春着【はるぎ】 harugi spring clothes
- 正月小袖【しょうがつこそで】 shōgatsu kosode New Year's short sleeves [that is, short kimono sleeves]
- 春襲【はるがさね】 harugasane spring clothing [implies layers]
- 春衣装【はるいしょう】 haru ishō spring clothes
生活【せいかつ】 seikatsu Daily Life
喰積【くいつみ】 kuitsumi （くひつみ）, stacked food / assembled food [for New Year's meals]
- 重詰【じゅうづめ】 jūzume food in stacked lacquered boxes
- 組重【くみじょう】 kumijō assembled (food) boxes [filled lacquered-box set]
- 食継【くいつぎ】 kuitsugi assembled food
- お手掛け【おてかけ】 otekake something to hold [polite formula when offering food; the food offered]
年酒【ねんしゅ】 nenshu New Year's saké
- としざけ toshizake New Year's saké
- 屠蘇【とそ】 toso mulled saké
雑煮祝ふ【ぞうにいわう】 zōni iwau （ざうにいはふ）, (to) celebrate with zōni
- 雑煮【ぞうに】 zōni zōni [a New Year's dish: a clear vegetable broth with rice cakes]
- 羮を祝ふ【かんをいわう】 kan o iwau (to) celebrate with hot soup
- 雑煮餅【ぞうにもち】 zōni mochi mochi made for zōni soup
This is a soup with traditional mochi (餅 [もち])
that is a celebratory dish for the first three days of the New Year.
Some homes observe rules about the mochi soup, such as not eating it
after the 7th, when people traditionally celebrate with a risotto-style
rice soup (七日粥 [なのかがゆ],
nanoka gayu). These rules vary from home to home. The tradition of
celebrating with this zōni soup must derive from the old days
when people took down the offerings to the gods made on New Year's
Eve and made soup out of them. Joyfully welcoming the New Year, the whole
family celebrates the health and safety of its members. The recipes for the
soup itself vary by region. In the eastern part of Japan, the mochi
is served in clear soup; in the western part of Japan, the mochi is in
white miso soup. The other ingredients in the soup are diverse. Although
the recipes differ according to the regions, special regional
characteristics are starting to disappear.
The hokuriku region in northern Japan is known for its devoutly
religious character. Many houses have magnificent prayer rooms. The
zōni soup recipe with fragrant seaweed is also something
characteristic of the noto region. The smell pervades even the
prayer room, bringing in the celebratory New Year's mood. This
poem is heavily spiced with regionalism.
長病の今年も参る雑煮かな
正岡子規
nagayami no kotoshi mo mairu zōni kana
long sickness--
has it come this year again,
the zōni
Masaoka Shiki
何の菜のつぼみなるらむ雑煮汁
室生犀星
nani no na no tsubomi naruran zōni jiru
from what leaf
could this bud be
in my zōni soup
Muroo Saisei
子ら遠くふたりに雑煮余りけり
吉沢卯一
ko ra tōku futari ni zōni amarikeri
the children are far
for the two (of us)
the left-over zōni soup
Yoshizawa Uichi
仏間まで岩海苔匂ふ能登雑煮
杉山郁夫
butsuma made iwanori niū noto zōni
even into the prayer room
the seaweed smell wafts
from the Noto-style zōni soup
Sugiyama Ikuo
門松【かどまつ】 kadomatsu (New Year's) gate pine(s) [decorations placed on either side of gate, outer doorway, etc.]
- 松飾り【まつかざり】 matsu kazari pine decoration(s)
- 飾り松【かざりまつ】 kazari matsu decorative pine(s)
- 飾り竹【かざりたけ】 kazari take decorative bamboo
- 門の松【かどのまつ】 kado no matsu gate pine(s)
This refers to a pair of pine decorations placed on either side
of the doorway or the gate, on New Year's Day. Seeing these "gate pines"
(門松 [かどまつ] kadomatsu)
or bamboo decorations at the end of the year heightens the mood for
welcoming the New Year. Traditionally, the decorations were put up on
December 13th when people brought trees from the mountains and celebrated
the"welcoming of the pines"(お松迎え[おまつむかえ], matsu mukae).
The time for the "putting away of the pines" (松納め[まつおさめ], matsu osame)
varies from region to region. In eastern Japan, it is usually the evening
of January 6th, while it is the evening of January 14th in western Japan.
