Japanese Wedding

Japanese Customs and Important Programs

(1) Customs

Japan is known as a "land of manners," and it is the custom of the Japanese people to pay close attention to etiquette. People always bow to each other and say "hello", "goodbye", "please take care of me", and so on.

Japanese people attach great importance to exchanging business cards when they meet for the first time. If you don't bring a business card with you when you first meet, you will not only be rude, but the other person will think you are not a good person to talk to. When exchanging business cards, bow first, and use both hands to receive the card. After receiving the other party's business card, you should read it carefully to see the other party's identity, position, and company, and nod your head to show that you know the other party's identity well. Japanese people believe that a business card is a representative of a person and treat it as if it were their own. It is considered rude to accept a business card and then put it in your pocket without reading it. If you are going to a business negotiation meeting, you have to hand your business card to everyone in the room and accept them without leaving anyone out, and although this takes a lot of time, it is a way of showing mutual friendship and respect.

When you go to a Japanese house as a guest, you have to make an appointment with the host in advance, and ring the bell to announce your name before you enter the house. If the home is not installed doorbell, never knock, but open the door on the sliding door, ask a: "Excuse me, inside someone?" Upon entering the house, you should take the initiative to undress and remove your hat and scarf (but even if it is hot, you should not wear a bare undershirt or go barefoot, as this is rude behavior), put on spare slippers, and give the host the gifts you have brought with you. When you are seated in a house, it is polite to sit with your back to the door, and you may only move to a place of honor if your host persuades you to do so (a place of honor is a seat in front of a niche with various works of art and decorations, which is reserved for distinguished guests). It is not customary for Japanese to allow guests to visit their homes, so do not make requests to look around. It is especially taboo in Japan for men to intrude into the kitchen. You must also ask your host for permission to use the restroom. When eating, if you are not sure how to eat a certain meal, ask your host for advice, and drop your own chopsticks over your head to use them when you are holding a dish. When saying goodbye, ask the guest to make the first offer and thank the host. When returning to one's residence one should call the other person to tell him/her that he/she has returned safely and to thank him/her again. When you meet your host again after some time, still do not forget to express your gratitude.

When the Japanese host a banquet to toast, they often place a bowl filled with water in the center of the table and a clean white cloth in front of each person. Before pouring the wine, the host will be in the water first in their own wine cups shabu-shabu, cups face down in the gauze press a press, so that the water beads by the gauze to absorb dry, and then full of wine hands to the guests. After the guest has finished drinking, he does the same to show the friendship and closeness between the host and the guest. This is the traditional way of toasting.

Japanese people are expected to bring gifts when visiting friends and relatives or attending banquets, and a family spends 7.5% of its monthly income on gifts. When you go to a Japanese home, you must bring a gift with you. Japanese people believe that sending a gift, than to say a "thank you" is much more meaningful, because it will be grateful to the actual action to express. To the Japanese people to give gifts to master the "value of the inch", the gift should not be too heavy, nor too light. If it is too heavy, he will think that you are asking for him, thus inferring that your goods or services are not good; if it is too light, he will think that you are belittling him. When you go to a Japanese family for a general visit, it is more appropriate to bring some packaged food, but do not give flowers, because some flowers are used when people are courting or when they are having a funeral. Japanese people pay attention to the decoration of gifts, gifts to be wrapped on several layers, and then tied with a beautiful ribbon or paper rope. The Japanese believe that the knot in the rope has a human soul and signifies the sincerity of the giver. The person who receives the gift is usually expected to return it. The Japanese do not open gifts in front of their guests, mainly to avoid embarrassing them by making them uncomfortable. The Japanese do not mind if gifts that they cannot use themselves can be passed on to others. Japanese people generally do not use an even number of gifts, this is because the even number of "four" in the Japanese language and the death of the same sound, in order to avoid bad luck, many occasions do not use "four", over time, simply do not send two, four, six and other even. Instead, they prefer single numbers, especially three, five and seven. But "nine" should also be avoided because it is pronounced the same way as bitter in Japanese.

There are many traditional gift-giving seasons in Japan, and the value and type of gift varies from one season to the next. The year-end is the largest gift-giving season, with food being the mainstay of gifts for the Nakazono and the year-end, and for other holidays, the proportion of non-food items is quite high. When it comes to gift-giving, it is often a good time to promote certain products. Examples of gift values and types of gifts for each gift-giving season are as follows:

(l) Midwinter Festival (July 15th). The value of gifts ranges from 3,000 to 10,000 yen, with an average of 5,120 yen, and the types of gifts include sweets, alcohol, dairy products, cooking oil, coffee, tea, shirts, scarves, and gift certificates.

(2) Year-end. Gifts are valued at 5,000 to 10,000 yen, with an average of 5,520 yen. They include food, alcohol, tea, coffee, cooking oil, shirts, wool blankets, etc.

(3) Marriage. Gifts are valued at 20,000 to 100,000 yen (if you are invited to the wedding) or 3,000 to 10,000 yen (if you do not attend the wedding). Types of gifts include electric kettles, toasters, microwave ovens, slippers, pajamas, and handbags.

(4) Adulthood (20 years old).

Gifts worth l to 20,000 yen. Types include belts, cufflinks. Tie clips, cosmetics, clothes and accessories, purses, shoes, etc.

