Hundreds of locals took part in a mud festival at Mimusubi Shrine in Yotsukaido, near Tokyo, on Feb 25, to pray for good harvest and good health for babies.
Chinese New Year started on Feb 7 this year (normally celebrated for 15-days), and people from all over the world, not just Chinese, are celebrating the festival…
Seijin no Hi (成人の日; Coming-of-Age Day) is a national holiday in Japan, which falls on the second Monday in January each year (Jan 14 in 2008). The holiday is for young Japanese who reached the legal age of adulthood (20) to celebrate their new status.
A Coming-of-Age ceremony (成人式; Seijin shiki) is normally held in the morning at local city offices where politicians and academicians will give speeches reminding the new adults of their social responsibilities.
The young adults would often visit a shrine after the ceremony to make their wishes before started partying (with plenty of drinks I guess).
Ladies coming-of-age are often seen wearing furisode (a style of kimono) on the day, which makes it a special day for otaku photographers as well…
Family photos of the Japanese Imperial Family, released in conjunction with New Year celebration by the Imperial Household Agency.
Not the usual sexy poll dance though; Japanese fire fighters wearing traditional costumes displayed display their balancing skills atop bamboo poles during an annual New Year demonstration in Tokyo on Jan 6…
Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) female workers were dressed up in Kimono in a ceremony to kick start their first trading day in 2008 on Jan 4.
The traditional Japanese costume didn’t bring much luck though, as the Nikkei 225 index was down 616.37 points on closing… their lowest in one and a half years.
For the first time in the 400 year history of the (Japanese) Geisha, a Westerner has been accepted, and on December 19, made her formal debut under the name Sayuki.
Geisha (芸者) are traditional female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.
Chinese workers have made a huge drum, decorated with 480 lanterns in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China. The drum measures 6 metres in length and 4.8 metres in diameter, with Chinese word rat (鼠) embedded at the surface on both sides of the drum to celebrate the coming new year.
Chinese calendar is represented with 12 zodiac animals for every 12-year cycle in specific sequence – rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. Next year will be the year of rat (begins on Feb 7 on Chinese New Year to be precise).
In Chinese astrology, the 12 zodiac animals represent different character and luck for a person depending on his/her birth date and time. The months and hours of Chinese calendar are also categorized by the same group of animals in particular orders, but some formal terms would normally be used instead of the zodiac animals when referring to months or hours.
