化粧まわし – Keshō Mawashi
A mawashi is like a loincloth or woven cloth belt that sumo wrestlers wear when they wrestle. A keshō mawashi has a …
大相撲 – Grand Sumo Tournament
The Japan Sumo Association holds tournaments every other month and each tournament lasts for 15 days. Each sumo wrestler must fight a …
神社の池 – Shrine Pond
If you go to a Shinto shrine, there may be a bridge over a pond or a stream. It is said that …
初詣 – Hatsumōde
Hatsumōde is your first visit to a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine in the New Year. You generally wish for health and …
平成 – Heisei Era
In Japan besides the Western Calendar (西暦) we often use Japanese imperial year (和暦). Currently the imperial year is Heisei (平成) 31 …
菱餅 – Hishi Mochi
For hina-matsuri we display beautiful dolls and offer food and drink. Normally the drink is shirozake or Japanese white wine, and the …
節分 – Setsubun
Setsubun literally means “dividing season” and it is the day before a new season starts based on the traditional East Asian lunisolar …
千羽鶴 – Senbazuru
Senbazuru literally means 1000 orizuru, but it does not have to be exactly 1000. It just means to make many of them as …
勤労感謝の日 – Labor Thanksgiving Day
This is the first time that I will talk about “勤労感謝の日” or “Labor Thanksgiving Day”. This day, November 23rd, is a national …
折鶴 – Orizuru
Crane is not the national bird of Japan, but it is often shown as an image of Japan together with cherry blossoms …