Akemashite Omedetogozaimasu! This means “Happy New Year" in Japanese. Oshogatsu is the Japanese New Year, the most important winter holiday for Japanese. Similar to Thanksgiving Day and Christmas in the United States, families get together to celebrate Oshogatsu in a traditional way. Here are a few of the many traditional, and not so traditional, ways that Japanese welcome the New Year. On the next page find events where you can experience a Japanese New Year right here in Southern California.

OSOJI

In preparation for Oshogatsu we do a thorough cleaning of the house called osoji. Every inch of the house is cleaned during this period. Osoji is not just a massive cleaning: its spiritual purpose is to drive away evil spirits and welcome ancestral spirits and the god of the incoming year.

NEW YEAR DECORATIONS

In a magical transformation, towns throughout Japan suddenly change their Christmas outfits into Oshogatsu costumes on Dec. 26th. If you are in Japan around this time you can experience both Christmas and Oshogatsu atmospheres. Kadomatsu are the most common Japanese New Year decoration and are thought to bring good luck into the home. They are arrangements made from pine branches, bamboo and straw and set up on both sides of house and business entrances. Kadomatsu shimenawa are another Oshogatsu decoration. They are sacred rice-straw ropes decorated with white paper and hung above front doors to act as barriers against evil spirits.

OSHOGATSU DISHES

Japanese people enjoy a number of traditional Oshogatsu dishes called osechi ryori. They are prepared ahead of time and eaten during the Oshogatsu period, so mothers don't have to spend time cooking in the kitchen and can share the holiday with their families. An assortment of osechi dishes such as sweetened black beans, sweetened chestnuts and potatos, bamboo shoot, and rolled egg are beautifully arranged in a jubako, or lacquered wooden box. I consider it a true art. Each dish has a meaning. For instance, black beans stand for strength and health. Sweetened chestnuts and potatoes,called Kurikinton (Kin means "gold" or "money"), are meant to increase wealth.

Another typical dish is zoni, a soup with mochi, ricecakes, and vegetables. Different areas have their unique zoni. Be careful not to eat mochi too quickly, no matter how delicious it is! In Japan, it is not uncommon for people to choke on mochi during the holidays.

NEW YEAR’S EVE

People go to Buddhist temples on the night of New Year’s Eve to pray. On this night Buddhist temples ring bells 108 times to purge the 108 sins and worries that afflict human beings. We also eat toshikoshi soba, buckwheat noodles. Toshikoshi means "passing from the old year into the new," and the length of the noodles symbolizes the long lives we wish to live.

On New Year's Eve it has become a tradition for many to watch "Kohaku Uta Gassen" on TV, the most famous music program in Japan. This music festival is broadcast by NHK, Japan’s national public television. It is also broadcast on TV here in the U.S. on New Year’s Eve. Check it out!

HATSUMODE

Hatsumode is the first visit of the year to a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine. We throw coins in the money collection box and pray for health and good fortune for the year. Go to a big temple or shrine: This is a good chance to see people, especially women and children, in beautiful kimono since we seldom wear kimono except on special occasions. Famous temples and shrines are packed with people and the scenes are broadcast on TV.

OTOSHIDAMA

Japanese children love Oshogatsu, as we have a custom that grown-ups give money to children in small envelopes called otoshidama. The amount that adults give to children varies: Some parents and relatives give children more than $100. You can understand why children are anxious to meet as many relatives as possible during Oshogatsu!

FUKUBUKURO

I would say this is also a custom, albeit a modern one. On January 2nd you can find long, long lines winding around department stores and supermarkets. They are there for one reason- to get their hands on fukubukuro, bags that contain a variety of goods that retail for

several times the purchase price. The price of the bags range from $50 - $200, but there are even $500 or $100,000. However, since the exact contents are kept secret, you are very lucky if you get a fukubukuro with items that suit your taste and size!

Oshogatsu 2004 in Little Tokyo

Stop by and experience Japanese Oshogatsu, "New Year," in Little Tokyo, Downtown Los Angeles. Various traditional events will take place from the end of December through early January in Little Tokyo. This coming year marks the 6th New Year Celebration in Little Tokyo and it  will be bigger than ever in celebration of 150 years of Japan-US relations since Commodore Matthew Perry and his  legendary black ships arrived in Edo bay to establish formal diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1853.

Weller Court

The first visitors will receive free pink and white mochi on January 1, 2004. Pink and white mochi is usually given to cerebrate special occasions in Japan. Also the first 300 children who come to Weller Court will receive free packages of sweets. Vendors will sell Japanese food such as amazake (sweet sake), zenzai (sweet soup made of azuki beans), and Japanese lunch boxes. Various entertainment and exhibitions will take place, including Japanese traditional music, mochitsuki (pounding of sweet rice), shishimai, lion dance and kimono dressing demonstrations. A prize drawing will be held at 3pm with a grand prize of two tickets to Japan.

For more information, call (213) 626 – 3067 (Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Southern California) or visit the Oshogatsu in Little Tokyo Home Page at http://www.nylt.org.

Weller Court
123 Onizuka St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Japanese American Cultural & Community Center

Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (J.A.C.C.C.) will also celebrate Japanese New Year. If you want to experience and Oshogatsu atmosphere in advance, JACCC will present several events before New Year’s Day. Join making mochi on December 28. All participants are invited to pound mochi in a traditional way. There will be Oshogatsu Workshops for Children on Dec. 29 & 30. This is for children from 6 – 11 years. Craft activities and exhibits will be presented by local artists to give children a hands-on experience of Japanese New Year’s.. JACCC will also present some other traditional events on Jan. 4th, including the ritual shooting of an arrow, a purification ceremony, taiko drumming and kagami biraki (breaking of the sake barrel).

For more information, call (213) 628 – 2735 or visit http://www.jaccc.org.

J.A.C.C.C.
244 South San Pedro Street, Suite 505
Los Angeles (Little Tokyo), CA 90012

The New Otani Hotel & Garden

The New Otani Hotel & Garden will hold unique Oshogatsu events and offer special dishes on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. On New Year’s Eve, a special New Year’s Eve Japanese Gourmet Kaiseki Dinner will be presented at the hotel’s Thousand Cranes restaurant. If you want to experience a Japanese custom, try soba noodles in the banquet room. For those who want to enjoy the countdown, a New Year’s Eve Dance Party will take place at the ballroom on the night of New Year’s Eve. On New Year’s Day, a Japanese traditional osechi buffet will be available on the Garden Level and other traditional dishes such as abekawa mochi (sweet mochi dish) and zoni (soup with mochi) will be prepared at the Rendevous Lounge. A number of cultural demonstrations such as tea ceremony, Japanese sake tasting, flower arrangement, and a children’s karutatori (card game) tournament will entertain both adults and children. The hotel will be filled with the spirit of Oshogatsu.

For more information, call (213) 629 – 1200 or visit http://www.newotani.com

The New Otani Hotel & Garden
120 South Los Angeles St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012