New Year's in JAPAN-Oshogatsu-

Uploaded on Dec. 24, 2021, noon New Year's in JAPAN-Oshogatsu-

We introduce typical Japanese New Year's scene with photos and videos.

    Osechi

    Osechi

    Osechi,New Year dishes,Japanese cuisine,Japanese food,japan,food,washoku
      Decorative arrows for New Year

      Decorative arrows for New Year

      Making of "hamaya" decorative arrows for New Year is under way at Atsuta Jingu shrine in Nagoya, central Japan, on Dec. 2, 2021. An "ema" votive tablet with an illustration of a tiger is attached to each arrow as 2022 is the year of the tiger in the Chinese zodiac.
        Japanese New Year's dishes

        Japanese New Year's dishes

        Photo taken Sept. 18, 2020, shows samples of "osechi" Japanese traditional New Year's dishes being displayed at Kintetsu department store in Japan's tallest building Abeno Harukas in Osaka. The department store started accepting orders for the celebratory meals for 2021 the same day.
          Ancient football at Kyoto shrine

          Ancient football at Kyoto shrine

          People clad in traditional attire play "kemari," a football game played by nobles in medieval Japan at Kyoto's Shimogamo shrine on Jan. 4, 2020. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
            Japanese "karuta" card game

            Japanese "karuta" card game

            Women in traditional attire from the ancient Heian period play "karuta," a traditional Japanese card game, during an annual New Year ceremony at Yasaka shrine in Kyoto on Jan. 3, 2020. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
              Japanese emperor's New Year greetings

              Japanese emperor's New Year greetings

              Japanese Emperor Naruhito (center L) and other imperial family members wave to the crowd during a New Year greeting event at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Jan. 2, 2020. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
                New Year's Day sunrise at Mt. Fuji

                New Year's Day sunrise at Mt. Fuji

                TOKYO, Japan - This photo taken from a Japan Airlines flight shows the sun rising over Mt. Fuji, Japan's highest mountain southwest of Tokyo, on Jan. 1, 2010. (Kyodo)
                  Children enjoy New Year's calligraphy

                  Children enjoy New Year's calligraphy

                  TOKYO, Japan - Children display their brush skills in a new year calligraphy contest, called 'kakizome,' at Tokyo's Budokan Hall on Jan. 5. Some 4,600 children took part in the event, which offers participants an opportunity to refresh their spirit and pray for an improvement in their calligraphy skills.
                    New Year's greeting cards in Japan

                    New Year's greeting cards in Japan

                    New Year's greeting cards are dropped into a mailbox at the Tokyo central post office on Dec. 15, 2021, as post offices across Japan begin accepting the "nengajo" cards for delivery on Jan. 1.
                      Battledores of 2021 newsmakers in Japan

                      Battledores of 2021 newsmakers in Japan

                      Photo taken at the head office of doll maker Kyugetsu Co. in Tokyo on Dec. 7, 2021, shows traditional Japanese "hagoita" battledores decorated with images of newsmakers of the year. Those featured include baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani (center L), who was named the American League's Most Valuable Player for the 2021 season, and new Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (bottom R).
                        Preparations for New Year

                        Preparations for New Year

                        People make "kadomatsu" gate pines, a traditional Japanese decoration for New Year, in Tonoshomachi, Chiba Prefecture, on Dec. 24, 2018. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

                          Preparation for new year

                          Making of "kadomatsu" gate pines, a traditional Japanese decoration for New Year, is at its peak in Tonosho in Chiba Prefecture, eastern Japan, on Dec. 20, 2021.
                            New Year tuna auction in Tokyo

                            New Year tuna auction in Tokyo

                            Bluefin tuna are lined up at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market for a New Year's auction on Jan. 5, 2021.
                              Tuna fetches 74 mil. yen at possible final Tsukiji New Year's auction