On New Year's Day, people welcome the Gods of the Year, and the decorations
are supposed to mark the site for this arrival of the Gods. There are
many variations to the decorations. Some regions do not limit the
decorations to pines, but use other trees such as oak, camelia,
magnolia, chestnut, sakaki, anise, and chinquapin. Elsewhere the
decorations are complemented with bamboo, and some regions use mainly bamboo.
There are no kadomatsu decorations at the Imperial Palace. Some old
families also do not have kadomatsu decoration following an
ancestral tradition and it is not rare to find regions or
religious sects that do not have kadomatsu decorations.
New Year's Day brings feelings of joy for the new days to come, and
also invokes the ideas of recurrence and the past. Visiting the town
where he was born, the poet experiences a wonderful reconstruction of
the past by looking at the town decorated with kadomatsu. There is
the feeling of something being passed from the father to the child,
without a word.
門松やおもへば一夜三十年
芭蕉
kadomatsu ya omoeba ichiya sanjūnen
oh the kadomatsu decoration
how the thoughts
make one night, thirty years
Bashō
松立てて空ほのぼのと明る門
夏目漱石
matsu tatete sora honobono to akuru kado
putting up the pines,
dawn sky breaks,
at the gates
Natsume Sōseki
門松もなく学生の寮並ぶ
大島民郎
kadomatsu mo naku gakusei no ryō narabu
not even a single kadomatsu,
the students'
dormitory buildings stand in row
Ōshima Tamirō
門松や吾生れし街に子と来たり
小浜光吉
kadomatsu ya waga areshi machi ni ko to kitari
oh the kadomatsu,
I am here where I was born
Now with my child
Kohama Mitsuyoshi
飾【かざり】 kazari (New Year's) decoration
- お飾【おかざり】 （御飾り）okazari, New Year's decoration
- 輪飾【わかざり】 wakazari straw wreath [for New Year's]
鏡餅【かがみもち】 kagami-mochi mirror rice cake(s) [large rice-cakes used as a New Year's offering]
- 御鏡【おかがみ】 okagami august/revered mirror (rice cake[s])
- 具足餅【ぐそくもち】 gusoku mochi armor-plate rice cake(s)
- 鎧餅【よろいもち】 yoroi mochi armor rice cake(s) [these last two are fancy names for mirror rice cake(s)]
初暦【はつごよみ】 hatsugoyomi new calendar [literally "first (use of the new) calendar"]
- 暦開【こよみびらき】 koyomibiraki opening the (new) calendar
初夢【はつゆめ】 hatsu-yume first dream
- 貘枕【ばくまくら】 baku-makura tapir pillow [that is, a pillow with a picture of a tapir under it]
- 初寝覚【はつねざめ】 hatsu-nezame first awakening
年賀【ねんが】 nenga New Year's greetings
- 年始【ねんし】 nenshi New Year's call / New Year's greetings
- 年礼【ねんれい】 nenrei New Year's greetings
- 門礼【かどれい】 kadorei (New Year's) greetings at the gate
- 回礼【かいれい】 kairei greetings-round [making New Year's courtesy calls]
- 賀詞【がし】 gashi (New Year's) congratulations / greetings
賀状【がじょう】 gajō （がじやう）, (New Year's) greeting card
- 年賀状【ねんがじょう】 nengajō New Year's greeting card
- 年始状【ねんしじょう】 nenshijō New Year's card
- 年賀葉書【ねんがはがき】 nenga hagaki New Year's postcard
年玉【としだま】 toshidama New Year's present/gift [usually money]
- お年玉【おとしだま】 （御年玉）otoshidama, New Year's gift [recipient's viewpoint]
- 年の餅【としのもち】 toshi no mochi New Year's rice cake [often a gift]
書初【かきぞめ】 kakizome first calligraphy [of the New Year]
- 筆始【ふではじめ】 fude hajime first (use of the) writing-brush [in the New Year]
- 試筆【しひつ】 shihitsu trying the brush [for the first time in the New Year]
- 吉書【きっしょ】 kissho lucky writing [that is, the first writing of the New Year]
歌留多【かるた】 karuta playing cards [in haikai, always indicates the waka-based card-game traditionally played at the New Year]
- 歌留多会【かるたかい】 karutakai card party [in haikai, part of New Year's festivities]
- 歌かるた【うたかるた】 uta karuta waka playing cards
- いろは歌留多【いろはがるた】 irohagaruta i-ro-ha playing cards [based on Japanese syllabary; equivalent to "a-b-c cards"]
正月の凧【しょうがつのたこ】 shōgatsu no tako （しやうぐわつのたこ）, New Year's kite
