New Year¡¯s Day is not just the first day of the year in this country ¡ª it has a special meaning.
Jan. 1 is when people invite a god into their homes ¡ª the Shinto deity that presides over safety and prosperity for the year to come.
People believe that everything ¡ª the sun, the moon, water and fire ¡ª is reborn on the day when the new year begins.
It is said that ¡°the god of the year¡± visits each house to bring happiness for the year. To welcome the god and receive the blessing, people have created a variety of New Year¡¯s Day rituals and customs.
As the old year winds down, they sweep away the dust and clean every corner of the house, which they then decorate with auspicious ornaments and offerings, including kadomatsu, a decoration made with pine branches and bamboo, shimekazari, made of pine branches, rice straw, plastic cranes and other lucky charms, and decorative kagami mochi pounded rice cakes in a two-mound stack.
During that time, it became popular to visit a Shinto shrine located in the direction of a lucky cardinal or ordinal point, depending on the year¡¯s Chinese zodiac sign. People wait in line from first light to get the first amulet given by the shrine. The visit is thought to be the origin of the current custom of visiting a shrine or Buddhist temple for the new year.
This section explores in photographs neighborhoods of interest.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.