                              Tuna fetches 74 mil. yen at possible final Tsukiji New Year's auction

                              Kiyoshi Kimura (C back), president of Kiyomura Corp., the operator of the Sushizanmai sushi restaurant chain, poses on Jan. 5, 2017, with the bluefin tuna he successfully purchased in what may be the final New Year's auction at Tokyo's famed Tsukiji fish market before its relocation to a new site. The 212-kilogram tuna fetched 74.2 million yen (around $632,000), or 350,000 yen per kilogram. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

                                New Year tuna auction in Tokyo

                                TOKYO, Japan : Bluefin tuna are lined up at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market for a New Year's auction on Jan. 5, 2021.
                                  Fire brigades demonstrate traditional ladder-top stunts

                                  Fire brigades demonstrate traditional ladder-top stunts

                                  TOKYO, Japan - Hikeshi or fire fighters demonstrate their traditional ladder-top stunts dating back to the Edo period (1600-1868) during the annual New Year parade of fire brigades organized by the Tokyo Fire Department at Tokyo's Ariake on Jan. 6. Edo (now Tokyo) had 48 hikeshi units, each comprising a commander, assistants, standard bearers, ladder carriers and plain firemen, who were mobilized especially when wrecking buildings to create fire-breaks.
                                    Tokyo firefighters hold New Year ceremony

                                    Tokyo firefighters hold New Year ceremony

                                    Firefighters dressed as firemen from the feudal era perform ladder stunts during the annual "dezome-shiki" New Year ceremony of the Tokyo Fire Department at Tokyo Big Sight on Jan. 6, 2016. The ceremony, involving 2,800 firefighters and 160 fire engines, also included emergency drills. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
                                      Firemen's new year ceremony

                                      Firemen's new year ceremony

                                      Firemen's new year ceremony==Date:unknown, Place:unknown, Photo:unknown, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images)

                                        New Year prayer at Tokyo shrine amid pandemic

                                        TOKYO, Japan : People visit Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo on Jan. 1, 2021, to offer New Year prayers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
                                          Playing battledore

                                          Playing battledore

                                          This is a typical New Year scene. A shimenawa straw rope is hanging and girls are enjoying a game of battledore and shuttlecock while another girl is bouncing a ball. The girl on the right has her hair arranged in shimada-fuwarikarako style while the ones on the left and middle have theirs in marumage and warikarako-mage styles. This is a studio photograph.==Date:unknown, Place:unknown, Photo:unknown, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number61‐9‐0]
                                            Greetings in an ozashiki

                                            Greetings in an ozashiki

                                            New Year's decorations are visible in the tokonoma (alcove) in the centre. Cranes are painted on a hanging scroll. Two women clad in kimono are exchanging a polite New Year's greeting. Women's New Year was celebrated on January 9th (not 1st). Women visited people's houses to offer New Year's greeting within the period of the New Year holiday. The English title reads JAPONIS ROOM.==Date:unknown, Place:unknown, Photo:unknown, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number51‐129‐0]
                                              Giant rice cake-lifting contest at Kyoto temple for good health

                                              Giant rice cake-lifting contest at Kyoto temple for good health

                                              A female participant (C) tries to lift a 90-kilogram gigantic "kagami mochi" rice cake during an annual competition at Daigo-ji temple in Kyoto, western Japan, on Feb. 23, 2015, while spectators cheer her on. The event, in which participants compete to see who can hold the heavy mochi aloft for the longest time, is a ritual to pray for good health. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
                                                New Year glassware

                                                New Year glassware

                                                Photo taken at a workshop in Sapporo, northern Japan, on Dec. 16, 2019, shows glassware resembling "kagami mochi" rice cakes that are often displayed during New Year in Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
                                                  Kumamon at quake-hit Kumamoto Pref. event

