日曜日, 2月 08, 2004
Hi minnaaaaaaaaaa!!!
Tomorrow "the SSS week" is going to begin!!!What does SSS mean???
IT MEANS:STUDY STUDY STUDY!!!!!!!!!
Today I received an email from my friend Satomi!!She told me about the Japanese tradition of Senjinshiki!
It's about 1 year I know Satomi!!I knew her by email and...mail after mail we bacame really good friends!!!The next year she is coming here in Italy and I'm very happy I can have her as my guest to show her everything I can of Italy!!!Now she is studying in the USA and I admire her cause she live so far form Japan and from her family but she is doing her best studying and enjoying her life!!!I'm glad to be her friend!!!あいしてるよ!!!^o^
Seijinshiki(Coming of age day):it's a Japanese annual event, which is dedicated to the nation's young people who have reached the age of 20. On this day, Japanese people attain legal maturity at age 20, and after that, they are eligible to vote, drink and smoke. Coming-of-Age Day is observed as a national holiday, and municipal governments celebrate Coming-of-Age Day for 20-year-olds on this day. As styles of ceremonies are different from region to region, it is common for 20-year-olds dressed in formal outfits including many women in gorgeous kimono called "furisode" to attend it. Seijinshiki comes from an ancient ceremony of "genpuku". It was a ceremony where young people changed their formal outfits of children into those of adults, to start being treated as adults. In the past, this ceremony was held when young people were approved to be grown up and to have attained maturity both in body and mind conditions, and it seems that the age wasn't exactly stipulated. It is written that this was generally observed between the ages of 13 and 16 from the Nara period(710`794) to the Heian period(794`1192). Around the 16th century, warriors changed the ceremony into "genpukusiki". It was carried out it in a style that people of coming-of-age had their forelock cut, and this indicated that they became adults. Later, this ceremony was widespread among common people and farmers, and lasted until the end of the Edo period. Such is an origin of Seijinshiki.
Many women wear a "kimono" with long sleeves called "furisode" to attend "seijinsiki.Now, the number of Japanese people wearing kimono is decreasing, and Seijinshiki is a precious opportunity for Japanese young people to wear kimono. In these days, there is a regrettable fact that some young people misunderstand the significance of it, but the original meaning of it has long been the same everywhere in Japan. It is meant to be an auspicious event to celebrate and encourage people who realized that they became adults and made up their mind to live their life independently. Seijinshiki is a very joyous and wonderful traditional Japanese event for the people of coming-of-age and their families.
Satomi chaaaaan!!!Thank's a lot for teaching me all these interesting things!!You know I'm always interested in Japanese culture!!!I just copied your mail cause my english is not as good as yours!!:D
このことを教えてくれたありがとう！！！
Well I hope you'll be intersted in this little piece of the wounderful Japanese culture as well!!!
See ya soon!!!
kisu kisu
ILE