(5) Valentine's Day. Gifts worth 400 to 1,000 yen. Types include candies and cookies, and women give men chocolates.

(6) Mother's Day. Gifts worth 3,000 to 5,000 yen. Types include cosmetics, flowers, and clothes.

(7) Father's Day. Gifts worth 5,000 to 10,000 yen. Types include clothes, accessories such as ties, lapel pins, socks, and lighters.

(8) Christmas Day. Gifts worth 5,000 to 20,000 yen. Types include toys, clothing accessories, amusement instruments, precious metals, sporting goods, laser records, etc.

(2) Important Holidays

There are 14 national holidays*** in Japan, and five other important holidays, which are outlined as follows:

New Year's Day: January 1st. According to Japanese custom, before New Year's Eve to clean up, and in front of the door to hang grass rope, inserted tangerines (called "note even rope"), in front of the door of the pine, bamboo, plum (called "door pine", now replaced by a picture), in the name of good luck. In the evening of New Year's Eve, the whole family gathers to eat New Year's noodles, and in the middle of the night, they listen to the "New Year's Eve bells" to observe the New Year's Eve. On the morning of New Year's Day, they eat New Year's cake soup (known as "mizutaki").

Adults' Day: January 15th. On this day, young men and women who have reached the age of 20 dress in festive attire and participate in coming-of-age ceremonies and celebrations organized by all levels of government.

Foundation Day: February 11th. According to Japanese mythology, Emperor Shinmu unified Japan on February 11, 660 B.C., and established the nation of Japan.

Girls' Day

The festival is called "Hina Matsuri" or "Peach Blossom Festival" in Japan. On March 3 every year, parents celebrate the festival for girls by dressing them in brightly colored kimonos, placing dolls in their homes, wishing them good luck and happiness, and taking them to visit relatives and go out to play. In the Kansai region, there is also the custom of "Ryuhyo," in which "small dolls" are placed in a river and allowed to flow downstream to wash away bad luck.

Spring Equinox: March 21st. It is a day when the emperor worships his ancestors and the common people worship their ancestors.

Arbor Day: April 29th.

Constitution Memorial Day: May 3rd. Commemorates the implementation of the May 3, 1947 Constitution of the State of Japan.

National Day: May 4th.

Boys' Day (also known as "Children's Day" and "Dragon Boat Festival"): May 5th. On this day, a large carp made of cloth (called a "carp banner") is hung in front of the house of a family with a son. In Japan, the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on May 5 of the solar calendar. The Dragon Boat Festival and the Boys' Day on the same day, so on this day, every family also put calamus leaves on the door, hanging Zhong Kui to drive away the ghosts in the house, and eating cakes (called "Kashiwa cake") or dumplings.

Bon Festival

7th century from China to Japan, 675 Qi Ming Emperor enshrines the parents, began to become a court festival activities, after the popularity of folk, similar to the Chinese lunar July 15 Ghost Festival. Japan was originally held on July 15 of the lunar calendar every year, and then changed to July 15 of the solar calendar, praying for the souls of friends and relatives, offerings to ancestors, graves and tombs, and sometimes held a "Bon-odori" and other commemorative activities. This is one of the major folk festivals that have become more popular in Japan, and it is now a festival for city dwellers to return to their hometowns to meet with friends and relatives.

Nakamoto Festival

Also celebrated on July 15, this festival used to be dedicated to the gods of agriculture and the earth, but it is now combined with the Bon Festival to become a day of offering sacrifices to one's ancestors. At this time, gifts are given to relatives, friends, elders, and benefactors, and it has even grown to the point where units and individuals give gifts to each other. These gifts are called "Jungwon" and have become a new form of ritual.

The Festival of Respect for the Elderly: September 15th. The festival is celebrated in cities, towns and villages, and souvenirs are given to the elderly.

Autumn Equinox: September 23rd. It is the day when the Emperor pays homage to his ancestors in the fall.

Sports Festival: October 10th. Commemorates the opening of the 18th International Olympic Games in 1964 in Tokyo, Japan.

Cultural Festival: November 3. On this day, those who have made outstanding contributions to culture are honored with the Order of Culture.

Seventy-five-three

It is a customary festival on November 15 every year when Japanese society and families celebrate the birthdays of children aged 7, 5 and 3 years old. It began in the Heian period, when noble families held congratulatory ceremonies for 5-year-old boys. In the Kamakura and Muromachi eras, the festival developed into a kimono-wearing ceremony for 2- and 3-year-old boys by ministers. After the middle of the Edo period, the present custom developed. On this day, the parents bless the boys and girls, wishing the gods for their healthy growth, dress them in beautiful kimonos, take them to the shrine, and register them to receive a Shiso (clan) card to indicate that they can begin to participate in some social activities.

The Day of Thanksgiving for Diligence: November 23rd.

Emperor's Birthday: December 23rd. Emperor Akihito was born on December 23, 1933, and assumed the throne on January 7, 1989, with the yearly name "Heisei".

If you are traveling to Japan on business, the times of year to avoid are from mid-December to mid-January (the end of the year for New Year's celebrations), from April 29 to May 5 (Golden Week, when Japanese people generally travel and many stores are closed), and from July to August (when businessmen go on vacation).

Christmas

It is not a traditional Japanese folk holiday, but after World War II, it became increasingly popular in Japan, especially in the cities, and has become a custom in modern Japan.