                                                  Kumamon at quake-hit Kumamoto Pref. event

                                                  Kumamon (L), the popular black bear mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture, and Japanese "enka" ballad singer Sayuri Ishikawa (R) pound steamed rice to make mochi rice cakes in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan, on Feb. 22, 2018, at an event promoting the prefecture's reconstruction from a huge earthquake in April 2016. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
                                                    Japan Post starts accepting New Year's cards for delivery

                                                    Japan Post starts accepting New Year's cards for delivery

                                                    TOKYO, Japan - Erika Ikuta (L) and Mai Shiraishi, members of the Nogizaka46 female idol group, pose during a ceremony in Tokyo on Dec. 15, 2014, to launch Japan Post Co.'s acceptance of New Year's greeting cards for delivery. (Kyodo)
                                                      Geisha in Kyoto

                                                      Geisha in Kyoto

                                                      Inoue Yachiyo (2nd from L), the fifth head of the Inoue school of Kyomai dance, hands out a fan to apprentice geisha, known as maiko, in Kyoto on Dec. 13, 2017, during the "kotohajime" event in preparation for the New Year. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
                                                        Geisha in Kyoto mark 1st business day of year

                                                        Geisha in Kyoto mark 1st business day of year

                                                        Wearing formal attire, geisha exchange New Year's greetings during a ceremony in Kyoto to mark the first business day of the year on Jan. 7, 2018. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
                                                          New Year holidays come to end

                                                          New Year holidays come to end

                                                          People get ready to depart by shinkansen bullet train from JR Shin-Osaka Station on Jan. 3, 2017, after spending their New Year holidays in their hometowns. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
                                                            Travelers return from New Year holidays

                                                            Travelers return from New Year holidays

                                                            New Year travelers return home on a shinkansen bullet train at JR Shin-Osaka Station in Osaka, western Japan, on Jan. 3, 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

                                                              CALLIGRAPHY CONTEST FOR THE NEW YEAR

                                                              CALLIGRAPHY CONTEST FOR THE NEW YEAR==Date:Jan, 1969, Place:,JAPAN, (Credit:INTERNATIONAL MOTION PICTURE/Kyodo News Images)
                                                                New Year flower arranging ceremony

                                                                New Year flower arranging ceremony

                                                                Students of the Ikenobo school of Japanese flower arrangement participate in a New Year ceremony in Kyoto, western Japan, on Jan. 5, 2018. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
                                                                  New Year's countdown in Tokyo

                                                                  New Year's countdown in Tokyo

                                                                  A huge crowd of people gather for a countdown event at Tokyo's famed Shibuya Crossing on Jan. 1, 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
                                                                    Priests prepare for New Year's Eve bell ringing

                                                                    Priests prepare for New Year's Eve bell ringing

                                                                    KYOTO, Japan - Priests at Chion'in Temple in Kyoto carry out a dress rehearsal Dec. 27 in preparation for their traditional bell ringing on the New Year's Eve.
                                                                      New Year shadow pictures of ghost manga series characters in Japan

                                                                      New Year shadow pictures of ghost manga series characters in Japan

                                                                      A shadow picture of characters from popular Japanese ghost comic series "Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro," featuring traditional Japanese New Year rice cake making, is projected Dec. 30, 2019, on Mizuki Shigeru road, named after the manga's late author, in his hometown of Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, western Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
                                                                        New Year sale at Japanese department store

                                                                        New Year sale at Japanese department store

                                                                        A lion dance is performed during a New Year sale at Kintetsu's main department store in Osaka, western Japan, on Jan. 2, 2022.
                                                                          Year-end lottery

                                                                          Year-end lottery

                                                                          Photo taken Dec. 31, 2018 shows the ceremony for the Year-end Jumbo lottery draw in Tokyo's Shinjuku, with up to 1 billion yen ($9 million) in prize money for the winner. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
                                                                            Year-end scene in Tokyo's Asakusa

                                                                            Year-end scene in Tokyo's Asakusa

                                                                            Nakamise shopping street in Tokyo's Asakusa area is crowded with people on Dec. 30, 2019, ahead of New Year. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo