"Starting the New Year"

What is New Year's Day?

The day to start preparing for the New Year.

Since ancient times, this day has been called "Kishukunichi" (the day when demons stay), and has been said to be the ideal day to start something new, making it the perfect time to start something new and prepare for the New Year.

In Japan, this day is the time when people go to the mountains to gather materials needed for New Year's, such as Kadomatsu decorations and bamboo and firewood for cooking Ozoni, do a thorough cleaning called "susubarai," and start gathering ingredients for New Year's dishes.

Why do we prepare for New Year's?

It may seem like a preparation for a special occasion, an event to celebrate the safe end of the old year and the beginning of a new year, but preparations for New Year's actually begin with welcoming the God of the New Year during the first three days of the New Year, which marks the beginning of the year.

[What is Toshigamisama?]

The god who protects and governs the household for the entire year.
Depending on the region, this god is called by various names, such as Toshitokujin, Tondo-san, Eho-jin, or Oshogatsu-sama.

Living in harmony with nature in Japan

In ancient Japan, where people had a deep faith in nature, "Toshi" represented the rice harvest and was thought to be the god of grain. The belief is based on the death and rebirth of grains, and as agriculture developed, people began to pray at the beginning of the year for a good harvest. For the Japanese of old, living with nature was both abundant and harsh, and everything in life was about living in harmony with nature. New Year's Day became an event to worship the Toshigami, and it was believed that the spirits of ancestors would eventually become gods of the fields and mountains, and would become Toshigami during New Year's, watching over the prosperity of their descendants.

In Japan, the traditional custom of "staying indoors during the first three days of the New Year" has remained as a way of welcoming the New Year deity.

Customs of preparing for the New Year

[Soot removal]

The act of cleaning away the dirt of the year was called "susuharai" (soot-harai), which is equivalent to what we now call "daisoujou" (big cleaning).
It was said that if you wiped away all the dirt that had accumulated over the year and cleaned every nook and cranny, the New Year God would descend upon you bringing many blessings.
In the past, firewood and charcoal were used as fire sources in daily life, which resulted in a lot of soot getting onto the ceiling and walls. By the time you had completely removed all the soot, you would have reached every corner and your room would be bright and clean.

It seems that such soot-cleaning was also a part of the lively daily life.

[Welcome the pine trees]

People go to gather pine trees to make New Year's decorations and firewood for New Year's cooking. This is called "Matsumukae".

(New Year's pine decoration)

Proverb: "The pine tree promises to live for a thousand years, the bamboo promises to live for a thousand years" (meaning: Pine and bamboo are used to pray for the eternity of the gods' abode)
As the saying goes, pine trees are evergreen trees that remain lush even in winter, and it was believed that gods resided in their treetops, so kadomatsu are displayed as a place to welcome the New Year deity into the home.

<Shimenawa decoration>

They are decorated to show the New Year deity that it is a sacred place suitable for welcoming the deity. You may often see shimenawa strung around sacred trees at shrines. Shimenawa has the meaning of warding off evil, and is used at shrines as a boundary between the sacred area and the secular world. New Year's shimenawa also have the meaning of "territory" and "setting up a barrier," and are displayed in a clean, soot-swept house to prevent evil spirits from entering.

[New Year's cuisine]

Osechi cuisine was originally made as an offering to the New Year deity. By eating the offerings together as a family, families pray for happiness and health in the coming year.

One of the legends behind Osechi is that it is meant to give the fire god a rest.
It is believed that cooking on New Year's Day would wash away the New Year's god who brings happiness to the household, so there is a legend that people prepare long-lasting osechi dishes so that they can get through the day without cooking, and using a knife is considered unlucky as it is associated with "severing ties."

[Kagami mochi]

The name Kagami mochi comes from its resemblance to the shape of an old mirror. It is believed that gods reside in mirrors, and so Kagami mochi came to be displayed as an offering to the New Year deity. The round shape represents a happy family, and the stacked shapes represent a year stacked with joy.

<Kagami-biraki (opening of a sake barrel)>

Every year on January 11th, known as Matsunouchi (the period when the god of the New Year stays in our homes), there is a custom of eating the kagami mochi that has been offered to the gods, called "Kagami biraki."

After the "Matsu no Uchi" period (January 7th) , people see off Toshigami-sama, eat Kagami mochi (rice cakes made from the bounty of nature) (Toshigami-sama is the god of good harvest), share its spiritual power, and pray for good health and prosperity in the year. This practice leads to an event called "Hagakatame ," which means "eat hard food, strengthen your teeth, and pray for long life."

Cutting the hard, dried Kagami mochi with a blade is considered bad luck as it brings to mind the act of seppuku, so it is broken into small pieces with a mallet. As the mochi was the abode of the New Year deity, it should be handled with care.

[Hagoita and Hamayumi]

New Year's decorations such as hagoita and hamayumi are also put up at this time of year.