in front of the door, it is best to do so between the 26th and 28th to avoid days associated with bad superstitions. Putting decorations up on the 29th is considered to be bad luck because the world for 29 (二十九, or ni-jū-kyū) sounds eerily similar to the term ni-jū-ku (二重苦), which roughly translates to “double pain” or “double suffering.” Anyone would agree that it’s best to avoid suffering over the New Year!
As the last day of the old year is just hours away from the dawn of the new year, it’s also not wise to put up your New Year’s decorations. It can be perceived as rude to the god of the New Year, as they would have very little time to settle in before the celebrations begin. Ichiya-kazari (一夜飾り, one-night decoration) is to be avoided for its insincerity.
>> Start a conversation on New Year’s! Pick up basic Japanese conversational phrases here.
When and how to take down Japanese New Year’s decorations
Decorations are taken down when toshigami (new year god) moves on around January 15th. Rather than putting away the decorations in the closet to be used the next year, the decorations are burned in bonfires. Since the decorations acted as dwellings for toshigami, it is traditionally seen as disrespectful to reuse them.
This tradition of getting rid of Japanese New Years decorations has many names, with the most common one being dondo-yaki (どんど焼き). One explanation for the name is its similarity to don-don (どんどん) which means “steadily,” just as the flames “steadily” burn the New Year’s decorations into ashes.
For dondo-yaki, pyres made of bamboo and straw are built in open areas, such as a rice field or an empty lot. Anyone is welcome to bring their New Year’s decorations to throw into the flames. Burning them is said to bring good luck for the year, so definitely join in if you’re nearby.
Instead of marshmallows, mochi is put on sticks and roasted over the flames. When a mochi is touched by the fire from a dondo-yaki pyre, tradition says it brings good health. Traditions vary across regions of Japan, but the same sense of community at the beginning of a new year is felt everywhere.
Prepare for Japanese New Year with Rosetta Stone
Ready to take the next step? Learn more about holidays in Japan and other aspects of Japanese culture by learning the Japanese language. Through our Dynamic Immersion method, Rosetta Stone will have you speaking Japanese from your first lesson. You can practice what you learn as you and your friends and family make some fun Japanese New Year decorations! Who knows, maybe those shōgatsu decorations will bring you extra luck this coming year!