Japanese culture: festivals, food, arts and customs
Japanese culture joins old and new with unusual continuity: shrine festivals that are a thousand years old, a cuisine inscribed as intangible heritage, performing arts from noh to anime, and everyday customs shaped by Shinto and Buddhism.
Festivals
Aomori Nebuta FestivalAomori Nebuta MatsuriLantern giants, taiko drums and leaping dancers in Honshu's far northAugustAwa OdoriAwa OdoriDancing fools and watching fools: four nights of Bon dance in TokushimaAugustChichibu Night FestivalChichibu YomatsuriLantern-lit floats and fireworks on a December nightDecemberGion MatsuriGion MatsuriA month of rites and a procession of moving museums through central KyotoJulyHakata Gion YamakasaHakata Gion YamakasaA tonne on the shoulders, at a run, at dawnJulyHanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing)hanamiPicnics under the cherry trees, and the beauty of what does not lastMarchAprilHinamatsuri (Doll Festival)HinamatsuriCourt dolls, peach blossom and wishes for daughtersMarchKanda MatsuriKanda MatsuriThe shogun's festival: Edo pageantry in the heart of modern TokyoMayKishiwada Danjiri MatsuriKishiwada Danjiri MatsuriTonnes of carved zelkova, taken round corners at a runSeptemberOctoberKodomo no Hi (Children's Day)Kodomo no HiCarp streamers in the May windMayNagasaki KunchiNagasaki KunchiA port city's history, danced in front of its shrineOctoberObonObonWhen the ancestors come home for the summerJulyAugustSanja MatsuriSanja MatsuriThree days of portable shrines in the lanes of old AsakusaMaySapporo Snow FestivalSapporo Yuki MatsuriA city centre turned into an open-air gallery of snow and iceFebruarySendai TanabataSendai Tanabata MatsuriPaper streamers, wishes and a city centre under bambooAugustSetsubunSetsubunRoasted beans against demons on the eve of springFebruaryShichi-Go-SanShichi-Go-SanTiny kimono, long sweets and thanks for growing upNovemberShogatsu (Japanese New Year)ShōgatsuThe year's great reset: shrine bells, family tables and a clean startJanuaryTakayama MatsuriTakayama MatsuriLacquered floats, clockwork puppets and lanterns in the Hida mountainsAprilOctoberTanabata (Star Festival)TanabataTwo stars, one night, and wishes tied to bambooJulyAugustTenjin MatsuriTenjin MatsuriLantern boats, drums and fireworks on Osaka's riversJulyTsukimi (Moon Viewing)tsukimiDumplings, pampas grass and the clearest moon of the yearSeptemberOctober
Food & Drink
WashokuwashokuRice, soup and the seasons on the tableDashi and umamidashiKelp, dried fish and the fifth tasteSushisushiFrom preserved fish to the Edo street stallRamenrāmenA Chinese noodle soup that became a Japanese obsessionTempuratenpuraA light batter, hot oil and a few seconds of timingSoba and udonsoba, udonBuckwheat in the east, wheat in the westWagyuwagyūFour native breeds and the art of marblingKaisekikaisekiThe season, served one small dish at a timeWagashiwagashiBean paste, rice and the seasons in miniatureSakenihonshuRice, water, kōji and the brewer's winterGreen tearyokuchaSteamed leaves, shaded gardens and the right temperatureIzakayaizakayaSmall plates, cold beer and the evening after workBentobentōA whole meal, carefully packedOkonomiyakiokonomiyakiCabbage, batter and the hot iron griddleYakitoriyakitoriEvery part of the bird, over white charcoal
Arts
Tea ceremonysadōA bowl of tea as a complete art of hospitalityIkebanaikebanaLine, space and the season in a single vesselCalligraphyshodōBrush, ink and a single, unrepeatable strokeKabukikabukiSong, dance and spectacle from the Edo townspeople's stageNohnōMasks, chant and stillness on a cypress stageBunrakubunrakuThree puppeteers, one chanter and one shamisenUkiyo-eukiyo-ePrints of actors, beauties and the road to KyotoHaikuhaikuSeventeen sounds, one season, one momentJapanese gardensnihon teienMountains, water and islands in a walled spaceCeramicsyakimonoEarth, fire and a taste for the imperfectMangamangaComics for every age, read from right to leftAnimeanimeFrom limited animation to global pop cultureBudobudōFrom battlefield techniques to a way of self-cultivationSumosumōRitual, ranking and a few seconds of explosive force
Customs & Etiquette
BowingojigiA greeting, a thank-you and an apology in a single gestureGift-givingzōtōSmall gifts that keep relationships in balanceOnsen etiquetteonsenWash first, soak second: the logic of the shared bathTable mannersshokuji no manāGratitude, chopsticks and looking after the person next to youGenkan and shoesgenkanOne step up: where the outside world endsTippingchippuService is included – and so is the pride in doing it wellPublic etiquettekōkyō manāMeiwaku: the art of not being a botherVisiting shrines and templessanpaiTwo bows, two claps, one bow – and no clapping at the templeKimono and yukatakimonoLeft over right: the garment and its occasions
Religion
ShintoShintōThe way of the kami: shrines, purity and the rhythm of the seasonsBuddhism in JapanBukkyōFourteen centuries of temples, schools and ancestral ritesZen BuddhismZenSeated meditation, sudden insight and a lasting mark on Japanese artsShugendoShugendōThe way of acquiring power through austerity in the sacred mountainsYokaiyōkaiKappa, tengu and haunted umbrellas: the uncanny side of Japanese folk belief