- 凧揚【たこあげ】 takoage kite flying
- 紙鳶【しえん】 shien paper black kite [an unfortunate pun in English; this "black kite" is the bird, Milvus migrans, Japanese 鳶【とび】 tobi]
- いかのぼり（凧） ikanobori kite
追羽子【おいばね】 oibane （おひばね）, battledore and shuttlecock
- 遣羽子【やりばね】 yaribane battledore and shuttlecock
- 羽子つく【はねつく】 hane tsuku (to) play battledore and shuttlecock
- 揚羽子【あげばね】 agebane battledore and shuttlecock
手毬【てまり】 temari hand ball [not to be confused with Western handball]
- 手鞠【てまり】 temari hand ball
- 手毬唄【てまりうた】 temariuta hand-ball song
- 手毬子【たまりご】 temarigo hand-ball girl [that is, one playing with a hand ball]
- 手毬つく【てまりつく】 temari tsuku (to) play with a hand ball
独楽【こま】 koma toy top
破魔弓【はまゆみ】 hamayumi demon-quelling bow / exorcism bow
- 破魔矢【はまや】 hamaya demon-quelling arrow / exorcism arrow [purchased at shrine during 初詣【はつもうで】 hatsumōde]
獅子舞【ししまい】 shishimai （ししまひ）, lion dance
- 太神楽【だいかぐら】 daikagura Great Kagura [Shinto music and dancing for the New Year]
- 竈祓【かまどはらい】 kamadoharai hearth-cleaning
- 獅子頭【ししがしら】 shishigashira lion's head [worn in the lion dance]
On New Year's Day, there is a tradition in which a person
wearing a lion-head costume (獅子頭[ししがしら],
shishi gashira) dances alongside a procession complete with lutes
and drums, and pays visits from one home to another. This is one form of
performance associated with blessing and comic stage dialogue (万歳 [まんざい], manzai).
Homes used to welcome the lion, the mighty spiritual beast that is also
God come from afar. The lion's dance steps are supposed to exorcise
epidemics and disaster, bringing happiness for the year. The dance steps
are also meant to prevent fire hazards, so the performance is called
a "hearth-cleaning"(竈祓[かまどはらい] kamadoharai),
as well as "Great Kagura"(太神楽[だいかぐら] daikagura),
because entertainers went around exorcizing
(this name has no relationship to the "Great Kagura" in Ise Jingū).
The lacquered lion head is attached to an arabesque-patterned cloth, and is
usually manipulated either by one person (一人立 [ひとりだち],
hitori dachi) or two people (二人立ち [ふたりだち] futari dachi).
(When two people manipulate the lion head, one person operates the head and
forelegs, while the other operates the hindlegs). In a more full-scale
performance, there may be a pair consisting of a female lion
(雌獅子[めじし]
mejishi), and a male lion (雄獅子 [おじし] ojishi);
there may also be seven or eight lions, their costumes more elaborate and
dances more complex. The lions pretend to bite off children's
heads, in order to drive out evil spirits. In places like Tokyo, the
New Year's lions are often acted out by officials of the town, like
the firemen, so the ritual has become less prominent. Yet it excites
so much of the special New Year's mood, that its decline in popularity
is regrettable.
The poem depicts a string of action in the lion dance. The raging
lion, that once moved crazily to the violent sounds of lute and drums,
now calmly goes to sleep as the music changes to the single melancholic
note of the lute. The poet is mesmerized by the performance that makes
the lion seem alive, manipulated by the mysterious power of the music.
獅子舞の橋に行き会ふきらびやか
久米 三汀
shishimai no hashi ni yuki au kirabiyaka
the lion dance
performed at the bridge
how dazzling a sight
Kume Santei
獅子舞は入日の富士に手をかざす
水原秋桜子
shishimai wa irihi no fuji ni te o kazasu
the lion dance--
the sun setting at the Fuji Mountain
--is like raising a hand
Mizuhara Shūōshi
しばらくの畦をかつぎぬ獅子頭
米沢吾亦紅
shibaraku no aze o katsuginu shishigashira
for some time
through the dirt path
carrying the lion head
Yonezawa Waremokō
獅子頭笛の音澄めば眠りけり
山田恵子
shishigashira fue no ne sumeba nemuri keri
the lion head,
notes of the lutes became clear
and slept
Yamada Keiko
